anon_tron
John GruberiPhone 15 Eve, Apple Store Walnut Street, 1am: zero campers, a dozen busy staffers.
Video killed the radio star.
Pre-orders killed the campouts.
Paul McGrane@gruber aw c'mon. I was just at my local Apple Store on Thursday (unrelated to iPhone). I saw the new cases on display (probably they shouldn't have been). And a guy noticed how I knew how to open the drawers.
We talked and he was shocked that I told him every store probably will have hundreds of un-reserved iPhones for sale on Friday! I told him come back in the morning!
Tom Moors
Mike Lechter@lechter @gruber a freight train company is always the first (and only) commercial on PBS NewsHour. They are proud how economical with fuel per mile.
Ocean shipping of iPhones is even better MPG. But imagine a full twenty-foot-equiv container of iPhones washing overboard and then turning up on a beach someday like Garfield telephones‽ 🤑
Aeron@gruber "Presells came and broke your heart, they all paid with their credit cards..."
Adam Bell 
@gruber truly end of an era :/
Arne | CodeNaga@gruber future generations will tell the stories of the nights before the launches, when they had already preordered and waited in camping chairs in front of the stores until those finally opened and then went back home to happily receive their iPhone parcel via postal services.
YJ Soon@gruber Lots of campers here in Singapore, probably because it’s not available in a bunch of surrounding countries. https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/i-queue-i-buy-i-sell-new-iphone-15s-being-sold-online-soon-after-official-launch-here
Mark G. Davis 
@gruber but did not kill the Gruber from taking a stroll.
multigreg@gruber It worked brilliantly in the early years to generate media exposure and a sense of occasion. Nowadays, the premium proposition is an improved iPhone delivered reliably every year with a minimum of fuss.
chris overcash
Dani B. 
@gruber I think phones getting boring killed the campouts
Delric
Timber
Albert Kinng@gruber Good one! 🤣
Nick@gruber I know you’re not a gamer but it’s (mostly) the same with game launches. Lining up for the Halos, GTAs and Zeldas was always a fun experience. It’s undoubtedly more convenient to wait for a digital unlock at midnight but it’s certainly not the same as it was.
RG
Technodad@gruber Phones? Who remembers standing in line for a OS X box release, and getting a t-shirt for being in the first 100 in line.
DHa@gruber People can camp out from home now
Chuck O'Rourke:verified:@gruber Still lines though. I was just at mine. Two lines. One for in-store pick ups and the other to buy. Both reasonable.
I was looking at 15 pro colors. The titanium is a little darker than I would like. I was expecting like raw aluminum.
Thank god for the titanium. I really, didn’t want the stainless steel.
Scott Graham@gruber having a phone delivered is undoubtedly a better and easier experience but a bit of me misses the old days of queuing from the wee hours and the chats and banter with other people waiting. There was a sense of fun and camaraderie.
David Starr@gruber Perhaps we will see a resurgence of camping out in the early years of Apple Vision Pro.
Also, Philly is looking great.
Tony West@gruber frustration is wrong tracking on your order. I spent 3 hours watching my iPhone 15 Pro go firther & further away, until my friendly courier knocked on my garage door & said sign here. He mentioned a lot of incorrect tracking links were sent out.
From opening the box to completely set up; ~40 minutes. Phone to phone transfer over wifi, only my banking app asked to confirm something had changed.
Steve Bennett@gruber part of me misses the campouts. Back when the iPad 2nd or 3rd gen launched I was working at a Starbucks kiosk serving coffee and tea to the people in line. Good memories.
poswald@gruber there were dozens of police outside of Apple’s Omotesando Tokyo store this morning (sept 22nd). I thought maybe someone famous had visited it…
@gruber in the past they put up black curtains to hide preparations.
Also, do you think this downtown Philadelphia store is too small? Most Apple stores in large shopping malls have moved over to much larger spaces. Well also NYC SoHo is pretty small.
Tom Watson
Bobby ❖ PKMNsnaps@gruber I remember working on the visuals team during iPhone 4 eve. A giant line of people camping out, including multiple friends. It was just such a fun atmosphere to go out there and engage with the people camping out! But I think the way it works now is a much better experience all around.
Paul Hudson@gruber Now that stores are open on launch day, it looks like many people (including me) are seeing lines to collect stuff. Not sure what’s changed!
David Anasco
Numeric Citizen@gruber Apple is doomed. Again.
Alex Brooks@gruber huge queue, even for pre-paid pick up, at midday at Covent Garden. I’ve bought a phone at this store for the last five years, busiest I’ve seen.
Dan Palmer@Alexbrooks @gruber same for pickups in Stratford. 30 minute queue just to collect. Nothing like the iPhone 12 a few years ago which was quick and painless.
Esben@gruber I was shocked to see a line outside the Apple Store here in Sydney, Australia 😱
Chancerubbage@gruber I remember my first and only line event, the first iPad release. Fairly certain staff went through line before doors opened confirming planned purchase. There was only one flavor of ipad and I think a limit of one, so the only choice, their checklist for accessories included case (a vinyl sleeve with a flap, gratis?) and if extra charging cables wall warts were needed (it included both, no?)
Was I handed a ticket with my ‘order’?
Chris Coleman@gruber The last phone I bought in-store (and the only one in-store on launch day) was the 8 Plus.
I stopped by around 8 a.m., and they split us into two lines: A very short one for people adding/replacing a phone on a carrier plan, and a long one for people buying unlocked, I believe mostly with cash.
I got the sense that they were mostly going to be sent to other countries.
Ambassador_of_Good_Cheer@gruber - Queue for pre-order pickup at Apple Store Lincoln Park, Chicago at 11:20 am. Easily 100 deep. An employee said it’s been a steady line since 8 am.
Phil@gruber don’t bother making an appointment and going to the store. They are not honoring appointment times. They are putting you one line with everyone. Including people without an appointment. It’s a disaster out here.
Chris Carr@gruber my co-workers wife went to the store here in Grand Rapids and she was the sixth person in line at around 8:00am
'nohup'