It's not the first time robots have replaced us human meat sacks on iPhone launch day. Last year, one Australian woman used a "telepresence robot" (read: iPad on wheels) to hold her place in the Sydney queue for the iPhone 6S. This year, New Zealand carrier Spark used 100 Alpha 1 robots, created by Chinese company UBtech, to stand in line on behalf of customers. Each robot was controlled with a phone app and programmed to dance and move, and they were also fitted out to live-stream the queue. Spark's general manager of customer and marketing, Clive Ormerod, said the robots gave customers the thrill of waiting in line in digital form.
"Queuing is an iconic part of new device fan culture," said Ormerod (in one of the most generous uses of the word iconic we've seen in some time), "We wanted to give our existing customers an space chill iphone case experience of the atmosphere and excitement of the queue, without actually having to line up and wait it out until launch day."It's good to know that when the robot uprising finally comes, they'll know how to queue politely, Want to experience the thrill of standing in a queue for the new iPhone 7, but without the downsides, like standing in a queue? Now a dancing robot can do it for you..
We've taught them to move like humans, play games like humans, and now, robots are experiencing one of the last true joys of being a real person: queuing. A phalanx of mini robots were among the first in the world to get their metal claws on the brand new iPhone 7 when it launched in New Zealand on Friday. Thanks to the country's proximity to the international dateline, NZ got a few hours' head start on Australia's early launch, and the Kiwis weren't going to pass up that opportunity, using robots to spruik the iPhone launch.
The first Australian buyers of the iPhone 7 just outside Apple's flagship Sydney store, Buyers pose in front of Sydney's media toting their new handsets, A customer queues in the drizzle in Sydney, The first person in line in Singapore is Wellson Lee, 38, an IT architect who popped by as early as 5.30 a.m, Lee, who did not expect to be first, said that he came early due to the morning rain and "wanted to beat the traffic, but did not expect to beat everyone else."Lee, who's upgrading from the iPhone 6S, will be getting a matte black 256GB iPhone 7 for himself as well as another silver iPhone, And as to why he isn't getting the iPhone 7 Plus with its dual-camera setup, Lee said he space chill iphone case wasn't too interested in the camera, and preferred the smaller 7..
In Singapore, iPhone launches are usually organized by the local carriers. As Apple does not yet have a retail store (though one will open soon), iPhone fans will typically get their phones from one of the three local carriers, such as SingTel here. Unlike in other countries, there's no need to queue days ahead, interested customers book an appointment slot and turn up to get a phone. Of course, if you come really early in your time slot, you'll get your phone first, as these early birds prove. Apart from local carriers, iPhone buyers can also pop by premium resellers to get their hands on Apple's new phone. Stocks are limited though, and this store, at Singapore's Orchard Road shopping belt, has already run out of stock for the iPhone 7 Plus.