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The iPhone XS costs up to $ 200 more than the already expensive iPhone X of last year and is one of the smallest advances in the history of the product line. But that means little for the faithful of Apple Inc. or those looking to upgrade their old iPhone.
Hundreds of consumers lined up in Apple stores around the world the day before or in the early hours before Friday's sale of the iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max. Many consumers have been seen queuing at Orchard Road in Singapore despite the hot weather. Other outlets, such as the IFC Mall in Hong Kong, had much shorter lines, sales being largely limited to those who had pre-ordered.
The global smartphone industry has stagnated at around 1.5 billion devices sold each year. But the annual launch of the iPhone Theater remains a glimmer of hope. For Apple in particular, the length of lines has become less important as it sells more phones online and adjusts its business model. Rather than persuading users to switch to the most advanced and expensive phone every year, Apple's goal is to consistently raise the average price while increasing the total number of active devices to support accessory sales. and digital services.
This year, many consumers ordered online to have their devices delivered on launch day. But those who missed opening pre-orders last week have to go to a physical store to get one on the first day. In the United States, at noon Friday, new online orders for iPhone XS are expected to arrive only between October 5 and October 12. Standby times are similar in Hong Kong and Australia, while deliveries take one to two weeks in mainland China.
In Palo Alto, Calif., CEO, Tim Cook, has greeted buyers by wearing the uniform of employees at the Apple Store, as he has done for several years.
On the Apple Store Fifth Avenue in New York, one of the most popular sites in the world, 406 people were aligned before the opening of the iPhone XS, against 821 last year in this store for the iPhone X, according to Gene Munster of Loup Ventures. Last year, 293 people lined up for the iPhone 8.
According to a survey conducted online by Loup Ventures on Friday, 70% of respondents were looking to buy the iPhone XS Max, a model whose price varies between $ 1,099 and $ 1,449. This was surprising because in previous years, about 55% of consumers opted for a larger screen, according to Munster. At the Century City store in Los Angeles, about fifty people were lined up before office hours.
At 8:30 am in London, about 250 people were queuing to enter Apple's flagship store on Regent Street. At least one person started queuing the night before, but most of the people Bloomberg talked to said they had been standing for about an hour.
This year's models include support for dual SIM cards for the first time, a popular feature on Android devices in Asia. This attracted Li Jun, who works for a commercial company in Guangzhou, and went to Hong Kong to buy an iPhone XS for $ 9,899 from Hong Kong.
"The iPhone XS is expensive for me, but I just can not resist the new dual-SIM feature," Li said. "This feature allows me to install a local SIM card when I work at it. abroad, without removing my Chinese SIM card. "
Dual SIM functionality is not as popular in European markets, but a person in London, who asked not to be identified, said the purchase was entirely based on the lure of not carry two phones during international business trips. Another woman in the same lineage, Eli Di Lauro, who lives in the UK's capital city, said the biggest size of the XS Max model was the biggest call for an upgrade.
"I bought the iPhone X last year, but I picked it up the next day and stayed with my iPhone 7 Plus," she said. "When you're used to the bigger size, it's hard to go back to a smaller size."
Waiting times are shorter than last year when the iPhone X went on sale. But those looking for the latest Apple Watch are not so lucky. New orders for many new models of watches will not arrive at the end of October in the United States, while Chinese orders wait three to four weeks. Consumers probably think they will be more likely to take it to a retail store.
This year's demand is not as extreme as the early years of the iPhone, or even last year with the iPhone X. The iPhone XS and the iPhone XS Max have faster processors, improvements from the camera and the Max offers a bigger screen. But none of the improvements are significant unless a user upgrades a much older iPhone.
This year's iPhones are among the most expensive smartphones on the market. In the US, the iPhone XS Max with 512 gigabytes of storage costs $ 1,449. The overall price range is currently between $ 449 and $ 1,449, from $ 349 to $ 1,149 previously.
The focus on pre-orders has led to disappointment for some. Cao Zhongqiang from Shanghai was informed that he could not get a device on the first day without an existing order.
"I was hoping to be able to get in and buy one, but I was told that the offer for on-site purchase was inadequate," Cao said in Hong Kong.
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