Customers lined up outside of Apple stores around the world awaiting the release of Apple’s iPhone 6s and 6S Plus. The phones are the same size as the previous model but offer improved cameras and 3D touch. 13 million iPhone 6S and iPhone 6S Plus units were sold on their first three days of launch, shattering the previous Apple record of selling 10 million units of the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6S.
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Sale of Apple iPhones: The Wait
When the new iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus went on sale on Sep 25 2015, queues snaked around the Apple store in London’s Covent Garden and in other countries.
For sale on Friday Fans had been queuing outside Apple’s Covent Garden store in central London store since Monday evening, braving the elements overnight in tents and sleeping bags. In London first in the queue was Sam Shaikh, who was also at the front to purchase the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus from the same shop in September 2014. Shaikh, 29, joined the queue at 8.30pm on Monday and was first through the door to buy a rose gold 6s and 6s Plus. However, the queue was a somewhat quieter affair than last year’s bumper launch, with around 400 people joining the line. Around 1,000 people queued around the Covent Garden piazza in Sep 2014, with security patrolling the barriers to keep eager fans in line.
Long queues also formed outside the Sydney Apple store as customers eagerly waited to get their hands on the new phones. The fourth person in line was an iPad-based telepresence robot, owned by media agency executive Lucy Kelly. She setting up the machine outside the store on Thursday at 5am to queue up for her.She then operated the robot, an iPad attached to a Segway-style scooter, via remote control from her home.Once payment was made, the Apple staff “just put my iPhones in a bag for me and hung it on my microphone”, she added.
Ms Kelly then remotely wheeled her device out of the store and through Sydney’s city centre where some of her colleagues were able to collect her phones for her. Ref: Telegraph Sydney
What people stand in queue for On the infographic on our Pinterest webpage, opening of Starbucks in India, Rajnikant Movie Lingaa, Harry Potter book etc.
iPhone and India
The iPhone 6s is available in 16GB, 64GB and 128GB variants at Rs 62,000, Rs 72,000 and Rs 82,000, respectively. The 6s Plus 16GB, 64GB and 128GB models are priced at 72,000,Rs 82,000 and Rs 92,000, respectively. They are available cheaper online! The prices didn’t stop Apple fans from waiting in long queues to get their hands on the latest Apple devices. Everyone is trying to woo audiences with offers and deals to pick the expensive devices. For instance, Bharti Airtel announced free 4G data wth iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus.
Reports suggest that the new iPhones have received a lackluster response in India as far as pre-booking data is concerned. Apple was looking to triple pre-bookings this year (with respect to last year) but these have risen by only 10-15% when compared to the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, last year.
Do you know why
The default time in iPhone ads is always set to 9:41: This is no coincidence. Former Apple executive Scott Forstall once explained, “We design the (product launch) keynotes so that the big reveal of the product happens around 40 minutes into the presentation. When the big image of the product appears on screen, we want the time shown to be close to the actual time on the audience’s watches. But we know we won’t hit 40 minutes exactly.” As a point of interest, the default display times on iPhones used to be 9:42.
Apple didn’t originally own the ‘iPhone’ trademark Initially, Cisco owned the ‘iPhone’ trademark. After its January 2007 unveiling, Apple and Cisco eventually settled their dispute with both companies promising to collaborate together on products in the future. On July 1, 2007, it was reported that Apple paid at least US$1 million to Michael Kovatch for the transfer of the iPhone.com domain name. Kovatch registered the domain in 1995.
