The new iPhone 16 smartphone series from American technology giant Apple went on sale in Japan on Friday. More than 10 enthusiasts queued up at an Apple Store in Tokyo’s Shibuya district in the morning to buy an iPhone 16 device.
The store opened earlier, at 8am, but customers were already queuing before opening.
At the front of the line was an engineer in his thirties who bought the top-of-the-line Pro Max.
“I will be happy if the device learns how I use it and makes it easier for me to operate it,” he said.
All models are equipped with the generative artificial intelligence system Apple Intelligence, which helps users compose emails and create summaries of telephone call transcripts.
Apple Intelligence is not yet available for use. The Japanese version will be launched next year.
New features, such as image generation, will be added in the future.
The standard iPhone 16’s direct retail prices start at ¥124,800, the same amount as the iPhone 15 series released in September last year.
