Apple’s 64-bit, 4.7-inch iPhone 6 “has become an incredibly important social status symbol in this part of the world,” Jay McGregor reports for Forbes. “The power of Apple’s brand in Hong Kong is not to be understated. It means that Apple’s insistence on rationing the available handsets feels like a cruel game to see what lengths people will go to to buy one. Lengths I’m currently deeply embedded in.”
“For six days I’ve been trying to buy an iPhone 6 with [Apple’s online reservation] method and I never get past this stage.,” McGregor reports. “Frustrated with my lack of progress I decide to just try and buy an iPhone 6 at the Apple store, in person, and hope I get lucky. As I enter the foyer and ask a clerk if it’s possible to buy one, I try to pretend like a dumb tourist who hasn’t spent the last six days getting up early playing iReserve roulette. The clerk looks at me with utter bemusement. She wears the expression of someone who’s politely greeting a hated acquaintance.”
“As I jump on the subway (MTR) and head back to the apartment, I begin to notice iPhones everywhere,” McGregor reports. “Everyone, every child, every mum, dad and dog has an iPhone 6. This is more than just a popular phone, it’s a cult, a status symbol and a validation of one’s place in life all rolled into one 4.7-inch slab of Appley goodness… Apple products have become synonymous with a particular lifestyle. Everyone wants to look young, wealthy and carefree. Flicking through selfies on the MTR says that – even if it’s far from the truth… In January 2015, the scalpers are still there, outside the Apple store in Causeway Bay, haggling with desperate passers by.”
Much more in the full article here.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “David E.” for the heads up.]