Apple’s iPhone 5s And iPhone 5c Sell 9M Units Over Opening Weekend

http://techcrunch.com/2013/09/23/apples-iphone-5s-and-iphone-5c-sell-9m-units-over-opening-weekend-topping-5m-for-iphone-5-last-year/

by Pasanpr • 13 years ago

135 162 13 years ago

techcrunch.com

nt591• 13 years ago

When I click this link I automatically download a file called widgets-tweet_button.html.torrent

andyhmltn• 13 years ago

https://gist.github.com/gregclermont/6669056 - It's being worked on. Doesn't look to be malicious at current.

luastoned• 13 years ago

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6430077 - HN post/comments

agumonkey5• 13 years ago

I've seen someone complains about this somewhere, and it happened to me on another website, quite confusing. Thanks for https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6430521 explanation

alecsmart13• 13 years ago

This video sums it all up: http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=oprUI6nupfc

agumonkey5• 13 years ago

I couldn't watch it in one go... this is staged right ?

alecsmart13• 13 years ago

Check this also. It's old but personally knowing fan boys, I know they would act exactly like this- http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=rdIWKytq_q4

chatman• 13 years ago

The glasses on the last guy were seriously cool.

terhechte• 13 years ago

I was in NY for vacation during the opening Friday and decided to head into a queue and line up for the 5s, suspecting that it may sell out quickly while also leveraging the pricing difference between Europe and USA. This was the first time that I lined up for any Apple launch (execept for the yearly WWDC waiting line of course), and it was overall a fun experience, not only because my girlfriend joined me there and we had breakfast while waiting, also, it was sunny.

The 5s has been my first new iPhone since I got an iPhone 4 in 2010 and for me, coming from an older device that didn't even have Siri, I am extremely happy with it. It may be a moot update if you already haven an iPhone 5 (or maybe even a 4s) but to me it feels like an entirely different device (not only because I also updated to iOS7 at the same time, of course).

I really like the finger sensor, as it makes login a lot faster. Of course, there're security issues here, but for me it is just a convenience method, if people are able to break through this sensor, they will also be able to use other methods to gain access to my data. I also look forward to apps that leverage the M7 as I tend to do a fair bit of walking and running and like to see at the end of the day how well I performed. I really like Siri, again, this is my first time having access to it, and I already use it for writing text messages, checking the weather, or creating schedules / appointments. In general, the speed difference between my old iPhone 4 and this one is staggering. This, of course, was to be expected, as the 4 was crazy slow at times, but it still makes me happy.

All in all, for me, the 5s is a great update and I hope that the 'most forward thinking phone yet' comment from Apple is close to the truth, as I again, plan to use it for at least 3-4 years before updating again.

hackula1• 13 years ago

I upgraded from a 4 as well. I could not be happier so far. There were many apps that I had thought were just complete sh that now zoom on the 5s (spotify, g+, and a few others). Finger print reader is surprisingly useful, although a minor feature. Possibly the most noticeable thing for me from the 4 to the 5s is the speaker. I always have podcasts running as I walk around the house and noticed a huge difference in quality and volume. With the 4 I often had to plug in headphones to be able to hear over an AC unit or a my car's engine. The 5s speaker cuts through a lot better.

stesch• 13 years ago

First time Siri user? Tell her "OK, Glass!" ;-)

thechut• 13 years ago

The 5S is my first cell phone. I love being able to make calls from outside of my house and quickly and easily write "text" messages to my friends. I use to have to wait until I was at work or at home to make a phone call, but now I can do it from anywhere! I also love these app things, there is one for everything.

I also can't believe I can just connect to the internet from anywhere, and there are not even any tubes connected to my phone. How is that possible?

coldtea3• 13 years ago

You intend this to be ironic, but a proper perspective would be that:

1) 10 years ago this was way bulkier, far less convenient and more often than not without an intertube connection,

2) 20 years ago this was absolute bare-bones and only for upper middle class and rich people,

3) 30 years ago it was science fiction.

