Apple's launch of iPhone 6 in China is no big deal, unlike previous launches
Queues but no chaos at Apple smartphone launch, in contrast to past, though new iPads released next week may prompt more passion
Apple's new iPhones hit the stores on the mainland yesterday without the hurly-burly typical of its product launches in the past, as the tech giant started accepting pre-orders for its new iPads in 32 markets including Hong Kong and the mainland.
In 2012, Apple had to halt the release of the iPhone 4S after a near-riot outside a shop as some people who had waited overnight were unable to obtain the device. There was no such chaos yesterday as the iPhone 6 and the 6 Plus were launched through the three nationwide telecommunications network operators - China Mobile, China Unicom and China Telecom - and other sellers.
Apple staff in Beijing's Sanlitun shopping district clapped and congratulated about 100 customers as they entered the shop, which opened two hours early at 8am, for those who pre-ordered.
Bank receptionist Jin Mengxue was among the first customers for an iPhone 6 Plus.
"Local brands have become quite popular lately, but to me Apple is still the best. Now that it's bigger, lighter, curvier, I can't choose anything else," she said before rushing off to work.
The mainland launch came four weeks after the devices' global debut. Some mainland Chinese consumers have paid black-market vendors premium prices for the phones, brought in from places including Hong Kong.
Elsewhere on the mainland, long queues formed outside network carriers' shops before midnight in Xianyang , Shaanxi province , and Taiyuan , Shanxi province , the People's Daily said. Pictures showed hundreds of people waiting outside several shops. In Shanghai, a tailor at a China Unicom shop adjusted trouser pockets to fit the iPhone 6 Plus.