In Ho Chi Minh City’s District 1, dozens of people could be seen waiting patiently from evening to lay their hands on the latest Apple product at 0:01 a.m. Friday.
Most major retail chains have received a large number of orders for the iPhone 16 Pro Max with 256 GB of storage, especially the desert titanium color.
They are offering discounts of up to VND3 million ($122).
In Hanoi, customers started to show up at 9:00 p.m. at a CellphoneS outlet in Hai Ba Trung District.
For the first time CellphoneS is selling the iPhone at midnight instead of 8:00 a.m. when its stores open.
A spokesperson said due to the large number of customers the chain decided to begin its work day eight hours early.
Customers were given a queue token at 10:00 p.m., and an estimated 2,500 devices were handed over.
Thanh Tam, one of the first customers, traded in his iPhone 14 Pro for the new one and paid the difference.
“I have used this phone for two years. Now it is time for an upgrade.”
On Xa Dan Street, where Top Zone and Viettel Store have outlets next to each other, both began welcoming customers in the evening.
Top Zone, which belongs to electronics retail giant The Gioi Di Dong, delivered an estimated 3,000 iPhones at 112 outlets nationwide during the course of the night.
Another 20,000 are expected to be handed over in the coming days.
Viettel Store expects to sell 16,000 units on Friday.
A long queue of customers was seen outside a Minh Tuan Mobile outlet in HCMC. The chain handed over 300 units at its three outlets.
At 0:01 a.m., customers poured into the stores. Some outlets were overloaded with people who showed signs of fatigue and impatience after hours of waiting.
Most stores required customers to unbox their products immediately to prevent speculating on the black market.
At Hoang Ha Mobile, 85% of customers buying the Pro version chose the desert titanium color. Supply of this color is low and people might have to wait until the end of October to buy again.
