Early birds were seen camping outside the Apple store in Sydney on Thursday (September 15), the day before the much-anticipated launch of the new iPhone 7.
Around a dozen people sat in camping chairs outside the store’s main entrance, some even had tents with them.
Asked if how much it would cost for him to give up his spot at the front of the queue, Marcus Barsoum, a student said:
“Like if I was considering, if I were to sell the seat and it were a situation that I know, I was put in, I’d probably say the seat, maybe $4,000, four to five thousand I’d probably say yes. I’d have to think about it, because you know, you are in front, it’s not every time you get to be in the front of the line. It’s a big hype,” said Barsoum as he perched in his camping chair.
Some had even waited overnight to be among the first to get their hands on the mobile device as soon as it goes on sale on Friday (September 16).
“I came here probably yesterday at four o’clock in the afternoon on a Wednesday (September 14) and I’ve been here ever since, like camping out. But of course having breaks here and there and all that jazz, you know all that stuff,” said Marcus Bonnici, a local aspiring male model, who was taking shelter in his tent on the pavement.
The situation was similar outside Tokyo’s Apple store on Thursday.
Seven people had already formed a line, some fast asleep from exhaustion from starting the queue the night before, while others were busy scrolling through their iPhones.
Ayano Tomigawa, who was third in line and had already been waiting for more than 12 hours, said she was excited about the new high-resolution camera.
“I regularly upload photos on Instagram, so I’m looking forward to getting more ‘likes’ by sharing better quality pictures (taken on the new iPhone),” Tomigawa said.
Hiromu Tanji, a student who was spending the last day of his summer break waiting in line, said he was looking forward to the phone’s waterproof feature.
“Two to three weeks ago, I was climbing Mount Fuji when the rain started falling. My phone got drenched, so I am really happy about the new waterproof feature,” Tanji said.
However there were others who said they just enjoyed being part of the experience.
“Even more than the iPhone, I love being part of the queue and that is why I am here,” said Yoshiya Senzuwa, who recalled spending over ten days in line ahead of an iPhone launch two years ago.
Apple unveiled an iPhone 7 with high-resolution cameras and no headphone jack at its annual launch event this week, though the biggest surprise was the debut of a three-decade-old Nintendo game franchise, Super Mario Bros, on the smartphone.
