September 19, 2025
SINGAPORE – Mr Jonathan Ng, 47, was the first person in Singapore to get his hands on the latest iPhone 17 Pro Max – two of them in fact – despite standing in line only from 6.45am.
Unlike about 250 people who had queued outside the Apple Store in Orchard Road since the wee hours of Sept 19, or even the night before just to try their luck, the human resource professional had placed pre-orders, and got his phones the minute the store’s doors opened at 8am.
When asked why he stood in line despite having pre-ordered the phones, the Singaporean, who calls himself an early riser, said he has been doing this for the last few years and wanted to keep up the trend.
“The biggest improvement for me… will be the camera,” he said.
Walking out the door all smiles, Mr Ng said he would get the chance to unbox his new phones only in the evening, as he had to rush off to work.
Earlier, as 8am approached, iPhone fans outside the Apple Store began cheering, and then counting down the seconds.
And when the clock struck eight and the doors opened, they erupted into applause, ready to get their hands on the latest version of the device.
There were separate queues for those who had made pre-orders and walk-in customers.
The objects of their desire were four new phone models, along with the newest iterations of the Apple Watch and AirPods Pro.
Within an hour of the phones going on sale, resellers had already taken to websites like Carousell, which had 43 listings of the new iPhones by 10.45am.
The most expensive listing was an iPhone 17 Pro Max with 2TB of storage, offered at $3,499 – a mark-up from its retail price of $3,099.
The new iPhone 17 line-up includes a new iteration of the popular phone – the iPhone Air.
Measuring just 5.6mm, it is the thinnest phone in the series, with prices starting at $1,599.
The cheapest model is the basic iPhone 17, at $1,299, with a storage capacity of 256GB – a step up from the last version, which came with 128GB for the basic model.
The smaller iPhone 17 Pro starts at $1,749, while the Pro Max costs at least $1,899. Both these models feature a body made of a single piece of aluminium.
The iPhone 17 Pro models come with a raised plateau spread across the top part of the phone, along with a trio of 48 megapixel lenses – an upgrade from the previous year’s, which had two 48 megapixel ones and a 12 megapixel telephoto lens.
Despite the prices, Vietnamese national Tran Anh Vu was undeterred, joining the walk-in queue at 2am hoping to secure two iPhone 17 Pro Max models – one for himself and the other for his wife.
The 30-year-old, who is here for a business trip, was near the front of the line. He told ST he has been a fan of the iPhone series for the past decade.
Even though he had tried to place a pre-order, both in Vietnam and in Singapore, his attempts were unsuccessful, prompting him to turn up physically.
“I like the new full-body aluminium and the orange colour scheme. I think the design is very nice,” he said.
Mr Tran made his purchase about an hour after the store’s doors opened, but unboxing the phones would have to wait as he had to rush off to catch a flight.
“I have been standing since 2am, my legs feel very, very heavy. But I am excited.”
His compatriot, who wanted to be known only as Mr Cao, had better luck, being the first person in the walk-in queue.
With his eyes peeled on the Apple staff preparing for the store’s opening, the 38-year-old told ST in Vietnamese that he had flown to Singapore specifically to buy the latest iPhone, an event that has become a yearly affair for him.
When ST arrived at Apple’s flagship store at about 10.15pm on Sept 18, there appeared to be little buzz, with only three customers waiting outside.
One of them, healthcare assistant Thin Thin, said she needed to be physically present to buy an iPhone 17 Pro Max because she had not pre-ordered it.
She added that most people had shown up at about 6pm to collect wristbands that indicated they were part of the queue, and then left, presumably to return at a later time.
The wristbands did not guarantee a product purchase, however.
Another customer said Apple staff had recommended those with wristbands to join the queue at about 4am.
The latest iPhone models come to market amid challenges brewing at home for the US company, especially US President Donald Trump’s trade policies and tariff strategy, which have led to a spike in production costs.
Although iPhone prices have remained on an even keel with the models launched in 2024, Apple chief executive Tim Cook in July said Mr Trump’s tariffs cost the company US$800 million (S$1.02 billion) in the last quarter.
This quarter, tariffs are expected to cost it US$1.1 billion.
Additional reporting by Azmi Athni