In less than one month after they were released in US, the new Apple iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus are now officially available in Malaysia starting from today onwards. As expected, there are plenty of eager consumers out there that want to get their hands on the new devices as soon as possible and local telcos has obliged to this request by having midnight launch event at some of their flagship centers throughout Klang Valley.
CELCOM
Celcom‘s iPhone 6s launch took place in its traditional place at the Blue Cube, Sunway Pyramid. The telco upped the stakes this time by improving its hospitality to those waiting in line. For the first time, benches for sitting were made available; along with television sets playing movies and magazines for reading.
Drinks were served on a regular basis. This was in addition to the the customer comfort kit handed out to each person who got in line. The kit consisted of drinking water, Red Bull, a candy bar, and wet wipes.
Of course, people still needed to eat real food. Celcom provided staff on hand to hold customers’ spot in line while they ran off for toilet breaks or to buy food.
As the night drew on, Celcom brought out finger food and snacks for those in line. It seemed like there was a hidden kitchen where these things were appearing from.
At 11pm, Zalman Aefendy Zainal Abidin, Chief Marketing and Sales Officer of Celcom Axiata Berhad, flagged off the surprise delivery service. Local celebrities were asked to help deliver 40 iPhones to pre-order customers in the comfort of their own homes.
Some on ground entertainment was provided by a local percussion group. They were far better than the music played over the speakers.
Six people in line were allowed to buy an iPhone 6s or 6s Plus of their choice for only RM6.50. These were taken equally from the first three walk in customers and three pre-order customers waiting in line.
Waiting in line since 1pm on Wednesday paid off for some people. It was only a short 36 hour wait to get the new iPhone 6s Plus.
Celcom had a much nicer and air-conditioned area for pre-order customers. This was separate from the regular walk in line, and was significantly less crowded.
Sales of the new iPhone were still brisk when we left at 1am. It looked like a long night for both Celcom and Apple fans, but we guess it was worth it for both parties.
DiGi
Unlike other telcos, DiGi decided to hold its midnight iPhone launch event at one of its DiGi Stores in SS2, Petaling Jaya. Although the venue is not particularly big, DiGi had always used this location for the event.
The image above was taken at about 10PM. As you can see, there’s quite a number of DiGi staff wearing yellow shirts instead of eager customers. Turns out, people had been lining up to get their ticket number since 5PM. After receiving their number, customers are free to do what they want until about 11.30PM, where the staff would call out the first 10 costumers to make their way into the DiGi Store once the clock strikes midnight.
The crowd definitely grew as we approached midnight. This shot was taken at about 11.50PM.
Once its 12AM, the door is opened to welcome the first 10 customers. Just like how Apple does it, customers were greeted with cheers and applause; some staff were even playing the tambourine.
The first customer who received the brand new iPhone 6s from DiGi is Glenn Lee, who has worked hard along with his father to collect enough money to purchase a 64GB Space Grey iPhone 6s. He waited in line along with his mother and younger brother – talk about family effort.
Here, Lee (in the red shirt) is discussing with his family.
Lee with his brand new Space Grey iPhone 6s.
When we left the DiGi Store at about 1AM, there were still quite a number of customers outside of the shop lot, eagerly waiting for their turn. It sure was a busy night for them, but we’re sure they’re happy to walk away with the brand new iPhones.
MAXIS
Due to shortage of manpower, we were not able to personally follow the progress of Maxis’ iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus launch this year but that being said, they did actually share with us what they’ve been up to last night. This year, Maxis has decided to pull off an operation that they referred to as 24 Hour Express which it aimed to deliver the new iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus to customers regardless of where they may be within 24 hours of launch.
In fact, Maxis Head of Consumer Business, Dushyan Vaithiyanathan personally delivered a unit to one of the region’s most well-known designer, Joe Chia right at midnight. This is just one of more than 1,000 units that Maxis is expected to deliver until 11:59pm tonight.
At the same time, Maxis customers also have the option to collect their iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus at any of 40 Maxis Centres throughout the country. Three of such centers were opened at midnight including the one in KLCC.
According to Maxis, Mohd Nazrul Abdul Muttalib was the first customer to receive his iPhone 6s Plus (in rose gold, nonetheless) at Maxis Centre KLCC. The telco didn’t mention how long he was in the line but we are pretty sure that he spent at least few hours queuing for the new phone.
U MOBILE
As for U Mobile, the midnight launch of iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s took place at its own home turf in Berjaya Times Square, Kuala Lumpur. With the allure of mystery gifts for the first 300 customers which inclusive of 50 smartphones, customers apparently already lining up at the venue even before the queue is officially open at 6pm.
U Mobile seemed to be quite prepared for the launch, complete with refreshments and…yes, medical assistance too.
The management team of U Mobile gathered together for a quick photo before welcoming their iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus customers into the main event area.
This is how the queue at Berjaya Times Square looked like at 11:40pm.
High fives and cheers all over the venue as U Mobile welcomes their iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus customers into Berjaya Time Square at 11:45pm.
The CEO of U Mobile, Wong Heang Tuck having chit chat with the first U Mobile customer in line, Nigel Pong while getting his iPhone 6s sorted out by the telco’s staff.
A dentist by profession, the new iPhone 6s marked Nigel’s return to iPhone after a brief stint with an Android phone and is looking forward to check out the new photography features on the smartphones especially the front camera as well as Live Photos. He also purchased another unit for his wife.
Also available at the launch event were related accessories, U Mobile’s own device insurance plan, U Card loyalty program, and U MicroCredit facility.
When we left the area at around 12:47 am, it was still filled with customers that were waiting for their turn to get their hands on the new iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus.
In case you wondering what do iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus have to offer to consumers, check out our hands on experience with both devices right here or head on here instead if you want to know more about their pricing.
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