I like seeing all the sour grapes here. The saltier the people are here, the more successful you know Apple will be. It’s been proven! 
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Thousands of Customers Waiting in Line at Apple Retail Stores for iPhone XS, XS Max and Apple Watch Series 4 as Global Launch Continues
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I hope you own Apple stock.I like seeing all the sour grapes here. The saltier the people are here, the more successful you know Apple will be. It’s been proven!
Exactly this - and if you click on the Channel News Asia link under the picture they have interviews with some of the people. Lots from Vietnam, a guy from India, one person from the Maldives. So yes, not everyone is able to buy online so heading to a store and lining up is a pretty good option. Even when pre-sales for in-store pickup were exhausted, which took a while, Apple stores will always have SOME stock of new products on the first day.
Yes, they all know they could of possibly preordered online or try their luck tomorrow via walk-in but at this point, a decade later, it’s about the experience. No need to diss them, it’s their own form of fun.
It doesn't make it any less sad. Making excuses WHY it's OK to waste large amounts of time doesn't make it any less "sad". That seems to be how people think these days...my time, no matter how I spend it, it's OK. I can sit on the couch and stare at the TV for a month straight because I want to, and that's not a "sad" waste of time/life because it's what I want to do?
I guess nothing is "sad" anymore. It's all "OK".
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Well, you got 6 likes so far, so I'd say for you...yes.
It (standing in line) may make you sad but, since sad is an emotion and activities cannot feel emotions, ‘it’ (standing in line) cannot be sad.
JESUS effin' CHRIST !!!!! Pease STILL camp out for this [overpriced] **** ?!?!?
Man, the only time I waited in line for anything brand spanking new was when Nintendo released their first generation Wii console (which my nieces and nephews have inherited long, long ago)!
I wonder how dedicated these iSheep are if Apple released their phones in the dead off freezing cold winter ?!? Undoubtedly, they'd make a bonfire out of Android packages to keep themselves warm. lol
Man, the only time I waited in line for anything brand spanking new was when Nintendo released their first generation Wii console (which my nieces and nephews have inherited long, long ago)!
I wonder how dedicated these iSheep are if Apple released their phones in the dead off freezing cold winter ?!? Undoubtedly, they'd make a bonfire out of Android packages to keep themselves warm. lol
C'mon. I don't do it any more either but even I have to say the one time I did queue up for an iPhone, it was a lot more fun (and an entirely social event) to be waiting in a line of people eager to buy new Apple gear than it is ever since: just hanging out in the kitchen trying to make sure I don't miss the courier delivery or that the guy doesn't just toss it in the general direction of the porch.
Buying special gear in person is just a more memorable experience, that's all. You trade stories with people about the last time you did something like that, get to talking about what's the oldest gear you can remember queuing up for or going to fetch in person... instead of just pressing a few buttons for a transaction, and later signing for the package or picking it up off the doorstep.
I still remember the day I bought an Apple IIc for a young relative in a midtown shop in NYC and lugged it home on the subway in the rush hour, thinking all the time of how excited he would be when I got upstate here with it for his birthday.
Sure I could have had them ship it, but then I wouldn't have got to see him unbox it and do the same thing as I always did with computing gear, plug it in and boot it with all the wrapping still strewn around on the table and the floor!
This was me before pre-orders. The last I waited in line was when I decided at the last minute to get the new one. The line was no longer fun. It was filled with an organized blackmarket group. I never did it again.
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I totally agree. I remember getting the first (or second) iPhone at the Apple store on 5th Avenue, the flagship NYC store at the time. I was in a line that wrapped around the block, and it was a blast. There was media, people selling fruit, good conversation and shared excitement. Not to mention the feeling when they opened those doors. Yes, we got passer-bys who made rude comments about us waiting for a phone like some on this thread, but whatever.
The experience unfortunately took a bad turn in recent years. The lines now consist largely of an organized group buying bulk, cutting in line in large numbers, harrassing people. I stopped at that point.
Now getting up at 3am EST and landing one of the first delivery orders is a thrill.
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I totally agree. I remember getting the first (or second) iPhone at the Apple store on 5th Avenue, the flagship NYC store at the time. I was in a line that wrapped around the block, and it was a blast. There was media, people selling fruit, good conversation and shared excitement. Not to mention the feeling when they opened those doors. Yes, we got passer-bys who made rude comments about us waiting for a phone like some on this thread, but whatever.
The experience unfortunately took a bad turn in recent years. The lines now consist largely of an organized group buying bulk, cutting in line in large numbers, harrassing people. I stopped at that point.
Now getting up at 3am EST and landing one of the first delivery orders is a thrill.
It’s a depressing sickness in humans that so many of them feel they have to tell the others how to live their lives.
Correction that may happen this year if the traffics have anything to do with it. Apple received a pass this time, however may not the next time around.
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Oh man. It’s been a few years now (6+ maybe?) but I used to love standing in line overnight waiting to get the new iPhones. (Once upon a time I used to do the same for Black Friday deals and when the original wii’s Went on sale). It’s all about the experience. You meet people with common interests, you talk all night, and it’s just a load of fun. It’s an extrovert kind of activity. The last one I got I stayed up all night and then went right to work - ended up being up for about 26 hours straight before sleeping. And I loved every minute of it.
*sidenote - waiting in line at a new Chick Fil A when they open is totally worth it if you like the food. You get the equivalent of 52 free #1 meal coupons to use over the next year. I’ve done 3 of those in my life and the free food for the year is great - and they make a big party out of it with games, activities, chances to win more stuff, etc.
