Australia iPhone 18 launch descends into chaos as line-cutter claims he’s first in world to buy device: ‘I’m the first!’
Bragging rights don’t come easy at an Apple launch.
Just ask Lachlan Collyer, who spent hours camped outside Sydney’s flagship store only to watch a rival line-jumper barge past him in the dash for the doors, phone held aloft, declaring himself the world’s first owner of the new iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max.
Collyer, 20, arrived hours before to secure the top spot in the line outside Apple’s flagship store on George Street, which opened its doors before any other Apple Store on the planet at 8 a.m. on Friday.
But as Collyer proudly showed off his new iPhone 18 Pro in the striking new Glacier ice blue color, another eager customer who cut Collyer’s spot in line rushed past him toward the cameras, holding up his own phone and declaring himself the first in the world to own one, a sign of just how high the stakes felt for some.
“I’m the first! I’m the first! All the f—king news lies!” the man screamed as he left the store
Unfazed, Collyer told the media of his excitement to be the first to get his hands on the latest Apple release.
“To have the first ever [John] Ternus product is incredibly exciting and, on a technological level, the first ever and last ever 2 nanometer architecture chip set in existence. The first ever iteration came out today – that is incredibly exciting,” he said.
“It says a lot about the direction of Apple and what they’re doing with their product line-ups, and I can’t wait to see for the next 15 years where it’s going to go.”
Despite the drama, Collyer was still widely regarded by the line and Apple staff as the genuine first customer through the doors, and he wasn’t alone in his early start.
Mehak Dhiman, 26, and Shav Chandra, 24, had been camped outside since 6 a.m. sharing some breakfast before the doors opened at 8 a.m., torn between the two colors – the returning glacier blue, and the brand-new burgundy released for the first time Friday.
The two Apple fans said they were “excited” to be among the first group in the world to line up for the newest launch.
“We’re very excited. Excited to see it in person,” Dhiman said.
“We came here specifically early to figure out which color we want to get … the red one’s bold, it’s new, it’s unique, but the glacier is a nice pastel. We just want to see it in person to see how it looks,” Chandra said.
Customers inside the store were also given a first look at Apple’s most anticipated device yet, the iPhone Duo, as the tech giant’s first-ever foldable phone on preview ahead of its official release on October 23.
“Excited to see it and play with the Duo as well; we’re not getting it, but we definitely want to have a look at it, interact with it, and see what the hype’s about,” Chandra said.
Invited to the launch were a group of Sydney influencers and content creators, including Brad Canning, whose exclusive first look video on the Pro and Pro Max a week before its public launch reached 2.8 million views on TikTok, as well as Jeremy Franco, internet personality Seva Mozhaev, Andrea Hobbs, and filmmaker Matt Lambley, showing off the new products on social media.
The iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max release comes at the helm of Apple’s newest CEO, John Ternus, who took the reins of the $4.5tn tech giant from Tim Cook and his predecessor, Steve Jobs, and it features Apple’s biggest camera overhaul in years.
The 18 Pro and Pro Max come with a 48-megapixel camera with variable aperture, alongside the new A20 Pro chip and what Apple says is the largest battery life improvement ever seen on an iPhone with up to 34 hours of video playback for the Pro and up to 43 hours on the Pro Max.
The devices also debut a rebuilt version of Siri, powered by the next generation of Apple Intelligence under iOS 27, and a smaller dynamic island.
Also launched Friday were the newest in the Apple Watch series, the Apple Watch Ultra 4 and AirPods 5, with nationwide launches of the new Mac mini and Mac Studio to follow from September 22.
