Are Malaysians sick of queuing for iPhones?

Malaysia isn’t that late to the iPhone 6s (Plus) party, considering we’re not even a month later than other Asian countries like China, Hong Kong and Singapore. The waiting game has struck Malaysia ever since the first crazy line for the iPhone 4. Madness ensued across all telcos who’ve never braved such mammoth crowds when they first started. But now Malaysians are utilising different means to get their hands on their much beloved Apple smartphones, and it doesn’t always involve queuing up from daybreak.

It’s safe to say that all the telcos have gradually firmed up their skills to handle the looming army that waits passionately for their iDevices. So what do these buyers brave when waiting in line? Well that all depends on where they are:

Celcom has their Blue Cube setup at Sunway Pyramid, an outdoor area that could spell rain for those who choose that location. Foreseeing a rather wet occasion, Celcom has again raised some canopies to battle the chance of torrential downfall and to generally keep their customers comfy. Food and drinks were served here for those who wanted to get their hands on a Celcom iPhone. Frankly, we think it looks like a carnival.

The kicker for Celcom, if you’re lucky enough, one of the celebs present will pass you your device, they’ll even deliver some of the sets to your houses themselves. The star studded list includes: Scha Alyahya, Amber Chia, Ella, Awal Ashari, Hani, Soo Wincci & Shaheizy Sam.

Digi on the other hand chose to hold their launch at their SS2 branch, which means rain is likely to damper hopes of the people in queue as well. This year they’ve enlisted help from some food trucks (for free meals) and gave out numbers (for those who queued), so they can linger around till 11:45 pm before heading back to the line. The night in SS2 is quite bustling so there’s no shortage of things to keep you entertained while you wait.

U Mobile takes advantage of their HQ in Berjaya Times Square, which makes it indoors (well kind of, under the huge cover of Time Square’s front lobby) and safe from any weather conditions that might take place in our unpredictable climate. Those who have a sweet tooth would certainly enjoy the Krispy Kreme doughnuts and coffee provided by the telco.

Maxis always has theirs at KLCC, this time around the line starts outside the actual selling floor but drinks and finger food was provided to those in line, while there were more options once you headed inside. The (pre-order only) line here hasn’t quite built up yet, possibly meaning that most of their customers opted for the delivery/pick up option.

Here’s a break down of all the telco plans compared for those who aren’t already in line.

Now that we’re talked about how the wait for the devices were across all four telcos, let’s talk about what Malaysians could be preferring to do instead. Scalpers get excited at the opportunity to jack prices up, if there’s demand.

Are Malaysians choosing to buy from these individuals instead? Or have they decided to head on over to Singapore to get their hands on an SG set? It boils down to if you’re going to be disciplined enough to travel back to our neighbours down south for your warranty, if anything were to happen to your Apple product. For scalpers, its mainly down to luck, or if you purchase from places like Lazada, we’ll hope that they fulfill their end of providing warranty coverage.

Then you have those who’d rather wait for the storm to end and get their devices hand-delivered to them while in their comforts of their homes. You’ll get to choose from Maxis, Digi and U Mobile, so quite a wide array to choose from.

So you tell us, have you ever been in these types of lines in the past? Do you think you’ll be in one anytime soon? Do let us know in the comments below.