SINGAPORE — Jonathan Ng, 47, was the first person in Singapore to get his hands on the latest iPhone 17 Pro Max — two of them in fact — despite only standing in line from 6.45am.
Unlike the 250 or so people who had queued outside the Apple Store in Orchard Road since the wee hours of Sept 19, or even the night before just to try their luck, the human resource professional had placed pre-orders, and got his phones the minute the store’s doors opened at 8am.
When asked why he decided to stand in line despite having pre-ordered the phones, the Singaporean, who calls himself an early riser, said he has been doing this for the last few years and wanted to keep up the trend.
“The biggest improvement for me… will be the camera,” he said.
Walking out the door all smiles, he said he would only get the chance to unbox them this evening, as he had to rush off to work.
Earlier, as 8am approached, iPhone fans outside the Apple Store began cheering, and then counting down the seconds.
And when the clock struck eight and the doors opened, they erupted into applause, ready to get their hands on the latest version of the device.
There were separate queues for customers who had made pre-orders and those who were planning to walk in and try their luck.
The objects of their desire include four new phone models, along with the newest iterations of the Apple Watch and AirPods Pro.
Among the most coveted buys is the new iPhone 17 line-up, which sees a brand new device enter the iPhone pantheon — the wafer-thin iPhone Air.
Measuring just 5.6mm, it is the thinnest phone in the series, with prices starting at $1,599.
The cheapest model is the basic iPhone 17, at $1,299, with storage capacity starting at 256GB — a step up from the last version, which came with 128GB for the basic model.
The smaller iPhone 17 Pro starts at $1,749, while the Pro Max costs at least $1,899. Both these models feature an aluminium body made from a single piece of the metal.
Despite the prices, Vietnamese national Tran Anh Vu was undeterred, joining the walk-in queue at 2am hoping to secure two iPhone 17 Pro Max models — one for himself and the other for his wife.
The 30-year-old, who is here for a business trip, was near the front of the line. He told ST he has been a fan of the iPhone series for the past decade.
Even though he had tried to place a pre-order, both in Vietnam and in Singapore, his attempts were unsuccessful, prompting him to turn up physically.
“I like the new full-body aluminium and the orange colour scheme. I think the design is very nice,” he said.
Standing ahead of everyone else in the walk-in queue was another Vietnamese national, who wanted to be known only as Cao.
With his eyes keeping a close watch on the Apple staff preparing for the store’s opening, the 38-year-old told ST in Vietnamese that he had flown to Singapore specifically to buy the latest iPhone, an event that has become a yearly affair for him.
All the new iPhones have generative artificial intelligence capabilities, but the tech giant did not make any major announcements about new features at the unveiling on Sept 9 at the Apple home base in Cupertino, California.
When ST arrived at Apple’s flagship store at about 10.15pm on Sept 18, there appeared to be little buzz, with only three customers waiting outside.
One of them, healthcare assistant Thin Thin, said that she did not place pre-orders, and hence needed to be physically present to purchase an iPhone 17 Pro Max.
She added that most people had shown up at about 6pm to collect wristbands that indicated they were part of the queue, and then left, presumably to return at a later time.
The wristbands did not guarantee a product purchase, however.
Another customer told ST that Apple staff had recommended those with wristbands to join the queue at about 4am.
The higher-end iPhone 17 Pro models are also getting a facelift. The familiar design seen on the back of the phone since the iPhone 11 Pro and Pro Max were launched in 2019 is no more.
Instead of a camera bump relegated to one side, what you get is a raised plateau spread across the top part of the phone, along with a trio of 48 megapixel lenses — an upgrade from the previous year’s, which had two 48 megapixel ones and a 12 megapixel telephoto lens.
The latest iPhone models come to market amid challenges brewing at home, especially US President Donald Trump’s trade policies and tariff strategy, which have led to a spike in production costs.
Although iPhone prices have remained on an even keel with the models launched in 2024, Apple chief executive Tim Cook in July said Trump’s tariffs cost the company US$800 million (S$1.02 billion) in the last quarter.
This quarter, tariffs are expected to cost it US$1.1 billion.
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This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission required for reproduction.
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