# What's the deal with lining up for Apple products? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 19, 2014, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-lining-up-for-apple-products/698931 "2014-09-19T14:45:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Namkcalb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c89c15/32.png) [@Namkcalb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Namkcalb)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2014, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-lining-up-for-apple-products/698931/41 "2014-09-20T21:51:14Z")
> [@qubed](#): > > A lot of the line for this iPhone 6 is for China. Unlike the 5s, China didn’t get first-day release for the iPhone 6. You go to the store, wait awhile, buy two unlocked phones, and then sell them on eBay/friends in China for a hefty mark-up. That’s why there’s little to no lines at the carrier-stores in NYC, but a 6 block line at Apple’s 5th Avenue. I suspect the same thing. The iPhone is a massive status symbol there and there are millions who would pay a premium to have it a few months early. Another issue might be the hype. New androids are released all the time, whereas Apple only has one phone event a year. ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2014, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-lining-up-for-apple-products/698931/42 "2014-09-20T21:58:43Z")
it’s sort of a symbolic kissing Steve’s butt. they feel special then. ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2014, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-lining-up-for-apple-products/698931/43 "2014-09-21T00:45:55Z")
Is the iPhone really that much of a status symbol? It’s one of the most common smartphones out there. Kind of mundane at this point, really. ---
**Author:** ![Namkcalb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c89c15/32.png) [@Namkcalb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Namkcalb)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2014, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-lining-up-for-apple-products/698931/44 "2014-09-21T02:24:24Z")
> [@cmyk](#): > > Is the iPhone really that much of a status symbol? It’s one of the most common smartphones out there. Kind of mundane at this point, really. In China it is ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2014, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-lining-up-for-apple-products/698931/45 "2014-09-21T02:54:03Z")
> [@qubed](#): > > A six minute video on the darkside underlying it: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ef\_BznBwktw](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ef_BznBwktw) Iphone scalping. No big whup, given there is no limit on how many iphones will be produced. If some folks can make a few bucks selling the first iphones to others who don’t want to wait, good for them. Pity the police chose to be assholes about it. ---
**Author:** ![Kevbo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e47774/32.png) [@Kevbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kevbo)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2014, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-lining-up-for-apple-products/698931/46 "2014-09-21T03:03:13Z")
Part of it is that the new phones are released once a year, and are a significant improvement over the previous model. So if you can still live with your old phone, but it is slow since upgrading the iOS, and the battery isn’t holding charge so well, you want a newer model. If the new phones are due out in a few months, then you want to wait for the new model rather than the current one. Because for all it’s issues your old phone still works mostly OK. But there are quite few people thinking the same thing, so there is a lot of pent up demand, so the new phones sell out quickly. So if you are really tired of the old phone, you join the campers in the line. I am not willing to camp, but I have been putting off replacing my 4 (non-S) to see what the newest offering offers. I may become an android user, but I have a few Apps I like on the iPhone. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2014, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-lining-up-for-apple-products/698931/47 "2014-09-21T15:31:53Z")
> [@cmyk](#): > > Is the iPhone really that much of a status symbol? It’s one of the most common smartphones out there. Kind of mundane at this point, really. Exactly. The iPhone is, IIRC, the single most popular smartphone model in the US. Pretending they’re the exclusive domain of tech-savvy geniuses is thinking that’s five years out of date. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2014, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-lining-up-for-apple-products/698931/48 "2014-09-21T15:46:26Z")
I get a new iPhone every two years because I like them and have plenty of disposable income. A couple hundred bucks every two years isn’t that big of a deal. I stayed up an hour or so later than normal and ordered mine a few minutes after they became available. It was on my doorstep a bit after noon on Friday while lots of people were still in line. I get that there’s a black market but that can’t be very many of the people buying them here in Santa Barbara. I don’t understand the all night in line thing either. For some it might be a social party thing I guess but it sounds pretty miserable to me. ---
