MANILA — Third time’s the charm for Lynn Anog as she finally made it at the very front of the line of about 300 customers waiting for the highly anticipated annual launch of the latest iPhone model at a Power Mac Center (PMC) in Makati City, Friday.

Anog broke the streak of Joey Reyes, the customer from Cebu who was first to queue for the iPhone 14 and 15 at the store. He was also the first to purchase an iPhone 11 in 2019.

“Before kasi pumila na ako for 10 and 11 basically knowledge ko. Mga number 8 ako ganon. Nakasabay ko siya pa,” she recalled in an interview.

Anog shared that she and her husband, who was second in line, queued as early as 5 p.m of October 15 for the iPhone 16. 

The couple hoped to get their money’s worth from the savings they had set aside for a year as the first fifty customers are eligible to accessories amounting to P30,000 each. 

“Hindi nakakapagod kasi super excited naman kami. Bibili na lang ako ng bago sulitin mo na,” she reasoned. 

“Four years kami nag-antay bago mag-upgrade. Tuwing sumasahod kaming dalawa nagtatabi kami,” she added.

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After almost half a decade as well, RJ Perez decided it was also finally time to upgrade, motivated by the new features that would improve his work and lifestyle.

“From [iPhone] 11 to 16 ang laki ng difference; 14 and 15 hindi pa ako na-hype. Sabi ko it is time, helpful sa work, pag-ayos ng grammar, malaki tulong,” he said.

The trader, who traveled all the way from Quezon to snag the deal, said that he allocated his 13th-month pay for the phone and chose the “two months after” payment option offered by PMC and its partners to make the expense more manageable.

“Besides makakatulong… You only live one in a lifetime. Yung pera naman nababawi. Saka magagamit ko naman,” Perez argued.

Meanwhile, 19-year-old working student Scarlet Mia spent seven long hours in line, excited to bring home an iPhone. But here’s the twist, she wasn’t queuing for herself. Instead, she was doing it for her boss, who promised to hand over her old phone in exchange.

“Sabi niya sa akin, pilahan ko siya kasi bibili siya iPhone 16, yung 12 ProMax akin na. Gift. Kahit afford natin, tipid eh. Mas safe. Upgrade na yun maganda camera,” she said in an interview. 

Eighteen-year-old working student Clyde Amante also patiently lined-up for the iPhone 16 series on behalf of his boss for a fee. 

“Dagdag-sahod eh. Sariling support kasi ako, wala ako parents na. Scholar ako saka sarili ko pinapaaral ako,” he said.

Amante admitted that he also dreams of one day having the luxury of buying the latest gadget. But for now, he says he’s content with his iPhone 7.

“Alam ko value ng pera eh. May kailangan tayo priority eh. Yun muna. Student eh. Sana 5 years from now magkatotoo na dream namin,” he said. 

Both working students queued between 100-300, scoring their bosses deals amounting to at least P10,000.

Customers who queue beyond 300 will be given store credit worth P5,000. 

Apart from the freebies, the first few customers who bought an iPhone met several celebrities and sports personalities such as Sam Concepcion, Yael, Alyssa Valdez, Jeric Teng, Jeron Teng, among others. 

To keep customers entertained, PMC hosted a mini-program leading up to the drop that featured performances by UPeepz, Dionela, Barbie Almalbis, and Sponge Cola.

The new iPhone 16 series was launched at midnight of October 18 in four PMC locations, namely Greenbelt 3, SM Mall of Asia, Robinsons Galleria Cebu, and SM Lanang in Davao. 

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