The new AI iPhone is officially available in Apple stores, hitting the shelves in about 60 countries around the world on Friday.
The iPhone 16 is the first phone to usher in Apple’s new era of artificial intelligence. The new Apple Watch Series 10, the updated Apple Watch Ultra 2, and new AirPods models also debuted.
While the iPhone 16 won’t come straight out of the box with Apple Intelligence, it’s one of only two generations of iPhones to be compatible with the software. It is reported that the first AI features will be announced in iOS 18 in October.
However, there has been a lot of excitement about the improvements to the original iPhone 16, which comes in a lot of new colors and continues. two new buttons — Camera Control and Action button.
Pictures in stores
At Singapore’s famous Apple Store in Orchard, a downtown shopping district, the event had all the hallmarks of an Apple product launch: countdowns to opening, long lines outside, and staff greet the first group of customers as they enter.
Lines started at 4 a.m. and were divided into pre-arranged pickups and walk-ins.
The store opened at 8 a.m. When Business Insider visited at 9 a.m., there were about 300 people in line to get to-go orders.
By 9 am, the store was surrounded by sellers who had bought two iPhones – the maximum you can pre-order – and wanted to buy more from those who bought spares.
Many of these sellers went to Singapore from Vietnam and Sri Lanka, where Apple has no official stores, or from India, where Apple has two stores. Some people were carrying between eight and 12 bags of goods and came with suitcases to carry iPhones back home.
BI spoke to a Singaporean couple in their 20s, who said this was their first time attending an Apple launch day. They had pre-ordered the iPhone 16 for themselves and their friends. They kept two phones but sold the rest to customers who approached them on the street.
The Singaporean buyer said he placed each call to the Vietnamese group for a profit of 150 Singapore dollars, or $116, each. He took time off work to pick up his order at 8 am
“There’s not much profit in this, it was fun,” he said.
Stopped outside the Apple store in Singapore 1 hour before the store opened. Shubhangi Goel / Business Insider
An Apple enthusiast who spoke to BI said he has been going to launch dates since 2011, even before the Orchard flagship store opened in 2017. He said he upgrades his iPhone every year.
He said the crowd on Friday was a little quieter than in the past. He said he hopes that Apple will design a phone similar to the ones produced by Samsung and Huawei, so he can have “an iPad in his pocket.”
In London, moderate lines began to form outside two central Apple stores before they opened at 8 am.
Queues outside the Apple store in Covent Garden, central London. Business Insider
At Apple’s Regent Street store, a customer in line at 10 a.m. told BI that the lines were so long at 8 a.m. that he had to abandon his attempt to pick up his new iPhone 16 and come back later.
By 11am, queues had thinned at the store and another one near Covent Garden, with customers streaming into the store within 10 minutes. The Regent Street location was the first Apple store in Europe. was opened in November 2004.
Customers queuing at the Apple store on Regent Street. Business Insider
Buyers in London who spoke to BI ranged from die-hard Apple fans eager to get their hands on the latest iPhone, to those trying to renew the flagship device.
One iPhone 16 customer, who worked in the healthcare AI sector, said he was not impressed with the new model or the prospect of Apple Intelligence features.
“I think of it as a phone and email machine,” he said, adding that he was trying to improve his four-year-old model. “All the models are exactly like me.”
Customers line up outside the Apple store in Covent Garden. Business Insider
Lines of new equipment were also visible in cities including Mumbai and Hangzhou, China.
Apple fans stand on Friday outside a store in Hangzhou, China. NurPhoto/Getty Images
There is a lot going on with this Apple product. iPhone sales fell year-on-year in the third quarter, and analysts said an AI-powered smartphone could be the game changer Apple needs to see revenue return.
However, last week’s orders were estimated to be 13% lower than those of the iPhone 15 – mainly due to the slow introduction of AI components as well as competition in China.
Apple has successfully generated hype around its upcoming software, but today it can show whether it can back it up with first-party sales.