The Apple iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus go on sale in a select few countries around the world today, where the lines have been lengthy, the waiting tiresome, and the tempers frayed. As America wakes up, lucky buyers in Japan, Australia, Singapore, the U.K. (yes, including Scotland), and several European countries are already using — and dropping — their new devices.
If you’re ready to head out and pick up a new iPhone 6, hoping a lot of people will have forgotten to set their alarms this morning, then we’ve got some bad news. It’s busy out there. Very.
Updated on 09-19-2014 by Andy Boxall: Added in pictures from the Apple Store on 9th Avenue in New York City.
Our very own Mobile Writer Malarie Gokey snapped the following pictures at the Apple Store on 9th Avenue in Manhattan this morning, where the line stretches round the entire block, from 14th to 16th Street. Good luck if you’re hoping to still get an iPhone 6 after joining the back of this one.
In Australia, the Sydney Morning Herald live-blogged the launch, where lines outside Apple and independent stores ranged from a hundred to an estimated thousand. According to her Twitter feed, Apple’s recently appointed new head of retail, Angela Ahrendts, was present in Sydney to welcome the iPhone 6.
A similarly high level of demand was seen in Singapore. According to a report in the Straits Times, local network operator SingTel expects to sell 5,000 iPhone 6 models on Friday alone, after 15,000 people tried to book an appointment when pre-orders went live on Wednesday. In tales from the queues outside stores, some individuals who had already snapped up a new phone were trying to sell it to those who hadn’t been so lucky. The asking price was inevitably higher than retail.
Those who purchased an iPhone 6 to make a quick profit may be in luck. A dealer in Hong Kong says he’ll pay twice the retail price for a 128GB iPhone 6 Plus, then ship it to mainland China, where the phone has yet to be given an official launch date. Chinese and South Korean Apple fans also made the journey to Japan, where unlocked iPhone 6 devices were being sold for the first time, enabling them to take the new smartphone back home (and show off).
It was chaos all over the U.K. too, with reports of some decidedly non-British pushing and shoving in lines outside stores, and stocks running low thanks to bulk buying. In the city of Birmingham, the first person in the line outside the Apple store had been there for three days. Proving his devotion, he was also first in line for the iPhone 5S launch.
However, Londoner Bonnie Carr has him beat, after secured her spot outside the Regent Street Apple Store on September 9 — a 10-day wait that began before the official announcement. She was apparently prepared to camp out for two weeks. Astonishingly, she was second in the queue, having arrived shortly after another couple even more desperate for the new phone.
Being first in line comes with a certain responsibility — you’ll need to show off your new phone to the assembled masses. Sadly for Jack Cooksey in Perth, Australia, excitement and a slippery new phone just don’t mix. Check the video out below, and you can see what’s coming a mile off.
We’ll keep you updated with more from the international iPhone 6 launch throughout the day.
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