Now, a 20-something would of course take all this for granted. But technology will have some surprises for him down the road too, and he'll learn to put things in perspective when 2030 tech is 100 times more awesome than today's.

joshmlewis• 13 years ago

I'm not so sure why you wait that long, maybe things are different in the UK, but I think this info could be useful to a lot of people. I'll just throw out a scenario I tell everyone when it comes to buying Apple devices that's strictly just financial and not exactly being an Apple 'fanboy.'

Two options here, if you buy a phone on contract for say $200, then you can always sell it in a year, or even two, for around double of what you paid for it. Example, iPhone 5's are going for around $450 in my local market. I just paid $200 a year ago for it on contract. Some people hate contracts and say it's cheaper to not have data or what have you, but like I said this is just this particular scenario if you are on a plan.

Option B, you can buy a device for full price, ie $650 and wait the year or two and sell it for ~$450 but now you have a gap of $200, but you still own the device outright. Sometimes depending on what carrier, you can get an iPhone discount of $100 when not in your contract and that could bring it down to ~$550.

These examples exclude taxes and exclude some abnormalities with the pricing and buying markets such as unlocked > locked phones such as Verizon. Verizon phones don't have the same desire as AT&T phones because of the CDMA vs GSM difference with being able to use it on other prepaid carriers easily and worldwide use.

Anyway, that's my two sense from what I've learned over the years. If you buy a phone on contract and take care of it, you'll still get a great phone and double your money in a year when you go to sell it. That's how the markets have been treating them so far over the years.

Edit: I will say that if you wait too long such as the large jump from 4 to 5S, the resale value on the 4 is now dipped to ~150-200. So to me it makes more sense buying every release or two on contract, and then letting the phone pay for itself.

joosters2• 13 years ago

But you're missing an important point: If you own your phone you can get much cheaper 'SIM only' deals with the mobile carriers, meaning that over your 1-2 year contract, you'll pay far less.

Getting a new phone as part of a 'subsidised' contract is effectively borrowing money to buy a phone. Your loan repayments are the monthly fee. If you have the cash, buying the phone up-front is almost always cheaper.

sidcool• 13 years ago

5S is much more in demand than the 5C. Pretty good, I say.

arrrg• 13 years ago

I’m honestly not too sure about that. Knowing the split between the two would be very interesting.

I would imagine that they can make tons of 5c phones while the 5s may be more problematic. So the balance between the two may be more even than it seems. (Also, I would be really interested whether the 5c or 5s is the more high margin device. I could imagine that at least for now the 5c has a higher margin than the 5s – well, at least the 16GB 5s.)

partyanimal• 13 years ago

Apple's pricier iPhone 5s reportedly outsells more affordable iPhone 5c by wide margin

http://appleinsider.com/articles/13/09/23/iphone-5s-3-times-...

ZeroGravitas5• 13 years ago

It's only really good for Apple if the profit on the more expensive model is greater than the profit on the cheaper one.

All the Apple blogs were talking as if the 5s wasn't really available in large numbers and the plan was to sell lots of cheap-to-make 5c models instead. Which is just one more terrible prediction to chalk up, but it seems they at least thought that would be a good thing before today.

I wouldn't know where to start estimating the profit margins on either phone, but it's worth mentioning since every other discussion about Apple is about how much profit they make, not how many they sell.

qq66• 13 years ago

Of course it is. Counting the price of the phone and service over two years, the S is less than 5% more expensive than the C.

alexfringes• 13 years ago

The article fails to mention that this significantly surpasses the most commonly repeated estimate of 6M (made by Piper Jaffray).

Source: http://news.cnet.com/8301-13579_3-57603553-37/apple-expected...

jusben13692• 13 years ago

Well I read several folks ranging from 5-8 mil. I think even Piper said 7 mil possible. Either way they blew through them all.

jasonlotito• 13 years ago

FTA: Analysts had predicted between 5 and 8 million launch weekend sales across both devices

That is a link to another earlier article on Apple Insider discussing such predictions:

"In fact, Kuo said in a note to investors on Wednesday that Apple will likely ship 6 to 8 million new iPhones over the devices' first weekend of sales. By comparison, Apple racked up 5 million sales when the iPhone 5 debuted last year. Earlier in the day, Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster forecast 5 to 6 million unit sales, a more conservative number based on the prior model's in-store launch sales."

ZeroGravitas5• 13 years ago

Notice that the higher numbers are shipped, not sold.

