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Other I miss the overnight camping
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You're more likely to look back on the past with rose colored glasses. For many those nights meant sitting outside in the rain and cold, struggling to find a place to go to the bathroom and disposing of trash. I think back to the days of Black Friday camping and at first I thought of how fun it was, until I really remembered how uncomfortable and tired I was.
I'll take pre-ordering and picking up in store at a time of my choosing without having to wait.
I'll take pre-ordering and picking up in store at a time of my choosing without having to wait.
The only time i waited online for Apple was for the original iPad Air. I think I did a pre-order, but they only did in store pickup. It was at the Grand Central store in NYC. It was a giant line that we waited for hours in before the store opened. At least the line was in an underground tunnel indoors.
Semi-related, anyone else miss waking up at 3am to pre-order the iPhone online? I don't. Lol. Though it was more convenient than trying to do it at 8am when I'm trying to get the kid ready for school and me get ready for work. Daddy, make me breakfast. Can't, gotta make sure Mommy gets her white 15 Pro Max!
Semi-related, anyone else miss waking up at 3am to pre-order the iPhone online? I don't. Lol. Though it was more convenient than trying to do it at 8am when I'm trying to get the kid ready for school and me get ready for work. Daddy, make me breakfast. Can't, gotta make sure Mommy gets her white 15 Pro Max!
Those were the days....the last iPhone I camped out for or at least got up at 4am to get in line for was the iPhone X....started pre-ordering after that since the process got a lot better....now launch days don't matter so much for me anymore, if I luck out and snatch one up at the apple stores near me than cool...i have 5 apple stores near me so I'm bound to pick one up quicker than waiting till November
It used to be two Apple stores in my local area in Virginia. One of them was in a mall that got hit hard during the pandemic so surprisingly, the Apple Store in that mall bailed and closed up shop. Now it’s only one in another more popular mall and it stays packed lol.
The funniest thing about camping for iPhones were the reactions of people walking by.
I once had someone yell "NEEEEEEEERDS!!!!" at us campers, and someone in the line yelled back "THANKS FOR THE COMPLIMENT!"
This was back in the day when it was mostly Apple devotees camping and not people just looking to scalp phones. Apple really could put an end to scalping by locking all iPhones purchased in person in the first week to the purchaser's Apple ID for three months. Yeah, it would be harder to buy one as a gift but those people could buy online, and it would give more people a chance to get an iPhone on release day in person.
I may do that this year. Do you drive to each one and join the line? And do you usually get the config you want?
And I'm just the opposite. Sneakers hold zero value for me. I have no interest in doing anything even remotely out of the ordinary to get a pair of Jordans (apologies if that's not a thing anymore). But, for people that are into it, more power to them. It's an exciting time for them and something they'll have fun doing and be happy when they get their thing.
Same thing with a brand new phone. Sure, you can get the new phone a couple months later as the dates get pushed back (e.g., I just checked the 15 Pro Max, 1TB, Natural and the delivery date is now in mid-November). But for people like that me that enjoy having the latest tech to use every hour of every day, it's worth the 'effort' of camping out overnight. (I put 'effort' in air quotes because I always found it a good time in the end, lots of great memories).
I'm glad we live in a world where some people are super motivated by sneakers and build memories around that at the same time that there are people that are super motivated by the latest technology and build memories around that.
Yeah, I never understood the people that would drive/walk by and say things like "get a job!".
How do you think I've got the disposable income to get these flagship phones every year? Not only that, my career affords me the flexibility in my schedule to do things like hang out with fellow people that are similarly excited about getting the new thing. (to be fair, I usually got some work done while in line because, why not)
Welp it looks like I am gonna get nostalgic and camp out at my local mall Apple Store tomorrow evening. Just got word there are two dudes in the mall parking lot as I type this.. flashback of iPhone X launch in 2017.
The excitement ...between being totally mind blown after the Jan. 2007 announcement, then waiting, waiting...and finally launch morning, and waiting in line for this was just amazing!
Still have the original stored back in the original box, the battery however is totally dead.
I agree - they were fun and a shared experience with those who were out there - I enjoyed it. There is a thread done every year here by @TheYayAreaLiving 🎗️ that is the closest to having a digital overnight camping trip - that has sort of replaced that - but it's a good point - thanks for the fun post.
The only time I ever stood in line for a new iPhone was at the iPhone 6 launch. I lasted about 5 minutes before going home and then waited an entire year for the 6s 😅
Still remember the buzz from YouTubers like EverythingApplePro and Snazzy Labs that night. It was an exciting time to be into the scene and probably the last classic iPhone launch with the long overnight lines at stores.
