Lines of people wait to get in the Apple store on Fifth Avenue on Friday in New York City to purchase the new iPhone 6.

Reuters/New York/San Franciscoother cities around the world in the latest sign of stro

 

 

Apple Inc’s latest phone lured throngs of gadget lovers, entrepreneurs and early adopters to its stores in New York, San Francisco and other cities around the world in the latest sign of strong initial demand for the new, larger generation of iPhones.

Even the night before the phones’ Friday debut, nearly 70 people were waiting in line in front of the Apple store in downtown San Francisco. Some eager to get their hands on the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, which feature larger screens and longer battery life, had been there since the night before.

At the Apple store on Fifth Avenue in New York, the line of would-be buyers stretched for more than 10 blocks. Apple employees led them in a New Year’s Eve-style countdown to herald the store’s opening at 8am EDT (1200 GMT) and high-fived customers as they entered the glass cube leading to the underground store.

In Atlanta, police were called in before 5:30am to assist with crowd control at one mall location because of worries about trampling, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.

While it has become customary for swarms of people to greet Apple product introductions, Friday’s long lines were still a sign of healthy demand for the new models. The phones drew more than 4mn preorder requests in the first 24 hours on Sept. 12, more than double the 2mn for iPhone 5s in the same period two years ago.

The enthusiastic crowds gathered despite signs that Apple’s legendary “cool factor” may be dimming with some consumers, according to a recent Reuters/Ipsos poll.

Sales predictions from investors tend to be optimistic. Apple watchers tracking the early sales of the new iPhones note that the precise number of units sold in the first weekend will depend on the strength of the supply chain. A Friday report from Barclays cited the long lines outside stores as a positive sign for demand, suggesting that combined first-weekend sales for the new phones could rise as high as 11mn units.

Despite the high demand, sales could be choked by a limited number of iPhone 6 Pluses available immediately. A T-Mobile US Inc spokeswoman said that demand for the new phones was “tremendous,” but the larger model would not be available yet.

Paul Terrebonne, a 26-year-old cook who had preordered his space-grey iPhone 6, said the size of the new devices had been enough to lure him back to Apple from his previous phone, a Motorola Moto X.

“It’s all about screen size, plus I missed the iPhone’s camera,” he said, adding that he had shunned the iPhone 6 Plus because it was “a bit too big.”

The launch attracted buyers from farther afield. Flavio Gondim, a 40-year-old Brazilian public sector employee, said he was buying an iPhone 6 in New York because “back home these are, maybe, 50% more expensive.”

It remains to be seen whether the renewed iPhone mania will extend to Apple’s other big product introduction, the Apple Watch, which will not be available until early next year.

 

 

 

 

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