The iPhone 5S seems to be selling briskly, but how many 5c are still in the channel after 3 days?

akilism• 13 years ago

you'd think no one needed to line up at all seeing how the oversold the most common estimate by 3 million phones.

supercoder2• 13 years ago

9 million sold. 47 were available in gold.

mikeash13• 13 years ago

Realistically, I'd estimate somewhere in the ballpark of 4,000, which is only slightly less absurd than your joke. From what I've heard, Apple stores typically only had ten or so gold units each available on launch day. That's what it was at the store where I was, and I've heard the same from others. Multiply that by the 413 Apple stores worldwide and... that's not very many. Pretty crazy.

joakleaf6• 13 years ago

No, but Apple probably sold most of their phones via their web site and not from retail stores.

Otherwise each retail store would have sold 20000 phones by the reverse of your math.

So 4000 is probably not a very accurate estimate either...

ctdonath3• 13 years ago

Wouldn't be surprised if the bulk of the gold phones are shipped to Oriental countries, where the color is far more popular and sought after with much greater earnest (bordering on social imperative).

crgt• 13 years ago

Perhaps even fewer - there are 5 Apple stores in the Minneapolis area and there was only 1 gold 5s available at each store on launch day.

glhaynes• 13 years ago

Other retail stores (Best Buy, Target, Wal-mart, cell phone stores, etc) got at least some shipments over the weekend, did they not? Perhaps some golds were included in those.

jusben13692• 13 years ago

It goes to show you just how hungry people were for change on the platform. Next up has to be screen size which would result in a similar massive weekend for the 6.

supercoder2• 13 years ago

This was just their minor release cycle, so yeah it will be crazy to think how the 6 will sell.

mikeash13• 13 years ago

I wouldn't be so sure. The 4S sold over four million units on its opening weekend, which is pretty close to the 5's five million, but way more than the 4's 1.7 million.

Personally, I'm deliberately on the "S" upgrade cycle. I started off with a 3GS, then got a 4S, and now have a 5S. I figure I'll let other people deal with the bleeding edge, and I can get the model with all the refinements afterwards. I'd be willing to bet that a lot of other people think the same way. I don't doubt that the 6 will sell really well, probably better than the 5S, but it may not sell vastly better than the 5S.

melvinmt• 13 years ago

And... AAPL is +6.9% pre-market.

ctdonath3• 13 years ago

+20.17 @ 9:59 AM

yalogin2• 13 years ago

Nothing moves the stock like a successful product. I am glad they did not bow to market pressure and announce more dividends or stock buybacks. Stock buybacks are just dead money. They should instead use that money on their business and not to satisfy investors over the short term.

ChikkaChiChi5• 13 years ago

Carl Icahn does not a market represent. Carl Icahn and his Twitter account represent himself (and potentially a growing disconnect with reality since his CompUSA days)

adamlett2• 13 years ago

Stock buybacks are just dead money

That is an oversimplification. Apple has more money than it could possibly hope to reinvest in its core business. When that is the case, and when the stock is undervalued as is the case with Apple, stock buybacks are a great use of a company's cash.

yalogin2• 13 years ago

The point behind stock buyback is simply to assert some confidence in the stock. Which means the market does not have confidence in it in the first place and probably has negative momentum. Most cases I have seen the market is correct. So even if the stock is bought back the increase in the price will be temporary as the negative momentum will surely vaporize the stock increase. It does not help anybody but investors trying to make a profit in the short term. I have not seen a single stock buyback work. I would rather they throw money at anything but this.

coldcode• 13 years ago

Clearly they are going out of business. Not to mention only 200 Million devices running iOS7 so far.

badman_ting3• 13 years ago

Yup, Apple is as doomed as ever. Also their customers are sheeple, they are marketing geniuses (even when I write a blog post painstakingly detailing why their ads are terrible), reality distortion field, disruption, etc etc.

untog4• 13 years ago

Is anyone actually claiming that Apple are going out of business? This kind of reflexive defensiveness doesn't really help anything.

rmrfrmrf2• 13 years ago

Um, excuse me, don't you realize that Android has been installed on approximately 8 million times the number of devices that iOS has been installed on? Think of how many feature phones, Arduinos, and toasters have all of the same capabilities Apple's iterative, piddly phone offering. Probably more features, now that I think about it, since, like, I don't have to jailbreak my toaster to get all of the features I want.

badman_ting3• 13 years ago

It's alright, we all have short memories these days :)

Here ya go: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6431371

venomsnake2• 13 years ago

In the long run we are all dead. And all companies go bankrupt.

