Today, thousands of Apple fans are getting ready around the world to see the new iPhone 16 that will be presented at the Apple Event. A lot has happened since the iPhone 4s, the first without Steve Jobs and which absolute madness unleashed in Chinese stores to the point that Apple had to take action on the matter.
Almost 15 years ago, what eventually became one of Apple’s most popular iPhones was already showing signs of success. So much so that Apple was experiencing a situation in China that was completely the opposite of the current situation and that, in the words of its workers, they were forced not to open their stores “for security reasons”. Of course, buyers were very angry.
“We want to buy iPhones!”
The iPhone 4s was presented in October 2011, although at that time Apple was still staggering its launches and it was only launched in a few territories that same month. Chinese users had to wait until January 13, 2012 to be able to have it in their stores. At least officially, since some unauthorized units were sold.
The wait has been long for many consumers and expectations after seeing the iPhone 4 around the world were very high. So much so that Crowds gathered at the doors of major Apple Stores of the country. Quite an achievement, at least considering that Januarys in the country are frequent with temperatures below zero. However, nothing stopped the enthusiastic fans who, as they themselves shouted, “wanted to buy iPhones”.
The fact is, everything was going wrong. The lines to buy an iPhone 4s were so long that Apple first decided delay the opening of the doors and this provoked the anger of the masses. “Open the doors!” It was a widespread cry, reported by various media outlets.
“People want the best from Steve Jobs”
This is what the iPhone 4s looked like
Y between These agitated fans had all sorts of stories. From a user who spent two days traveling by bus to arrive on time to smart entrepreneurs who wanted to buy as many iPhone 4s as possible to resell them on the second-hand market, extremely popular in China and even more so when it comes to original devices that also came from Apple, we remember that it had already gained enormous recognition in the mobile phone sector.
The expression that people want the best of Steve Jobs comes from this last user, who also said that he would resell them with a profit of 500 yuan per unit (about 60 dollars at the time). “These are not fake iPhones,” he said to give value to what he was about to buy. At least that’s what he thought, since in the end he would have no chance.
“It’s unfair”
While it is true that in many cities like Shanghai there have not been too many problems despite the high demand, Beijing has taken the worst. And more specifically the Apple Store Santilun, a store that is still open and located in one of the busiest areas of the Chinese capital.
There were even arrests at the doors of the Apple Store (Image: Reuters)
This is where the largest crowd was recorded and which forced the workers to rethink the opening to the point that the store did not open that day. It’s not that the demand was high because of the queue of people, it’s that they couldn’t even control them because they didn’t have enough security personnel.
This made the crowd even angrierwho demanded justice in front of the media that approached the area. The long wait during the night and the cold temperatures experienced in vain were a compelling reason to complain. It’s not that they were creating problems, but as we have already said, there were so many that Apple employees felt overwhelmed. So they preferred not to open that day.
They eventually opened later and with better organization.
China, who saw you and who sees you with iPhones
SO, China was already the right eye of the iPhone. Or the left eye, if we want to give this other privilege to a United States in which Apple was also a national company. The fact is that sales in China have grown at a frantic and unexpected rate for Apple. And there is no better proof than this overflow experienced during the launch of the iPhone 4s.
Today, whether in China or any other country, these situations no longer exist because of How Apple Now Organizes Its Launches. First of all, with the possibility of reserving products online and selecting collection times, which already avoids many queues. On the other hand, for those who do not book, there are much more organized queues and with additional security measures.
In any case, what is most shocking in this affair is to see to what extent China was still in love with the iPhone. Curious to see how Huawei and other competitors have now eaten Apple’s toast in the high-end, forcing the company to continue its revenue loss in the country for several quarters.
The Imminence The iPhone 16 wants to change things and indeed, some experts predict an improvement thanks to this new series. It is not known if to the point of being the kings of the market again, but at least with a much happier future than the one that had (and still has) the iPhone 15.
Cover image | Brett Jordan on Flickr and Reuters
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