MANILA, Philippines – The new iPhones are officially here.
It’s an annual ritual for iPhone fans. Apple announces their new phones in September, and iPhone loyalists from the Philippines cheer. Once announced, the wait was on for Filipino fans, tuning in to the official Apple website, and telcos’ social media pages for price and availability details. And for those who just could not wait, gray market sellers online offered that big fix before official availability.
On Friday, October 26, however, the new iPhones officially became available across official outlets, Smart being among them. The telco hosted an intimate gathering at its flagship PLDT-Smart store at the World Plaza in BGC, Taguig City, inviting the media, personalities including radio DJs Sam YG and Debbie Then, and Miss World Philippines 2018 Katarina Rodriguez, to name some. But the party’s biggest star was Kris Aquino who came with Bimby Aquino-Yap, and endorsed the new iPhones and the telco.
Rival Globe also held an official launch a day before the Smart launch, Thursday, October 25. Official Apple retailers Beyond The Box and Power Mac Center held midnight launches as well, Friday, October 26.
A number of longtime Smart subscribers were also present at the launch party, who were given a huge surprise. The 15 subscribers present, according to Smart, had ordered 64GB and 256GB units, but instead got something different: the considerably more expensive 512GB variant. They also got a rewards card with P10,000 worth of points. Aside from the 15, another 85 subscribers will be getting the surprise iPhone upgrade. “What better way to launch the biggest iPhones than with a big surprise for Smart customers?” said Aquino in a press statement.
You may watch the launch event in the video above. – Rappler.com