At the UK launch of the iPhone 8, there were more Apple staff than customers
There was the usual clapping, the long-awaited opening of the doors, and weary customers slowly trickling in to get their hands on the latest Apple handset.
But somehow, the atmosphere was subdued, the excitement muffled, the queue underwhelming.
Mashable was outside the Apple flagship store on Regent Street, London, and could count fewer than 30 people queuing before the store opened Friday for the launch of the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus.
Just seven people stood at the front of the queue, while 20 others were lining up round the corner. All around, flocks of photographers, reporters, PR people, security staff, and Apple people.
Once inside, the ratio of customers to photographers/employees was massively in favour of the latter. In the previous years, hundreds of people would huddle outside the store with a new Apple release.
Salam Bin Mohammed, 24, from Stratford, was the lucky first in the queue. He purchased a gold iPhone 8 Plus and a space grey iPhone 8 Plus.
"It's a good phone, the camera quality is nice and the wireless charging is the next level thing in this," Bin Mohammed, who'd been queueing since 10 p.m. yesterday, said.
"I was excited about no more using the plugs but the pretty disappointing thing is the iPhone jack."
The somewhat disappointing reception for the iPhone 8 is attributed to two main factors. First, many of the phones' features -- updated speakers, camera, design -- look incremental for people who already have the iPhone 7.
The real upgrade is the extra-solid, more durable glass back, which allows for wireless charging as Bin Mohammed mentioned. But the curves and styling are pretty much identical.
Secondly, and most importantly, people are understandably more excited about the potentially groundbreaking though pricey iPhone X, which will be released at $999 in November.
The crowds were bigger at the Apple Store in Singapore, according to Mashable reporters there. Sydney, however, faced a similar situation as London.
