Advertisement
Advertisement
Apple
Get more with myNEWS
A personalised news feed of stories that matter to you
Learn more
There was disappointment among reporters at Apple's Beijing event. Photo: SCMP/Simon Song

Chaotic scenes at Apple’s first China event – but press are shown replay of US launch

Apple

A media scrum at Apple’s first ever event in China caused chaos on Wednesday – but high expectations were dashed as reporters were shown taped video footage of the US iPhone launch that had taken place hours before.

The new iPhone release in China drew not only reporters from local media outlets but newspapers from many cities such as Qingdao.

The tech giant had earlier unveiled two new iPhones at its Silicon Valley headquarters, fielding a slick new top-end model along with one Apple claims is aimed at budget-conscious smartphone shoppers around the world.

In the dark: Chinese reporters are shown a replay of the US Apple launch. Photo: SCMP/Simon Song
But more than hour after at least 80 reporters took their seats, the footage was still playing.

China will be one of the first countries to have access to Apple’s latest iPhone models, the premium 5S with unique fingerprint identification and the cheaper, multi-coloured 5C.

Apple will start selling the two new iPhone models on September 20, with pre-orders commencing on Friday.

The annual unveiling of Apple’s new iPhones came as the world’s most valuable company tries to regain some of the market share that it has lost during the past two years to Samsung Electronics and other smartphone makers who rely on Google Inc.’s free Android operating system.

Many of those devices cost less than the iPhone and boast features, such as larger screens, missing from Apple’s best-selling product. That has made Android phones an attractive alternative to budget-conscious consumers who still want to impress their friends.

Post