Tourist Unhappiness Arising From New Rules As To Launching iPhones In UAE
Crowd control measures have been set up inside the Apple stores, as staff says walkins will not be entertained this year
New forms of iPhones, alongside all the other variances and new Apple products that were unveiled for the first time, will be available for sale tomorrow, VIII September 2020, including all UAE stores.
Not luckily for those who have time shifts and thus those demographic group stand the least chance of winning as the people who normally queue earnestly from the night before for the much-awaited launch, this time around, were bewildered with the new arrangement as many of them remained at the store refusing to form up a queue.
It had become customary to see Apple Stores at Dubai Mall and Mall of the Emirates packed with tourists in the lead up to the launch. Customers would camp outside the Apple Store for hours or even days in advance to be one of the first ones to buy the device.
This year in terms of capturing and controlling the crowd, it was not normal to see the outside and round of the apple store in dubai mall crowded as it had been seen in the previous years. Barriers were set up, Security also moved around to scatter people and remove them from the area of the shop unless there was an intention to buy items that were already inside the store.
Bouncers and door guards, as well as in-store guards are situated at the entrance of the shop restricting the entry to the shop only to those who need help with juicing the products at hand. Others who are apparently inquiring about the availability of the Apple iPhone 16 available are certainly educated by the staff on the release tomorrow for that is the date.
Contrarily, as is the case with now apparent policies, there will be no walk-ins at the Apple stores in the UAE for this year. Customers who were able to book their iPhones online on the 13th September were also allocated a time to be in their preferred store for pick up.
Wells will, however, still be in place as customers will also be using the stores to buy non-reserved items that will include iPhones after some time.
In the Mall of Dubai as well as other malls, a notice from the Apple staff states that there will be a restriction on the entrance to the first floor of the Apple store where all new iPhones will be on display, for iPhone reservation holders only.
Ali was among about 50 persons who touched down this morning from India, particularly to shop for the iPhone 16. He was outside the Apple store trying to identify the situation on the ground.
This is because he thought people were going to be queuing outside the store as they did last year. ”A lot of us have booked for the iphone, and very few i think we're going to be in the walk in traffic ,” he said. “But from what it seems, we are forbidden to sit outside the store and wait in a queue for tonight.”
Mohammed, a Pakistani national, landed in China to buy the iPhone 16. “In China, it is available only after three days,” he said. “We are hoping to get the iPhone 16 tomorrow.”
There was also a content creator who lived in Dubai. He stepped outside the store in Dubai Mall to see what was happening. His records from last year were revealing about this time there really would be a number of people seeking to buy the new iPhone 15 that was just released then.
Rafeez this year has booked four eso n 16 sixteen,one of them picked up in the morning 9 am from mall of high street and other three are picked up at 12 pm from dubai mall for family members.
“It has become a habit for me to purchase new iPhones on that day when they are introduced for the first time," he claimed.
Each Apple ID user can reserve a maximum of two iPhones for Apple Ids so, two Rafees had reserved four for himself on the 13th September.
In the UAE, Dh3,399 is the starting price of the iPhone 16 and Dh3,799 is charged for the iPhone 16 Plus in the base variant which is lower than the base model. Both the models have the added advantage of a new camera control key plus the Action button, for fast access.
In the UAE, the base model of the iPhone 16 Pro range starts at Dh4,299 whereas the iPhone 16 Pro Max base model is available at Dh5,099.
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