Aggregated numbers do not tell the whole story.

If smartphones mature to good enough and people shift to slower upgrade cycles (think 2006-7 in PC terms) then apple will have trouble growing. And in our quarterly reports world growth is what counts. Which is already hard when you have the revenue of a couple of countries. And there are not many people that can afford to pay the apple premiums and are not already paying them.

For me the interesting stuff is what is the breakdown of the sales. If the majority of these 9 millions are iPhone 4/S users that switch it can mean one thing, if 6 of those 9 million units are new customers is another story.

We work in industry where the rise and falls of titans is rapid. I will be equally unsurprised if in 5 years Apple still have amazing performance or they are on the brink of bankruptcy.

Apple have some structural problems that they need to address to stay on top - the lack of Steve Jobs (mostly as a perception thing for the products), the store, how to reach to new users that are poorer and protect the margins and the perception of premium-ness of their brand, deal with the growing share of Android etc. None of them are unsolvable but combined they are a challenge.

swombat6• 13 years ago

In the long run we are all dead. And all companies go bankrupt.

Interesting to ponder which happens first...

Nux2• 13 years ago

There you go, more proof that most people don't give a shit about surveillance, privacy and the lot.

Here it is, the one device that can create the biggest fingerprint database in the world sold 9 million units in a couple of days. NSA must be jubilating.

Very "forward thinking" indeed.

milesskorpen• 13 years ago

As people have written a thousand times so far, the finger print isn't saved off device. Yes, it is saved. But if someone can get your device, they can also get your fingerprint (probably from the screen of the same device).

olleicua• 13 years ago

Since you are making this claim, I'll assume you've read the entire codebase of iOS. Is there anything stopping Apple from sending out an update that uploads the fingerprint?? Is there anything stopping the NSA from requiring Apple to do this?? It's not paranoia anymore.

mikeash13• 13 years ago

Cell phones are basically mobile spy boxes. If you carry a cell phone with you, then the government can record every conversation you have, track your position at all times, and steal every password you enter into the phone.

If you're already OK with that, why would you possibly care about your fingerprint? I don't get it.

geuis• 13 years ago

No, it can't. Why people don't listen to the damn talks given by the people who build these things is beyond me.

It was explicitly said during the announcement that no fingerprint is actually stored. It looks for certain unique ridges and swirls and builds up a hash from that. That hash is the only thing communicated to Apple. No fingerprint data is transfered.

Geee• 13 years ago

You're wrong. Nothing is communicated to Apple, ever. Fingerprint data stays in the secure memory on the A7 and the scanner is the only thing that has access to it. The system is completely closed to the device which contains the TouchID sensor. For example, you can't use your fingerprint to activate a new device.

snom3804• 13 years ago

You missed the part where the fingerprint is stored so it's not even accessible to the OS and are never stored online?

Oh, but I guess the NSA has a back door and will manage to collect them all without anyone noticing, right? Just like they record all the sound from your phone mic and upload it?

I'm all against unlawful spying by the NSA, but give me a break.

logicallee• 13 years ago

You missed the part where the fingerprint is stored so it's not even accessible to the OS and are never stored online?

I guess you missed the past 14 weeks of revelations. Either that or I admire your dedication to believing general company claims in the face of all evidence that this is not the status quo.

Nux2• 13 years ago

I take it you are OK with _lawful_ spying by the NSA?

I do not believe them the fingerprint is not stored.

People claim just a hash is saved, maybe - but what is stopping the gov for example to use the same algorithm and hash their existing fingerprint db?

joakleaf6• 13 years ago

We've seen this for a couple of weeks now... The NSA can collect your finger print from the airport among other places already with technology specifically for this purpose.

How do they benefit from collecting your fingerprint from a phone?

What is it you think they can do with it that they cannot already do?

