Apple’s iPhone 6 Finally Makes Its Debut in China

This Friday morning, China got what it had been waiting for since a very long time. This delayed arrival of the iPhone 6 in China wasn’t part of the initial plan but some bottlenecks lead to the ultimate impediment for this major Apple market. However, this event wasn’t like all the past releases of Apple products in China; it was comparatively on a lower scale. This could probably be because the hype had already died due to the long wait and the presence of the iPhone 6 for a long time elsewhere.

A line of 100 customers approximately was seen waiting outside the Apple store on Friday morning in Beijing’s upscale Sanlitun shopping district. The store opened its doors to the anxious customers at 8 in the morning and the buyers who had placed their pre orders rushed in to get their hands on the much awaited phone. However this wasn’t the total count of the Apple fans in the capital since the phone went on sale elsewhere too around midnight, mostly in the most prominent offices of the biggest Chinese telecom carriers.

This launch in China has finally come weeks after it originally got launched in the US and elsewhere. The Apple employees were all dressed up in blue t-shirts and jackets and lined up at the entrance of the store to cheerfully welcome the customers. This is something which is seen all over the world at Apple stores whenever a new product comes in the house. An 18 year old college student was at the front of the line and they all cheered “Liu Yi, number one! Liu Yi, number one!” as they welcomed him into the store. As the reporters talked to Mr. Liu about his experience he said “I’m feeling quite emotional.” He said this while beaming with his new iPhone 6 in hand which was still encased in its plastic-wrapped box.

Others in line were equally excited as they got hold of their phones and they all had one common interest in the new Apple iPhone – the larger screen which was a first for Apple. The large size of the screen is considered a very attractive feature of any smartphone in Chinese and other Asian markets. Most of the customers here were more interested in buying the larger iPhone 6 Plus instead of the iPhone 6; a trend which has been seen everywhere else too.

“It’s all about the screen size,” Sun Wei, a 28-year-old employee at a state-owned enterprise, who was queuing with a colleague to pick up their pre-ordered wares. He added, “this time the bigger screen makes it easier to watch movies, browse the Web, and of course, type.”

source: wsj