The chance to buy a new iPhone and be the first on your block or at your place of work to have one is what drives dozens of Apple fans each year to line up at Apple and AT&T Stores and various other retailers each September. That was the case again in Atlanta this year, but the combination of rain, cooler temperatures and the “off year” iPhone launch found only 20 people lined up before 8 a.m. on Friday, September 25, 2015 at the AT&T Store across from Lenox Mall in Atlanta for a new iPhone 6s or 6s Plus.
“It may not be as big as last year, but for Apple fans this is a big day,” said the AT&T Store manager as he spoke to his associates a few minutes before the store opened.
He also said that his store had about 300 iPhones to see this time around and that should be plenty for the first day demand. The iPhone 6s Plus looked to be the phone of choice for many that were early into the line. No doubt they were looking to secure the larger iPhone this year as last year, those were in short supply.
Daniel Spell, from Atlanta was the first person in line at the Lenox AT&T Store and he said he arrived to get his spot in line at approximately 8:45 p.m. last night. He was looking at a 128GB iPhone 6s and the new features it offers.
“I do this every year,” admitted Spell as he completed the transaction for his new iPhone. “I normally come to this location, but last year I was in New York at the Union Square location. “I think the camera will be better, the build quality has improved and the gestures, I’m sure they will lead to something unique.”
Others in line were basking in the glow of the “rose gold” color option. The rose golf color looks like a metallic dark pink and is a new color Apple is offering. That, along with the new iPhones being more “selfie friendly” as the home screen will light up to improve light for those selfies in dark environments is sure to be some of the popular new features.
Apple has said that pre-orders were similar to last year’s launch of the 6 and 6 Plus, but many think this weekend’s sales totals will break existing records. With more and more iPhone users around the world and more and more two-year contracts expiring, it’s a good bet 12 to 13 iPhones will be sold in the first weekend they are available to the general public. While this will be a big weekend for the iPhone, Apple has more debuts planned for the fall.
Friday may have been “iPhone 6s and 6s Plus Day” but many of the same people waiting in line are also eagerly anticipating having an iPad Pro in their hands. The “Pro” the largest iPad ever opens some new frontiers for iPad and tablet users.
“The iPad Pro has a 12.9 inch display, 5.6m pixels (more than the Retina Macbook!) the display also features a variable refresh rate,” says Josiah Humphrey, Co-CEO of Appster, a developer of iPhone, iPad and Android apps. “The CPU also happens to be 22x faster than the first iPad. For the first time it also has a 4 speaker system. We saw both Microsoft actually come on stage (at the September apple event) and demo their Office suite as well as Adobe demo this iOS version of Photoshop. To me it looks like Apple has decided that even with the decline in tablet sales they are still making a play to offer a tablet that can replace the the user experience and productivity of the PC, clearly demonstrated by the amount of productivity software they demoed after showing the iPad Pro. Prices are $799 (32 GB), $949 (128 GB) and $1079.”
And Humphrey also cautions not to forget about the Apple Watch.
“There have been 10,000 apps launched on the Apple Watch store so far. Apple also partnering with Hermes to create a new leather band for people who want to splurge on a nicer looking Apple watch. There was also a new sports model, and the low-end aluminum watch also now comes in a gold color, as well as some new colored bands.”
If you are iPhone shopping this weekend, bring your patience and your credit card of course, to secure your device. Be flexible as the exact model you may want may not be in stock. If you have your heart set on a particular color or model, you may want to wait a few weeks to make your purchase. Happy iPhone shopping this weekend!