Apple fans line up worldwide as the iPhone 16 officially arrives in stores

Another Apple enthusiast who spoke to BI said he has been attending launch days since 2011, even before the Orchard flagship store opened in 2017. He said he updates his iPhone every year.

He said the crowd on Friday was slightly more muted than it has been in the past. He said he hopes Apple designs a flip phone similar to those being produced by Samsung and Huawei, so he can have an “iPad in his pocket.”

In London, moderate queues began forming outside Apple’s two central stores before they opened at 8 a.m. The queues separated customers waiting for the new Apple Watch and those picking up the new iPhone.

London customers who spoke to BI ranged from die-hard Apple fans eager to get their hands on the latest iPhone, to those just trying to update an essential gadget.

One customer in line for the iPhone 16, who worked in healthcare AI, said he wasn’t excited by the new model or the prospect of Apple Intelligence features.

“I just view it as a phone and email machine,” he said, adding that he was trying to upgrade his four-year-old model. “All the models are pretty much the same to me.”

Much is riding on this launch for Apple. iPhone sales slipped year-on-year in the third quarter, and analysts have said an AI-powered smartphone could be the game changer Apple needs to see revenue bounce back.

However, pre-orders over the past weekend were estimated to be about 13% lower than for the iPhone 15 — primarily due to the slower rollout of AI features as well as competition in China.

Apple has successfully generated hype around its upcoming software, but today could indicate whether it can back it up with initial hardware sales.