Tracking cookies from Facebook and Google can do far more to invade on your privacy.

ChikkaChiChi5• 13 years ago

Weird. I just travelled from Minneapolis, to Atlanta, and back again and I'm all but certain I did not actually touch ANYTHING in any airport.

jsz0• 13 years ago

I don't think the weird zealous paranoia does much to change their minds. If anything it might motivate 'normal people' to steer clear of questioning privacy issues.

swombat6• 13 years ago

Apple’s iPhone 5s And iPhone 5c Sell 9M Units Over Opening Weekend, Topping 5M For iPhone 5 Last Year

Not a fair comparison, given that 5S + 5C is two models.

It would be fairer to compare it to the sales of the 5 + 4S last year - which were probably not 9 million, but certainly more than 5 million.

reidmain• 13 years ago

I don't think that comparison would be completely apt. In the eyes of the public the different name and colours will stir up different buying emotions.

swombat6• 13 years ago

Sure, but prices dropping by $100 also stirs up emotions.

I'm not implying that Apple didn't do a great job by moving to the 5S/5C split, just that it'd be fairer and more useful to compare 5S/5C to 5/4S and 4S/4 - if only for the fact that it doesn't leave any room for pedants like me to argue :-)

ZeroGravitas5• 13 years ago

As mentioned on the other thread, pointing to the official announcement, the iPhone 5 launched in China on a different date, so it had 2 million sales on its launch there.

So to get the real comparison you need to add first weekend sales of the 4S in standard launch countries and China to that 7 million figure.

swombat6• 13 years ago

That makes the 9 million figure a whole lot less impressive. From 7+ million to 9 million... but it's not that unthinkable that there could have been 2 million iPhone 4S's sold when the iPhone 5 launched, so that it could even be a step down from the previous year.

YooLi• 13 years ago

This year there are two new models, that is why they are grouped. Last year the iPhone 5 was the only new model released on opening weekend.

baddox2• 13 years ago

It depends what you mean by "fair." One could just as easily argue that it's not fair to compare last year's 5 + 4s sales to this year's 5s + 5c sales, since this the latter is two brand new models.

ksec• 13 years ago

Could Some one tell me how these people game the stock market by releasing news that are um, false or unrealistic.

I mean Analyst and Media, wanting to trash Apple for headlines has become insane.

ChikkaChiChi5• 13 years ago

I wouldn't be so quick to start doing the Apple victory dance. A lot of people waited to upgrade because the iPhone 5 was an iterative device and I have several anecdotal cases where people I knew said they would wait for a 5S.

Apple has painted itself somewhat into a corner now. Similar to Windows Service Packs, people are waiting for the second version of Apple products to get it 'right'.

This isn't to say they got it 'right' THIS time, either. It just is what it is.

rmrfrmrf2• 13 years ago

Every party has a pooper...

k-mcgrady• 13 years ago

> "A lot of people waited to upgrade because the iPhone 5 was an iterative device"

What?? The 'S' is the iterative product. The 5 was a new design and new screen size and overall a much bigger update.

> "people are waiting for the second version of Apple products to get it 'right'."

What was wrong with the 5 that the 5S fixes?

ChikkaChiChi5• 13 years ago

Based on Apple's existing precedent to 'revolutionize' phones to the average consumer, I'd consider all the devices in the 5 generation to be iterative.

jmelloy• 13 years ago

I had this conversation with a friend a few days ago. He was like, "The 5S seems like what the 5 should've been."

When I said something like, "The 5 upgraded the body style, the screen, the processor, and the camera, what's left?" he responded, "Most of that was probably just suppliers saying they'd no longer make certain parts."

He's not a techy, but is a Boeing engineer. I'm not really sure where that attitude comes from, but it's interesting to see what people outside of the tech bubble think.

2arrs2ells• 13 years ago

Sounds like you're saying: "I know a lot of people on the 4S/5S refresh cycle."

As long as these people are buying an iPhone every two years, Apple is delighted.

lawdawg• 13 years ago

We need a country breakdown considering this launch included China (unlike previous launches). That said, I'm assuming 30-40% in China and the rest elsewhere still puts it as a great launch.

ZeroGravitas5• 13 years ago

Including China sales the increase was 29% (7m -> 9m).

