KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 20 — Happy iPhone Day! For the first time Malaysians will be receiving their iPhones on the same day as the US and Singapore but the Apple Store at TRX The Exchange is open the earliest in the region, 8am, for customers to collect their preorders.
At around 6.50am, a small crowd of around 60-70 people were already in line at the cordoned off areas but by 7.30am the numbers had swelled by three times.
Excitement is catching
While waiting for the doors to open, I chatted with Reymey, who had come with a friend who had preordered the phone earlier.
She was hoping that there was stock available to get the new iPhone 16 Pro Max in black with 1TB storage, which I found an interesting choice as most people were more excited about the new colour.
Reymey laughed and said her accessories were usually colourful so a more sedate black would probably be more appropriate.
She said that she was wowed by the atmosphere and just how excited fans were to the point she too could feel that excitement.
@ernamh Apple iPhone Day at TRX #apple #iphone16pro #iphone #iphoneday
Taste - Sabrina Carpenter
Vietnam takes the first... orders
When the preorders opened on September 13, Vietnamese Apple fan Hung was determined to get his order in.
He arrived at 2am in the morning despite not even needing to queue as his unit was already guaranteed.
When asked how his experience was queuing overnight, he had only one word to describe it: tiring.
According to Hung he has been a faithful Apple user for over 10 years.
However, both Hung and a male friend who accompanied him both empathically said that what attracted them most to the latest iPhone range was the colours with Hung having his heart set on the iPhone 16 Pro Max in Desert Titanium.
Apple had also created a separate queue for walk-ins, mainly for people who were hoping to get the phone in person without making a preorder beforehand.
A risky move as days before the official launch most iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max units were no longer available for pickup onsite on the first day (according to the Apple Store Malaysia website).
Still hope springs eternal, and another Vietnamese Tran Tien was hoping he could be lucky enough to score an iPhone 16 Pro Max model in, yes, Desert Titanium.
In case you are unaware, the Desert Titanium is the newest colour of the iPhone 16 Pro range, with a very light gold beige colour on the back but a stronger bronze tone along the polished metal sides.
While I personally find the shade a little too similar to gold iPhone models of years past, my interview subjects disagreed with me as they were all too excited to be able to pose with my iPhone 16 Pro Max review unit.
You had to be there
People often liken Apple’s following to a cult — if you were there today, yes, you would probably realise that there are practices you could jokingly refer to as rituals.
“Here they come!” Someone shouted from behind me and I turned to see Apple Store employees dressed in their retail uniforms trooping single file down the stairs.
Then the doors opened, an employee came out brandishing the new iPhone (cue: that Lion King theme) and then a countdown started with Apple’s retail staffers shouting “5, 4, 3, 2, 1”.
Customers were then ushered in as though they were VIP guests with employees all lining up clapping and cheering as they walked in.
To outsiders it is probably surreal and almost cartoonish.
Yet it is probably the kind of retail experience few will get in their lifetimes and the closest some will have to being ushered into a luxury store as a VVIP.
Malaysia’s first iPhone Day, I can report, was a success. Now, will the excitement translate into sales numbers? We’ll just have to see.
