U.S. Apple Stores Opening at 8 a.m. for iPhone 4S Launch

[MacRumors]

U.S. Apple Stores are pulling overnight shifts to put up new displays and promo materials for the iPhone 4S launch. @ifostore is standing in line and shot the above photo where the staff is exchanging old iPhone 4 models with the new iPhone 4S.

Meanwhile, other parts of the world have already seen the iPhone 4S launch, and to massive crowds. Smh.com.au has a running update of the launch in Australia. Even 4 hours after the launch, the line to the Sydney store was described as "appalling" going half way down King Street.




The Japanese launch was hampered by registration slowdowns from Softbank, according to the Wall Street Journal:

The launch of the iPhone 4S in Japan was interrupted when Softbank - the main service provider for Apple products in the country--suffered a server glitch that temporarily suspended sales nationwide. A company spokesman said the servers were unable to process registration information.

Analysts are predicting weekend sales to top that of the iPhone 4 which sold 1.7 million units its opening weekend. Estimates range from 2 million to as high as 4 million.

@NikkorNoct at Covent Garden, UK​

In the U.S., Apple Stores will be opening at 8 a.m. local time to launch the iPhone 4S. Additionally, Verizon, AT&T, and Sprint stores will also be stocking the new device, but those retailers tend to get fewer units per store than Apple's stores. Gizmodo also notes that Radio Shack, Best Buy, Target and Sam's Club may have units, but your mileage may vary.

MacRumors forum members have been organizing meetups for the iPhone 4S launch in our dedicated forum.

Article Link: U.S. Apple Stores Opening at 8 a.m. for iPhone 4S Launch

 

[markthrash]

Wow the lines are sounding crazy. Good luck, fellow campers!

 

[macosxuser01]

Damn it looks crazy. Anybody waiting in line?

 

[chairguru22]

i hope there will be enough somewhere to be able to pick one up. I won't be able to get out there until noonish...

 

[deannnnn]

So glad I ordered online.

 

[MacOG728893]

Damn it looks crazy. Anybody waiting in line?

I'm waiting in line at the Irvine Spectrum in California. I have about 8 people in front of me and I got here at 7pm. It is now 12:15am and there are many many people waiting behind me with tents, tv's and xBox 360's, yes I said an xBox!

I am having a great time doing Philosophy homework and talking to fellow Apple fans!

 

[koobcamuk]

It is a shame it is locked here in Japan

 

[BillyBobBongo]

All those people who don't own credit cards or have access to the internet!? What sad times we live in.

 

[MacOG728893]

All those people who don't own credit cards or have access to the internet!? What sad times we live in.

No, some of us are just young and like the experience. We don't all have to put on a tie and be at work at 9am. You only live once, so why no just live it up?

 

[mickbab]

I'd love to go and be first in line one day for a launch, not to be the first to buy the new device, but just to go in and look around the store. Confuse everyone!

 

[markthrash]

I'd love to go and be first in line one day for a launch, not to be the first to buy the new device, but just to go in and look around the store. Confuse everyone!

"What a lovely day to window shop at The Apple Store. Geez, it's crowded. I wonder why..."

 

[dseig001]

I wonder how many of those Occupy Wall street hipsters are lining up.

Obviously the group claiming to be the lower 99% isn't doing THAT bad.

 

[MyRomeo]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; CPU iPhone OS 5_0 like Mac OS X) AppleWebKit/534.46 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.1 Mobile/9A334 Safari/7534.48.3)

Enjoy ya waiting... Your all mental!

*jealous* iPhone 4 owner...

 

[cedunn21]

I'd so wait in line if there was an apple store close by.... Didn't feel like driving 2 hours ... Luckily I preordered!

 

[mickbab]

You just have to live in the right places!

Here in Australia we phoned our local Optus (mobile provider) store, not expecting them to have any left (last year we had to line up before opening and they had very limited stock) and we could get any size and colour we wanted! The joys of non-city areas. That said, I would love to get along to one of the big launches one day, just for the fun of it.

 

[Andronicus]

LET THE MADNESS BEGIN!!!


Luckily I preordered mine and will have it delivered to my doorstep.

 

[wackymacky]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_2_1 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/533.17.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.0.2 Mobile/8C148 Safari/6533.18.5)

For all the criticism (some justified) about the 2011 iPhone just being an "s" it is going to sell like mad.

 

[LaazyEye]

Do they have separate "iphone only" lines? Or does everybody who wants to shop Apple have to wait in line (the poor souls who want an accessory)?

 

[Slurpy2k8]

4 million in one ****ing weekend? That would be absolutely insane. It wasn't long ago that 1 million was record-breaking.

 

[FredV]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; CPU iPhone OS 5_0 like Mac OS X) AppleWebKit/534.46 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.1 Mobile/9A334 Safari/7534.48.3)

Considering the external hardware is the same, I'm thinking they were and have been able to pump these out of the factory like hot cakes, and thus they'll meet demand quite better than previous models, I didn't pre-order, but with targets, at&t's, radioshacks, even a Sam's clubs in my area, and it's a smaller town, I think I might have a chance at getting one today.

 

[Madhawk]

Great, the waiting has ended.

 

[ThetaSigma]

Wow it looks like theres LOOADS of people at Covent Store in London

I hope everyone who lines up gets one!

Getting mines delivered

 

[Finiksa]

The Australian lines are probably that long because the pre-orders for Australia shipped late and probably won't arrive till mid next week.

EDIT: If you're in Australia and your order hasn't arrived try emailing Tim Cook, there's a good chance they'll compensate you with a $50 online store coupon.

 

[macosxuser01]

I'm waiting in line at the Irvine Spectrum in California. I have about 8 people in front of me and I got here at 7pm. It is now 12:15am and there are many many people waiting behind me with tents, tv's and xBox 360's, yes I said an xBox!

I am having a great time doing Philosophy homework and talking to fellow Apple fans!

I've never camp out to Apple product opening before but I did camp out to Star Wars episode II when I was 16 lol. It was a fun experience. I remember there were people dress up as Jedi's and people having lightsaber fights. One of these days I have to do it again because I'm getting too old

BTW,
I bet everybody in line either has one of the following:
1. An iPod (any kind)
2. An iPhone
3. An iPad
4. A MacBook (Pro or Air)

 

[fxscreamer]

1 MONTH BEFORE NEW IPHONE LAUNCH

Week 1: Oh man, what a letdown. Apple totally failed. I'm getting Android.

Week 2: It's still a good phone, but totally not worth it to upgrade.

Week 3: Hmmm, I'm thinking about it, but man that 64GB is expensive!

Week 4: Been waiting in line in front of store for 3 weeks! CAN'T WAIT!