Apple fever is back, as hordes of customers descended on stores islandwide for the launch of the tech giant's latest iPhone 11 series yesterday.
First in the queue at Apple's Orchard Road flagship store when doors opened at 8am was Mr Julian Cho, 39.
Having pre-ordered his midnight green 64GB iPhone 11 Pro, Mr Cho was able to arrive at about 7am and still claim his place at the head of the queue. Several hundred people had started queueing on Thursday night.
"I actually ordered four identical sets. The other three are still being shipped over, but I wanted to collect one at the store itself so I could be the first to get my hands on the new iPhone," said Mr Cho, who works in real estate.
The phone he collected is for himself, and he plans to give the other three to his wife and two brothers.
He added that he upgrades his iPhone every year with the roll-out of each new generation, to the point where new features are no longer the most important consideration.
"But if I had to choose, I would say I'm most looking forward to trying out the upgraded camera system," he said.
First out of the store was Malaysian student Aidid Haiqal, 17, who emerged with a 512GB space grey iPhone 11 Pro Max and a 128GB black iPhone 11. "I'm really excited and happy after coming all the way to Singapore," said Aidid, who travelled from Kuala Lumpur just for the new phones.
He pre-ordered the phones and joined the queue at around 6am.
The iPhone 11 series comprises the 6.1-inch iPhone 11, 5.8-inch 11 Pro and 6.5-inch 11 Pro Max. Prices for the three models start from $1,149, $1,649 and $1,799 respectively. The primary difference between the iPhone 11 and 11 Pro models is that the Pro models use a more dynamic Oled display, while the iPhone 11 uses an LCD display.
Compared with the previous generation's iPhone X models, the new models boast an additional ultra wide-angle rear camera.
The telcos here also got in on the act, with Singtel holding its launch event at Marina Bay Sands, StarHub chauffeuring four loyal customers to its Plaza Singapura store, and M1 handing out hampers to the first customers who bought each of the three models at its Paragon outlet.
Electronics retailer Courts opened its Tampines and Orchard stores at 8am for the iPhone launch, two hours ahead of usual opening hours.
Courts staff at its Orchard store handed out coffee, mineral water and face masks to customers standing in line.
Mr Bobby Duong, 35, who was first in line, had been queueing for more than 20 hours since about noon on Thursday.
Travelling from Vietnam to Singapore to get the latest iPhone has become something of a ritual for Mr Duong, who was purchasing the iPhone 11 Pro Max for his wife.
"This is my fifth time at Courts for a new iPhone launch, and I like that the store opened early so I can get the phone earlier," he said.
