It’s the day tech junkies have been waiting for. Thousands of people lined up at Apple stores across Canada and around the world waiting to get their hands on the first iPhone 6 and 6 Plus smartphones released to retailers Friday, September 19, 2014.
“This is basically the grey cup and the super bowl of technology,” said iPhone6 customer Keith Whittier. Whittier came to Apple’s Rideau Centre Ottawa location after reserving both an iPhone 6 and 6 Plus online “a lot of the new functionality that is coming out with these devices are things that fans like us have been waiting for.”
In Ottawa, hundreds of iPhone fans lined up for hours, some camping out for nearly 24-hours, others braving the near freezing temperatures just to be the first to hold the latest in smartphone technology.
“The hype is real. The design is nice. It’s the best phone on the market right now,” Ottawa native Robert Anastasov told CTV as he waited for doors to open.
When Apple finally opened the doors at 8am, there was also some disappointment, confusion and frustration. Overnight campers, even those first in line, were forced to wait even longer. Apple gave priority to customers who had already reserved their phones ahead of time online. But after some tired and angry customers voiced their concerns, Apple quickly solved the problem, letting campers in to buy their phones.
Ke Xu, 19, was over-joyed to be the first in line, “I enjoy being the first to get the new phone,” he said with a huge smile. Still he said his new treasure would stay in the box for a few more hours, “I’m so excited but right now I’m just so tired.” Xu said his priority right now is to go home and get some sleep, “I haven’t slept for two nights.”
Early reviews of the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus were positive, most commenting on the sleek light design and larger 5.5-inch screen on the 6 Plus model, “it’s beautiful,” said Eric Schonbacher, “it’s a lot bigger, it’s thin, it feels great.”
Most people who lined up admitted they don’t need a new phone but want the latest and greatest technology.
“At this point Apple has become somewhat of a cultural phenomenon,” said imore.com tech blogger Simon Sage, “people love these new devices and they’ll do whatever they can to get them.”
The phone was released in just nine markets Friday: the United States, Canada, Britain, France, Germany, Australia, Singapore, Hong Kong and Japan.
A second batch of phones will be released next week.
According to the Apple website, the cost of iPhone 6 starts at $749, and the iPhone 6 Plus starts at $859. Prices increase based on the amount of storage, and go as high as $969 for a 128 GB iPhone 6 and $1,079 for a 128 GB iPhone 6 Plus.
