Less than ten hours before the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus launch in Japan, at least one Apple Store in the country has begun setting up display models for customers to view. The new iPhones will go on sale in Japan at 8:00 AM local time on Friday just a few hours after the smartphones launch in Australia and New Zealand.
MacRumors reader Shawn DaSilva sent us a trio of photos and a video showing Apple retail employees installing the new iPhones at an Apple Store in Omotesando, Tokyo on Thursday evening. The new iPhones are also advertised on a digital banner spanning the length of the store.
Apple is no longer accepting pre-orders or in-store reservations in time for September 25, leaving lining up at an Apple Store as one of the only options to get a new iPhone on launch day. Apple is not allowing walk-in sales in China, Hong Kong, Japan and four tax-free U.S. states: Oregon, Delaware, New Hampshire and Alaska.
If you plan on waiting it out at an Apple Store, it is highly recommended that you reschedule any important plans tomorrow, as it can take several hours before you reach the front of the queue. In some cases, in-store stock of new iPhones may run out completely before you get a chance to buy one.
Thursday December 11, 2025 8:49 am PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple seeded the second iOS 26.2 Release Candidate to developers earlier this week, meaning the update will be released to the general public very soon.
Apple confirmed iOS 26.2 would be released in December, but it did not provide a specific date. We expect the update to be released by early next week.
iOS 26.2 includes a handful of new features and changes on the iPhone, such as a new...
Wednesday December 10, 2025 2:52 am PST by Tim Hardwick
Google Maps on iOS quietly gained a new feature recently that automatically recognizes where you've parked your vehicle and saves the location for you.
Announced on LinkedIn by Rio Akasaka, Google Maps' senior product manager, the new feature auto-detects your parked location even if you don't use the parking pin function, saves it for up to 48 hours, and then automatically removes it once...
Thursday December 11, 2025 11:28 am PST by Juli Clover
Apple today released new firmware designed for the AirPods Pro 3 and the prior-generation AirPods Pro 2. The AirPods Pro 3 firmware is 8B30, up from 8B25, while the AirPods Pro 2 firmware is 8B28, up from 8B21.
There's no word on what's include in the updated firmware, but the AirPods Pro 2 and AirPods Pro 3 are getting expanded support for Live Translation in the European Union in iOS...
Friday December 12, 2025 10:56 am PST by Joe Rossignol
Macworld's Filipe Espósito today revealed a handful of features that Apple is allegedly planning for iOS 26.4, iOS 27, and even iOS 28.
The report said the features are referenced within the code for a leaked internal build of iOS 26 that is not meant to be seen by the public. However, it appears that Espósito and/or his sources managed to gain access to it, providing us with a sneak peek...
Apple has ordered 22 million OLED panels from Samsung Display for the first foldable iPhone, signaling a significantly larger production target than the display industry had previously anticipated, ET News reports.
In the now-seemingly deleted report, ET News claimed that Samsung plans to mass-produce 11 million inward-folding OLED displays for Apple next year, as well as 11 million...
Thursday December 11, 2025 10:31 am PST by Juli Clover
The AirTag 2 will include a handful of new features that will improve tracking capabilities, according to a new report from Macworld. The site says that it was able to access an internal build of iOS 26, which includes references to multiple unreleased products.
Here's what's supposedly coming:
An improved pairing process, though no details were provided. AirTag pairing is already...
Friday December 12, 2025 10:10 am PST by Juli Clover
Apple today released iOS 26.2, the second major update to the iOS 26 operating system that came out in September, iOS 26.2 comes a little over a month after iOS 26.1 launched. iOS 26.2 is compatible with the iPhone 11 series and later, as well as the second-generation iPhone SE.
The new software can be downloaded on eligible iPhones over-the-air by going to Settings >...
Friday December 5, 2025 9:40 am PST by Tim Hardwick
Apple is about to release iOS 26.2, the second major point update for iPhones since iOS 26 was rolled out in September, and there are at least 15 notable changes and improvements worth checking out. We've rounded them up below.
Apple is expected to roll out iOS 26.2 to compatible devices sometime between December 8 and December 16. When the update drops, you can check Apple's servers for the ...
Thursday December 11, 2025 4:02 pm PST by Juli Clover
Apple is working on a smart home hub that will rely heavily on the more capable version of Siri that's coming next year. We've heard quite a bit about the hub over the last two years, but a recent iOS 26 code leak provides additional insight into what we can expect and confirms rumored features.
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Macworld claims to have access to an ...
If you plan on waiting it out at an Apple Store ('https://www.macrumors.com/how-to/purchase-iphone-6s-launch-day-store/'), it is highly recommended that you reschedule any important plans tomorrow, as it can take several hours before you reach the front of the queue. In some cases, in-store stock of new iPhones may run out completely before you get a chance to buy one.
Amen, Brother...
Last year, I was about 1/3 the way back of a line of 200 at the King Street Store in Charleston, SC. I got there at 2am, and left at noon.
I wouldn't have traded it, though. The experience was fun, the people in line were nice, and the Apple people handed out breakfast.
But for most people there's no real difference between regular and "s" models this year.
I'm getting one for 2 gigs of ram and 7000 Aluminum. Who else cares about that stuff? Just a bunch of geeks like me, who preorder.
4 and 4s had Steve Jobs and Siri. 5 had bigger screen. 5s had touch ID and gold, a very nice shade that many people liked very much. 6 had big screens. What's the compelling feature this year? 3D touch? Most people hardly even know what that's going to be good for. Even geeks like me might turn it off. Maybe better camera will be a compelling feature but I doubt it. Pink is not compelling, period.
That must have been sarcasm, right? :rolleyes: :D , because all the reviews about 3D Touch have been overwhelmingly positive ranging from 'a very welcome addition' to 'a killer feature ('http://www.trustedreviews.com/opinions/iphone-6s-vs-iphone-6') that will probably show up in other phones sometime in the future'.
As you said, add to that 7000 Alu, the A9/M9 processors, LivePhotos, 2GB Ram, 12 Megapixel camera, 4k video, improved (twice as fast) TouchId, and an additional color choice, there's arguably plenty of reason for people to consider this upgrade.
So people complained when they got rid of lines for the Watch. Now they're complaining that anyone bothers lining up at all for the iPhone.
I'm sure they're not the same people. It's just this is what Apple is up against. Never mind the other half of MacRumors readers who like a little sensibility in their day...
