Queues form for iPhone 6S launch despite worsening haze

A crowd of more than 80 people formed a 100 metre-long queue outside Causeway Point Shopping Centre in Woodlands as of 9pm on Thursday (Sep 24), in anticipation of the launch of the iPhone 6S on Friday - despite the worsening haze. 

A group of teenagers in line told Channel NewsAsia that they expected more students to join the queue as all primary and secondary schools will be closed on Friday due to the haze. 


Less than 10 per cent of those in the queue were wearing masks. A check with the Watsons and Guardian outlets in the mall found that both had run out of N95 masks for adults, while the ones for children were selling out fast.

'I JUST REALLY WANT TO GET THE PHONE'

At about 6.30am on Friday morning, more than 17 fans were seen queueing at Marina Bay Sands to buy the iPhone 6S from Singtel, one and a half hours ahead of the launch. 

By 7.20am, the queue had grown to about 60 people.


The first person in line was a 31-year-old in customer service who only wanted to be known as Mr Lee. He told Channel NewsAsia he arrived at about 4.45am. “I heard (the first person in line) last year came at about 5am, so I just decided to try my luck,” he explained, adding that he intends to buy the 128GB edition of the iPhone 6S in rose gold.

When asked why he decided to join the queue despite the deteriorating air quality, he said: “I just really want to get the phone.”

For Ms Charis Ng, it is her sixth time queueing for an iPhone. The 26-year-old operations and administrations executive arrived at about 5.30am, and is second in line. She plans to get a 128GB iPhone 6S in rose gold. “I think it’s better to queue before and get the phone first, than to queue after that when the queue gets longer,” she said.


The third person in line, a 26-year-old in advertising who only wanted to be known as Mr Chua, joined the queue hours ahead of the launch as he would be starting a new job later in the day. “I was afraid the queue would be too long… it’s my first day of work and I don’t want to be too late.”

Mr Chua, who said he has been a fan of Apple phones since buying the iPhone 4S, said he liked the new Live Photo tool – where the phone would shoot an extra few seconds of video and audio when taking a photo.

The iPhone 6S will also be available from Friday in Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, New Zealand, Puerto Rico, the United Kingdom and the United States.