**Author:** ![GrumpyBunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bc8723/32.png) [@GrumpyBunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrumpyBunny)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2014, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-lining-up-for-apple-products/698931/49 "2014-09-21T15:50:34Z")
> [@Maserschmidt](#): > > :o Hey! I stood in line at midnight to get the last Harry Potter, but then I read until 4AM…I had to know about those damned horcruxes! I did that as well. Worse, my best friend and I went together, with our nephews, and did all the activities with the kids. And I also scheduled paid leave the next day from work so I could finish the book – as did three of my coworkers. But I don’t get the Apple thing at all. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![jabiru](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/bbce88/32.png) [@jabiru](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jabiru)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2014, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-lining-up-for-apple-products/698931/50 "2014-09-21T23:33:13Z")
I’m wanting to upgrade but there’s no way on earth I’d line up for hours overnight to do so. I also didn’t want to order online because of the two new sized phones and wanting to handle them both before deciding. Unfortunately for me, it seems that the first lot of phones which were sent out on Friday will be the last for about ?? four weeks. I’m really not sure why Apple never seems to have enough phones available to sell them to anyone who wants to buy. ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2014, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-lining-up-for-apple-products/698931/51 "2014-09-21T23:44:02Z")
There’s always [Hello Kitty](http://poachedmag.com/2013/08/02/why-we-queue-for-hello-kitties-and-minions/). ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2014, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-lining-up-for-apple-products/698931/52 "2014-09-22T00:39:32Z")
> [@jabiru](#): > > I’m wanting to upgrade but there’s no way on earth I’d line up for hours overnight to do so. I also didn’t want to order online because of the two new sized phones and wanting to handle them both before deciding. That’s reasonable. You can go into your local Apple Store or Carrier Store now and play with their samples. I did that yesterday even though I already had the smaller one. The 6+ actually fit reasonably well in my jeans pocket but was just a touch too large for use with one hand (and I have fairly large hands). I am glad I ended up with the smaller one but only barely so. > [@](#): > > Unfortunately for me, it seems that the first lot of phones which were sent out on Friday will be the last for about ?? four weeks. I’m really not sure why Apple never seems to have enough phones available to sell them to anyone who wants to buy. Lead times aren’t that long for some versions and you can get them at the stores if you show up in the morning in a lot of cases. Volume manufacturing is tough for a product like that. You want to be able to tinker and make changes for as long as you can, especially with the software build. So you walk the line between everything being perfect and shipping some of them later than you would like. This goes all the way down the supply chain. A problem with one part, even if second sourced, mucks everything up. Having them “sell out” adds to the hype but it’s generally not intentional. They also have to have some available for the launches in other countries coming up in a couple weeks. Each new iPhone breaks records and sell a crazy amount more than the previous ones. The new Galaxy S Whatever comes out soon. You’ll see a lot of the same things going on but to a lesser extent. My brother-in-law will have one so we can “fight” about whose is better the next time we get together. ---
**Author:** ![Una\_Persson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/una_persson/32/346_2.png) [@Una\_Persson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Una_Persson)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2014, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-lining-up-for-apple-products/698931/53 "2014-09-22T16:34:18Z")
We had idiots here in KC camped out for a solid week in tents for the opening of a new IKEA store. It’s some sort of sickness, like camping out the day before “Black Friday.” We just walked in this weekend to pick up two iPhone6+'s with 128GB. We could have got one with only 16GB, but the 128GB ones are 5 weeks out. But it didn’t bother me in the least to wait. Meanwhile I saw a man of about 25 almost in tears trying to get his iPhone6+ and going through the 5 stages of grief at not being able to walk out with one. They had LOTS of the low-end iPhone6’s for sale though…it was just that no one in the store wanted them. ---