33% China would be 50% increase in China (2m -> 3m) and up 20% (5m-6m) elsewhere.

40% China would be a near doubling in China (2->3.6), and up 8% (5m->5.4m) elsewhere

For reference, the smartphone market is growing at about 50% a year, in Q2 Apple's sales numbers rose 20% year-on-year and their share dropped over 3 percentage points year-on-year (16.6% -> 13.1%).

(These launch numbers assume that no-one bought a price-dropped 4S on the launch weekend last year)

bane6• 13 years ago

So I had a few separate experiences with this over the weekend:

1) A friend stood in line for a few hours, got to the front, found out they didn't have the color he wanted and left.

2) A colleague in another company got one and she immediately remarked, "it looks just like Android!".

3) A neighbor returned theirs because they couldn't read all the low contrast stuff on the tiny screen.

4) Another neighbor has kept theirs, but complains all the colors and things are too bright and too loud.

5) Another neighbor went in to buy his, got some time to play with it, decided he didn't like it and went and bought a couple Galaxy S4s for him and his wife instead.

6) Coworker said he like it, thought the control panel and "slide away the background apps" was great. Hated that the slide away the emails is now the wrong way.

bilbo0s• 13 years ago

Wow...

were there really that many people out buying iPhones this weekend?

How does Apple keep doing that?

bane6• 13 years ago

What's more interesting is why do people do that just with Apple phones?

Samsung seems to get their phones out and about without the same kind of theater and is matching Apple sale for sale these days.

It's like people waiting in line to see the latest Star Wars film, but a crappy movie about Blue Forest Indians riding Dragons outsells it.

baddox2• 13 years ago

Looks like around 9 million, if you assume 1 phone per person. One way Apple does it is by having good marketing, but I think the more important way they do it is by having consistently excellent consumer satisfaction ratings for their mobile products.

pinaceae3• 13 years ago

apple is clearly doomed.

panacea3• 13 years ago

1) A friend stood in line for a few hours, got to the front, found out they didn't have the color he wanted and left.

– At the Apple store I was at, Apple staff greeted people entering the queue, asked them what they intended to purchase and gave them a card (reservation)

2) A colleague in another company got one and she immediately remarked, "it looks just like Android!".

– You overheard a conversation in another company? Good ears. Extra credit for "she".

3) A neighbor returned theirs because they couldn't read all the low contrast stuff on the tiny screen.

– "Hey neighbour! I couldn't help noticing you aren't mowing your lawn with a phone?!" "The screen was too tiny neighbourino!"

4) Another neighbor has kept theirs, but complains all the colors and things are too bright and too loud.

– "IT'S TOO LOUD, HOW DO YOU SHUT IT OFF?? I'M BLIND!!!"

5) Another neighbor went in to buy his, got some time to play with it, decided he didn't like it and went and bought a couple Galaxy S4s for him and his wife instead.

– 'Hey Wifey, wanna line up in this 2 hour queue? Dum, de dum [two hours in the queue pass]. Oh hey, we're at the front of the queue! Nah this sucks. Wanna go buy some Samsung Galaxies? YES!'

6) Coworker said he like it, thought the control panel and "slide away the background apps" was great. Hated that the slide away the emails is now the wrong way.

– Your astro-turfing obviously disinterests you, as does your job and it shows dude :[ Quit your job.

bane6• 13 years ago

– At the Apple store I was at, Apple staff greeted people entering the queue, asked them what they intended to purchase and gave them a card (reservation)

Didn't do that at either of the two Apple stores I'm aware of (there are 5 in my area), or the three AT&T stores my friends went to.

– You overheard a conversation in another company? Good ears. Extra credit for "she".

Grownup companies sometimes do things together, not every other company is your competitor.

– "Hey neighbour! I couldn't help noticing you aren't mowing your lawn with a phone?!" "The screen was too tiny neighbourino!"

My neighborhood has a very active community message board and I know many of the member personally from neighborhood events.

– "IT'S TOO LOUD, HOW DO YOU SHUT IT OFF?? I'M BLIND!!!"