Still remember the buzz from YouTubers like EverythingApplePro and Snazzy Labs that night. It was an exciting time to be into the scene and probably the last classic iPhone launch with the long overnight lines at stores.
I think the iPhone X launch was the last hyped phone that had legit over night campers at Apple stores all over. My cousin was in line in NYC for the iPhone X and he said it was the most fun and insane thing he ever witnessed lol.
True about the X, that was big deal. I just remember the 6s Plus being a different kind of vibe from the 6 Plus, much easier to preorder for launch day and I did just that. Not as much hype just plain fast and reliable and really felt like what the 6 Plus should've been, a solid generation of iPhone that lasted me 6 years.
haha. I did camp once, but similar sentiment — I live on the east coast, and I just said to a friend how I miss waking up at 3AM to preorder the iPhone vs now preorders start at 8AM — waking up deliberately at 3AM made it feel like an event — at 8AM, I’m already up anyway! lol
I miss the 3 a.m. preorders as well, but for the exact opposite reasons.
When they were at 3 a.m., I’d stay up to preorder, then go to bed. Now that they’re at 8 a.m., I have to try to go to bed, wake up and preorder, then try to go back to sleep. I lose a lot of sleep that way.
This year, I couldn’t fall asleep because I knew I had to get up to preorder. I think I only got like 1 hour of sleep before preorder and 2 hours after. I was a mess.
I camped overnight with my dad for the iPhone 3G, my first iPhone. It was a spur of the moment decision. My dad drove past the Apple Store in Pittsburgh on his way home from work and saw the line forming, called me and asked if I wanted come down to get the phone.
I got there somewhere around 11-midnight and was 6th in line. It was a lot of fun. People talking about their weird LG phones or whatever they were replacing (BlackBerry in my case).
I got into the store when they opened and held the white 16 GB model in my hands… And AT&T’s servers crapped out. I could not get the phone. (I don’t remember the exact situation. It may have been the account type we had or something.)
I got the phone 2 weeks later from an AT&T Store. The 3GS was also picked up at an AT&T Store weeks after launch. Preordered the iPhone 4 (which arrived a day early) and every preorder-able iPhone after that.
iPhone 5s was not available for preorder, so I lined up a few hours early at a mall Apple Store at the mall where I worked. That was fun too, but less memorable. By the time they got to me, they only had Space Gray left, which I took… and then was lost/stolen 2 weeks later. I replaced with the Gold, which was what I originally wanted.
Long story short, camping out was a lot of fun, but it didn’t end well for me both times I did it. That being said, I don’t regret doing it, but I wouldn’t do it these days. It probably wouldn’t be the same.
I got there somewhere around 11-midnight and was 6th in line. It was a lot of fun. People talking about their weird LG phones or whatever they were replacing (BlackBerry in my case).
I got into the store when they opened and held the white 16 GB model in my hands… And AT&T’s servers crapped out. I could not get the phone. (I don’t remember the exact situation. It may have been the account type we had or something.)
I got the phone 2 weeks later from an AT&T Store. The 3GS was also picked up at an AT&T Store weeks after launch. Preordered the iPhone 4 (which arrived a day early) and every preorder-able iPhone after that.
iPhone 5s was not available for preorder, so I lined up a few hours early at a mall Apple Store at the mall where I worked. That was fun too, but less memorable. By the time they got to me, they only had Space Gray left, which I took… and then was lost/stolen 2 weeks later. I replaced with the Gold, which was what I originally wanted.
Long story short, camping out was a lot of fun, but it didn’t end well for me both times I did it. That being said, I don’t regret doing it, but I wouldn’t do it these days. It probably wouldn’t be the same.
Well the reason I excused sneakers is that it was very different than a iPhone launch:
1. Sneakers don’t usually restock, so if you don’t get it on release you are paying extra
2. If you were into reselling a busy weekend from Nike meant you could easily triple your money
Camping isn’t my cup of tea bc I’m impatient but it really is around in so many forms. Folks will camp a stage at a music festival for HOURS lol it happens in so many different aspects
They are queueing overnight in Dubai and looks like madness.
www.thenationalnews.com
Thank heavens we have DPD!
iPhone 15 frenzy as hundreds queue at Dubai malls a day before new models go on sale
Shoppers line up for the latest Apple handsets, priced from Dh3,399
Thank heavens we have DPD!
Happens all the time. Their access to apple products is not like us in the USA. Worldwide...apple spoils USA😀They are queueing overnight in Dubai and looks like madness.
iPhone 15 frenzy as hundreds queue at Dubai malls a day before new models go on sale
Shoppers line up for the latest Apple handsets, priced from Dh3,399
Thank heavens we have DPD!