**Author:** ![Una\_Persson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/una_persson/32/346_2.png) [@Una\_Persson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Una_Persson)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2014, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-lining-up-for-apple-products/698931/54 "2014-09-22T16:36:19Z")
> [@hajario](#): > > That’s reasonable. You can go into your local Apple Store or Carrier Store now and play with their samples. I did that yesterday even though I already had the smaller one. The 6+ actually fit reasonably well in my jeans pocket but was just a touch too large for use with one hand (and I have fairly large hands). I am glad I ended up with the smaller one but only barely so. Right - that was the only reason we went into the store, to try the two out. We have small hands and the iPhone6+ size concerned us, but we found it was actually very holdable. Mine will stay in my purse, so size becomes less relevant than if one keeps it in their pocket. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2014, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-lining-up-for-apple-products/698931/55 "2014-09-22T16:56:56Z")
So **FtGKid2** showed up last night. With a 6. “Why did you get a 6?” we asked. “Because I had a 5.” We … just … don’t … get … it. Also, he’s very tech savvy, but he has never used Siri, etc. ---
**Author:** ![DrumBum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e79b87/32.png) [@DrumBum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrumBum)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2014, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-lining-up-for-apple-products/698931/56 "2014-09-22T17:03:42Z")
> [@MacTech](#): > > I’m also an Apple stockholder 21 shares, started with 2 shares back in '95, the first split doubled that to 4, sold one a couple years back, down to three, the. The 7 for 1 split brought me to my current 21 > > I also have a Mac Only house, an iMac, an iPad, and an iPhone 4S, the iMac 2.5ghz 21" screen replaced an old Mirror Door G4 that was getting on in age (12 years), I tend to run my Apple hardware as long as possible before upgrading, I’m not a mindless Appke cultist/fanboy > > I also don’t get the obsessive need to constantly update to the latest model, run your stuff until it dies, then replace it, my 4s still does everything I need and it’s still running iOS 6.1, no need for a new iPhone yet, this one works just fine for my needs Sounds like me. We have an Apple ecosystem in our house as well but no iPad. I bought 300 shares of Apple in 1984 just prior to Job’s leaving and it has sat in my Schwab account untouched every since. I peer at it periodically and smile. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2014, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-lining-up-for-apple-products/698931/57 "2014-09-22T17:16:34Z")
> [@ftg](#): > > So **FtGKid2** showed up last night. With a 6. “Why did you get a 6?” we asked. > > “Because I had a 5.” > > We … just … don’t … get … it. What’s not to get? He enjoys having new tech. The 6 is far from just a 5 in a prettier package. It has a lot of very nice improvements. Upgrading for a couple hundred bucks every two years is pretty cheap entertainment. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2014, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-lining-up-for-apple-products/698931/58 "2014-09-22T17:18:21Z")
> [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > Exactly. The iPhone is, IIRC, the single most popular smartphone model in the US. Pretending they’re the exclusive domain of tech-savvy geniuses is thinking that’s five years out of date. \ At least in my experience, real professional technical people almost universally have Android phones nowadays. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2014, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-lining-up-for-apple-products/698931/59 "2014-09-22T17:29:38Z")
> [@bump](#): > > \ At least in my experience, real professional technical people almost universally have Android phones nowadays. That depends on the industry. People who do work for companies that have to deal with ITAR issues generally can’t access company servers with Android based phones, only Blackberry or iPhones although that may be starting to change. Androids are non-starters for me so I haven’t even considered them. ---
**Author:** ![Una\_Persson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/una_persson/32/346_2.png) [@Una\_Persson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Una_Persson)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2014, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-lining-up-for-apple-products/698931/60 "2014-09-22T18:24:48Z")
> [@bump](#): > > \ At least in my experience, real professional technical people almost universally have Android phones nowadays. Depends on what you mean by “real professional technical people.” My group at work is made up of about 400 people, almost all of them Professional Engineers, with an average degree level of Master’s, and Apple iPhone use is probably 2/3-3/4 of the entire group. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-lining-up-for-apple-products/698931.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-lining-up-for-apple-products/698931.md?page=4)