Here are the exact quotes

Neighbor 1: "I'm not a fan. Hate what they did to ical. The new icons look like they are for small children (that i can get over). And the bright white is obnoxious. What the hell did they do to safari?? I'm sad ... But im sure i will eventually get used to it. "

Neighbor 2: "I'm not "upgrading" yet. Hate the font."

Neighbor 1: "Everything is bright white and hard for me read...feeling old."

Neighbor 3: "So far I actually like it. The calendar took me a minute to get used to as well. At first I didn't like it until I realized you get a 5 day shot when you turn it on its side. I can't figure out how to do a list view yet - is there one?"

Neighbor 1: "I have light sensitivity issues (Astigmatism in both eyes - and I also have cataracts - God I sound old!) so the bright white is just harsh for me and not having huge contrasting colors is also hard on my eyes. Yep I agree the one swipe to have controls is nice and I do like what they did with the photos."

Neighbor 4: "Steve Jobs is probably rolling over in his grave right now..."

Neighbor 5: "I downloaded on my iPhone the other night, not a fan. But I downloaded on my iPad earlier today, and I don't mind it at all. But it is way too bright."

Neighbor 1: "Thank you for saying its too bright ... I was beginning to wonder if it was me."

– 'Hey Wifey, wanna line up in this 2 hour queue? Dum, de dum [two hours in the queue pass]. Oh hey, we're at the front of the queue! Nah this sucks. Wanna go buy some Samsung Galaxies? YES!'

Talked to him in person (he's next door). And that was pretty much the conversation.

– Your astro-turfing obviously disinterests you, as does your job and it shows dude :[ Quit your job.

What does my job have to do with this?

quarterto• 13 years ago

Wow do I wish I could downvote this more times. Stop being a douche.

yapcguy• 13 years ago

7) Reseller gets homeless people to queue up overnight at the Apple Store in Pasadena, California. Apple refuses to honor the homeless people queuing, so then the reseller refuses to pay them, resulting in fights and arrests.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=azK1h9Y38bo

vor_• 13 years ago

Remember all the naysaying? One story on HN claimed Apple had a "Windows 95 problem". Yet it seems that every time Apple reveals a product that tech blogs are disappointed with, it goes on to set sales records.

kunai2• 13 years ago

First of all, this is an international phone. Second. there are TWO phones. It's likely that sales figures are very similar to last year's marked-down 4S and 5 sales combined, but if you count the delayed international launch last year and combine the sales after all markets were opened to the net sales this year, there's likely little to no difference.

badman_ting3• 13 years ago

I agree, Apple is doomed.

pinaceae3• 13 years ago

most frustratingly this is another datapoint that won't matter much in the current slew of punditry aimed at talking Apple down.

just go back to the HN post of the 5s launch event and it's full of doomsayers.

seems like apple is going against the very fabric that unites neckbeards around the world - and is crazy successful. just like carmakers that stopped catering to the tinkerers. here's to the crazy ones.

next week? we'll return to the usual apple is doomed because innovation and open blabla.

pinaceae3• 13 years ago

and to illustrate my point, HN post, a mere 12 days ago:

Apple's Windows 95 problem. http://blog.raavel.com/2013/09/11/apple-problem/

"Apple recently unveiled its new iPhone 5s and 5c models, to a collective “meh”. The stock sold off and is poised to continue moving lower. The market is telling Apple that it is not innovative enough and that its need to do much more, and within that lies the crux of Apple’s problem."

But yeah, a lot of comments, falling over each other in their collective agreement. will that same random blog now turn 180 and consider it's failure?

erichocean• 13 years ago

Will that same random blog now turn 180 and consider it's failure?

No.

(Queue a half dozen responses about how Apple actually has failed by selling more phones than both Nokia and Blackberry last quarter in a single weekend. Sometimes, I think people who think Apple is a failure are actually it's biggest supporters, because really, who but those most invested in the company's success are pushing for it to do better? You'd only call them a failure if you thought they could do better, right? So...tell me who the Apple fanboys are, again?)

znowi• 13 years ago

This is the glorious triumph of consumerism. Steve Jobs would be proud.

kunai2• 13 years ago

It would be wise to post the official Apple press release: http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2013/09/23First-Weekend-iPho...

Apple’s iPhone 5s And iPhone 5c Sell 9M Units Over Opening Weekend

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