iPhone cost and Contribution to Apple’s Revenue
Apple’s iPhone is the company’s primary money maker and, in most quarters, the iconic smartphone accounts for nearly 70 percent of all of Apple’s revenue. In March 2015, Apple CEO Tim Cook announced that Apple has sold more than 700 million iPhones. It means Apple has been averaging approximately 7.8 million iPhones a month for eight years . Statista tracks how many iPhones have been sold since 2007. From Apple’s Revenue Sep 2015 release
While device teardowns don’t provide the true cost involved in putting a device together (they don’t factor in R&D, design, assembly costs, etc.), they do help up us get a grasp on how much each individual component costs. To that end, teardowns of various iPhone models over the years have shown that the display is the iPhone’s most expensive component. On the iPhone 6, for instance, the display costs $41.50. On the larger-screened iPhone 6 Plus, the display costs $51. After the display, the most expensive components tend to be the wireless chips or processors from Qualcomm. From teardown’s How much does it cost to make an iPhone
Journey of iPhone : The TimeLine
At the Macworld Expo on Jan. 9, 2007, then-CEO Steve Jobs announced the first Apple iPhone. Apple fans were delighted, but most everyone else was skeptical. Each successive generation of the iPhone has added new features and, in almost all cases, gotten better. From the original iPhone through to the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, each step in iPhone history has introduced big changes to the iPhone line up. From mashable
Description | Announced | Released in US | Notable Specs | Sales |
iPhone | Jan. 9, 2007 | June 29, 2007 | First iOS device; 2MP camera; 3.5-inch display; quad-band GSM (EDGE) radio; Wi-Fi (802.11b/g), and Bluetooth 2.0 | its first million iPhones in 74 days |
iPhone 3G | June 9, 2008 | July 11, 2008 | GPS; Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync support; quad-band GSM and tri-band HSDPA 3G radios; 2MP camera, and App Store for mobile applications. | 1 million iPhone 3G devices in the three days following its launch. |
iPhone 3GS | June 8, 2009 | June 19, 2009 | 3MP camera with video recording; max storage of 32GB; new voice-control features; compass; Internet tethering; and built-in Nike+ integration. | 1 million iPhone 3G devices in the three days following its launch. |
iPhone 4 | June 7, 2010 | June 24, 2010 | Front-facing camera for FaceTime video calling; 5MP rear-facing camera; 3.5-inch “Retina” display (960 x 640 pixels), and Apple A4 processor. | 1.7 million iPhone 4 devices were sold in the three days following its launch. |
iPhone 4S | Oct 4,2011 | Oct 14,2011 | Apple’s dual-core A5 processor; 8MP camera with 1080p video recording, and world phone with GSM, HSPA and CDMA radios. iOS 5 launched along with the iPhone 4S, bringing the first iCloud service to iOS users. Voice-controlled virtual assistant “Siri” also made her debut on the iPhone 4S. | 4 million iPhone 4S devices sold in the three days following its launch. |
iPhone 5 | Sep. 12, 2012 | Sep 21, 2012 | 4-inch “Retina” display; Apple A6 processor; 4G LTE support; 8MP camera, and new, proprietary Apple “Lightning” port.The iPhone 5 was the first iPhone with a display larger than 3.5 inches. | 5 million units in the first three days of release |
iPhone 5C,5S | Sep. 10, 2013 | Sep 20, 2013 | Shipped with iOS 7, which introduced a revamped visual appearance ,AirDrop, Control Center, iTunes Radio and Earphones known as EarPods are included with the iPhone 5S. | Nine million units of the iPhone 5S and iPhone 5C were sold on their weekend of release, |
iPhone 6 & 6 Plus | Sep 9, 2014 | Sep 19, 2014 | Models with larger 4.7 and 5.5 inches (120 and 140 mm) displays, a faster processor, upgraded cameras, improved LTE and Wi-Fi connectivity and support for a near field communications-based mobile payments offering | 10 million iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus devices were sold in the first three day |
iPhone 6S & 6S Plus | Sep 9, 2015 | Sep 25,2015 | Much of the hardware inside, from the camera to the processor, is new and improved. Core technologies like the touchscreen and the vibration engine have been updated | Apple sold 13 million iPhone 6s and 6s Plus units during launch weekend |
My take on Apple. They make great products and hence the frenzy. Although I cannot explain the long line on launch day when one it is much easier to order the phone online and get it on the day of the launch. It sure is great press for Apple.
Manoj thanks for comment.
Excerpt from The Truth Behind The Giant Apple Store Lines
When he was running Apple, Steve Jobs liked to see long lines of people waiting in front of Apple stores to buy the latest Apple Products. Why?
Many assume that those at the front of the line are diehard Apple fanboys and girls. The first four people in the line at the 5th Avenue store, however, have an agenda for which they are getting compensated. There are various reasons that people are willing to camp out in line to get early releases of Apple products. They:
Have been hired by others to hold their place in line.
Are promoting themselves and other products.
Buy multiple units early to re-sell them at a premium.
Are fan-boys (and girls).
Want bragging rights.
Want to achieve status within their circles, and like to socialize.
Want to be part of an event.