The latest Apple iPhone 16 series had hundreds of people camping outside a mall in Pasay City before it was released at the strike of midnight of October 18.
Over 200 people queued outside the Power Mac Center (PMC) in SM Mall of Asia Cyberzone, with some even having spent days lining up so they could be among the first to get their hands on the latest gadget.
iPhone hopefuls that lined up said the gadget store distributed water while they waited. Singer Jayda Avanzado and local band The Juans performed at the launch to keep them entertained.
Pioneering the line is Bryan Leaño from Manila. He shared that he lined up beginning night of Tuesday, Oct 15. Leaño got an iPhone 16 Pro Max in Desert Titanium and he plans to use it for his upcoming trip to Boracay.
The early bird asserted he do not regret the wait as the latest model boasted new top-tier features.
“Ako pipila sa gabi, then may kapalitan ako sa umaga,” Leaño shared in an exclusive interview with Manila Standard Tech. “Challenging pero sulit… the best kasi iPhone 16 kaya worth it. Magagamit ko talaga kasi maganda ang features ng latest model lalo na ang camera.
The thrilled Apple enthusiast, however, clarified he did not only endure the heat and mosquitoes out of mere eagerness.
“‘Pag una ka sa pila, may surprise ka. Nakakatuwa dahil di ko alam na ang daming freebies,” he said.
Leaño, along with the first 30 customers, was given P30,000 worth of accessories from some of PMC’s partner brands.
Meanwhile, the 31st until the 100th customer were gifted P20,000 worth of freebies.
The store also gave P10,000 worth of freebies to the succeeding 101st to 250th customers, while P5,000 worth of store credits were granted to the 251st customer and onwards.
Launch weekend perks to enjoy the iPhone 16 series
Customers buying any of the iPhone 16 devices can still get up to P10,000 off when paying via non-installment modes of payment or credit card installments of three months only. They can also take home the free Before Anything Else Dual Port 30W Wall Charger, and enjoy up to 50% discount on select Apple and non-Apple accessories when purchased with an iPhone 16. These offers are valid for iPhone 16 launch weekend purchases until October 20.
Meanwhile, if you want to safely upgrade from old devices, there’s PMC’s UpTrade program that has ongoing offers until October 31, 2024.
Trade in your previous iPhone 15 device to get as much as P57,700 trade-in value, or receive up to P2,000 extra trade-in value for your previous iPhone 14 or iPhone 13 device when purchasing any iPhone 16 model.
(Text and photos by author)
