iPhone 16 series launch: Long lines at multiple stores

The Apple iPhone 16, 16 Pro, and 16 Pro Max series, which were announced and available for pre-order last week, officially went on sale this morning (Sept. 20).

As with every new iPhone release, both regular customers and resellers flocked to be among the first to purchase the devices. Long queues formed early in the morning at several Apple Stores across the city, with bustling crowds inside the stores.

Before 8 a.m., nearly a hundred customers were already lined up outside the Hysan Apple Store in Causeway Bay, though there were no signs of the usual bulk-buyers. Mr. Liu, who was first in line, arrived at 4:30 a.m. and has been pre-ordering new models for four consecutive years. He ordered a single black iPhone 16 Pro with 256GB, stating it was for personal use.

At the Apple Store on Canton Road in Tsim Sha Tsui, between 50 to 60 people were in line early to pick up their pre-ordered phones, and an additional 20 to 30 were waiting to buy on the spot. The queue at this location was longer than in previous years, with the line persisting until 8:43 a.m.

The first buyer, Mr. Lin, traveled from Shenzhen via high-speed train to purchase his device. He arrived at the Canton Road Apple Store at 7:10 a.m. and chose a black iPhone 16 Pro Max with 256GB, mentioning he liked all the colors but preferred black due to the urgency of the order.

This year, the starting price of the iPhone 16 in Hong Kong is HKD$6,899, with the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max starting at HKD$8,599 and HKD$10,199 respectively, prices similar to last year's iPhone 15 series. There is significant interest in resale values, with resellers primarily targeting the Desert Gold color of the iPhone 16 Pro Max, offering a premium of up to HKD$2,500 over the original price for the 256GB and 512GB models.

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