Fanboi numbers are well down – but Apple’s queueing system, rather than apathy, is likely the cause
First Fondle The iPhone 15 is predictably lovely – but the larger models may be too much to handle, and the smaller machines feel a little undersized.
The Register today popped into an Apple Store in Sydney, Australia, to sample the new smartphones within moments of their public release. Your correspondent has done this before – because when my kids were little, the school they attended sadistically scheduled a compulsory extra-curricular activity at 0730 on Fridays.
The one upside of that arrangement was the Apple Store in the mall near their school that opened at 00800 on the day new iPhones went on sale. I’d therefore drop off the kids, then drop in to the Cupertino Cathedral to report on the extent of fanboi ardor for this year’s model – taking advantage of Australia’s time zone means the iPhone goes out the door here a few hours before it appears in other nations.
I haven’t done it for years, but decided to revive the practice today for the iPhone 15’s debut.
In years past, literally hundreds of buyers queued out the doors of the inner-city Sydney mall I patronize. Today I arrived at 0755 and settled into 30th place in in the queue. As is usual on the day of an iPhone launch, Apple staff inside were being addressed by a colleague who seemed to be impressing upon them the significance of the occasion.