Yes - all this makes me sound crazy, but for people like me who like this kind of thing, it’s great.
[doublepost=1537495156][/doublepost]That all said - the last couple of iPhone upgrades - including this year - I just preordered online. It’s easier and it’s getting harder to pull off those all nighters as I get older.
I do miss that experience though!
*sidenote - waiting in line at a new Chick Fil A when they open is totally worth it if you like the food. You get the equivalent of 52 free #1 meal coupons to use over the next year. I’ve done 3 of those in my life and the free food for the year is great - and they make a big party out of it with games, activities, chances to win more stuff, etc.
Yes - all this makes me sound crazy, but for people like me who like this kind of thing, it’s great.
[doublepost=1537495156][/doublepost]That all said - the last couple of iPhone upgrades - including this year - I just preordered online. It’s easier and it’s getting harder to pull off those all nighters as I get older.
I do miss that experience though!
This.
People stand in lines at fairs and carnivals, for a particular type of food (in Texas, people will stand in line for hours for brisket/ribs that may be gone by the time they get to order) people stand in line for new makeup, for many things
For some reading this... maybe a little less "judgy" and just accept what people do is what they do.
Sure you can think someone is crazy for doing something but then again someone else thinks you are crazy for doing something you do.
Either way, it never matters, don't make what someone else does that they enjoy doing affect you so much. Or try not to, just let a person do whatever the heck it is they want to do. Their time is important and goes by so quickly, so they are simply spending their own personal time doing what it is they personally enjoy to do.
I've camped out many, many times for my iPhones. I'm not this year because my pre-order experience worked out perfectly and I'm scheduled for an in-store pickup at 8:30am in the morning, but I'll be the first to admit I'm going to miss the campout.
I don't know what you guys are buying, but what I buy every year isn't 'a phone'. It's a veritable super-computer, high-end camera/video camera, chat platform, gaming platform, email/messaging device with access to my financials, banking institutions, corporate work services, that can also help me manage my flights, get me directions to anywhere on the planet in an instant, play whatever music I want, show me whatever videos I want, view/share any of the over 110GB of photos I have and even use an AI-enabled neural engine to intelligently find photos containing whatever it is I'm looking for in them. I use it to get help/information on any topic known to man, help me park my vehicle, identify whatever that weird but cool song is I'm hearing on the store's speakers, purchase/order virtually anything I want to buy wherever I happen to be standing, get movie tickets, and discover new artists I never knew about, but end up enjoying tremendously. It helps me manage my calendar, keep my appointments straight, notify me when my puppies need their medicine, and instantly scan receipts I need to turn in for my travel expenses ... which I also use this device for. I also recently used it to measure wifi signal strength around the house to know where to place my new wifi access points, use it to automatically pay for metered parking without having to even find, let alone approach the meter, use it to pay for laundry at the hotels I travel to so I don't need to carry any case, and (through my watch) use it to pay for 80% of the retail things I buy without having to expose my credit card to possible hacked readers. It acts as a calculator for me, as an access point to documents I've stored online, an SSH client, and even as a VNC client in a pinch. It helps me tune my musical instruments, record training sessions to save for later, and capture information on products I see when I'm out and about that I may want to research later for possible use. It tracks my workout information and health data (eg. through my smart scale) so I can monitor trends and stay fit. It's a pocket database of every piece of media I own, helps me practice the foreign language I'm learning, controls my home entertainment system, and even acts as a remote for some of my other devices, and, occasionally, I make a phone call with it.
Oh, and it looks freakin' sweet.
It's easy to trivialize that wonder of modern technology we all use every day, but it stopped being 'just a phone' long, long ago.
As for waiting in line, or camping, people do it because they're excited to get something that helps them do all that stuff, and far more, in better, smoother ways. They do it because camping out with other people that are also excited is fun. There's a shared camaraderie and buzz. I've done it many, many times and, really, it's no different than any other activity where people get together to share an experience that is incidental or tangential to the 'real' reason someone is doing something (think tailgating at ball games). They do it because they can, because they have the flexible schedule and the disposable cash to pick up a premium item they want, the day it comes out, and to share the experience with hundreds of other people that are there to do the same thing.
It's not sad. They're not sad, you shouldn't feel sad for them. It is understandably not something everyone will want to do, and not everyone sees value in engaging in camping/waiting in line for something like an iPhone, but that doesn't make it an activity to denigrate. There are many things other people get excited about that don't excite me at all ... shall I belittle them because their interests are different than mine? Because they spend time or energy or money in the pursuit of something I have no interest in? Of course not. We're all different people with different likes, desires, drives, and motivations ... and that makes the world a cool, quirky place.
Let other people enjoy the things they enjoy without feeling a need to make fun of them for it; you'll be a happier person for it.
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Last thing I waited in line for was GTA 4 at GameStop because my local game stop at the time was probably the best in the nation as far as preorder celebrations and festivities. Do what you want I don’t care but I personally wouldn’t wait in line willingly for something like a phone. I think waiting hours at the dmv, Disneyland, airport , etc have put me in a bad mood for lines.
What about the people the preorder an Apple Watch for in store pickup with an open window. They have to stay in the line?
This customers never heard of the internet and next iphone will cost $2000-3000 than all fanboys will cry about being in debt.
Apologies to the Singaporean souls frying in the heat to make a buck - missed the CRA angle! Do feel sheepish for the quick judgement.Comfortable to order from home - not doing it again this year, another launch day passed over.
You sound like you really care about Apple. You should not.I like seeing all the sour grapes here. The saltier the people are here, the more successful you know Apple will be. It’s been proven!
You just made it look even sadder.