Unruly crowd disrupts iPhone 4S launch in Beijing
As thousands of prospective customers gathered outside Apple"s retail stores in China in advance of the expected iPhone 4S launch on Friday, an unruly crowd has disrupted the release of Apple"s best-selling handset at its flagship location in Beijing.
Apple had previously announced that the iPhone 4S would go on sale at its Sanlitun retail store in Beijing at 7AM local time (6PM Eastern), but altercations between scalpers and line-waiters have allegedly delayed the launch. As of 8AM, the store had yet to open.
The imminent launch of Apple"s latest handset in China had attracted thousands of customers outside the company"s five stores throughout the country. Security barricades had originally been set up to manage the crowd at the Sanlitun store earlier in the week, but they were taken down sometime on Thursday night or Friday morning.
One journalist on location in Beijing claimed that Apple had canceled the launch because fights had broken out during the night, while some crowd members claimed Apple would take orders for the iPhone 4S at the store on Friday without distributing the devices.
Groups of professional line-waiters and scalpers could be seen congregating outside the store early Friday. As the 7AM launch time came and went without Apple opening its doors, a number of them became disgruntled. Shouts of "Open the door!" rang periodically rang throughout the crowd. At one point, a group of unhappy line-waiters left shouting profanities at Apple. Several individuals were forcefully escorted away by security officials, though it was not immediately clear why they were being removed.
Remnants of the crowd outside Sanlitun Apple Store in Beijing early on Friday, Jan. 13.
AppleInsider has reached out to Apple for comment on the status of the iPhone 4S launch in China, but has yet to hear back from the company.
The 16GB iPhone 4S is selling for 4,988RMB ($790) on Apple China"s online store, while the 32GB and 64GB models sell for 5,888RMB and 6,788RMB, respectively. Estimated shipping time is currently two weeks. China Unicom is also offering iPhone 4S for free with a multi-year contract on plans starting at 286RMB ($45).
The well-organized secondary market in Beijing has led to conflicts at the Sanlitun store in the past. Last year, the release of the iPad 2 and white iPhone 4 was marred by an incident that resulted in a broken glass door and several injuries.
In addition to China, Apple is scheduled to launch the iPhone 4S in 21 more countries on Friday.