The iPhone 8 has just been released - so where were all the queues?

Where have all the queues gone?

Apple launched its latest iPhone on Friday – the iPhone 8 – but instead of the normal huge lines of people anxious to buy the company’s latest product, just a handful of people were spotted queueing.

The line outside Apple’s flagship London store in Regent’s Street was much smaller than usual.

But it does not mean customers are turning their back on Apple.

It is thought that many iPhone fans are waiting until November for the next big thing – the iPhone X.

Friday’s sale of the iPhone 8, and the 8 plus, represent the first time Apple has sold smartphones with wireless battery charging.

The two phones also house Apple’s new A11 Bionic processor chip, which the tech giant says is the “most powerful and smartest” ever in a smartphone and makes the eight up to 70% faster than the previous iPhone.

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The latest phones are also said to have improved camera specifications.

Salam bin Mohammed, 24, from Stratford, was first in the queue at Regents Street and said he wanted to mark the 10th anniversary of the iPhone by queuing for the phone.

‘This is the 10th anniversary of the iPhone and I’ve been using iPhone for eight years now,’ he said, adding he had started queuing at 10pm on Thursday night and slept in his brother’s car.

He added: ‘I wanted iPhone 8 Plus because the camera is nice, and I’m looking forward to having it.

‘I’m going to get both gold and space grey colours.

‘Whichever is nice I’m going to keep and the other one I’ll give to my mum.’

As well as the upcoming iPhone X, Apple said the pre-order and collection options, where customers choose a time that suits them to come in and collect the new phone meant fewer people now chose to queue.

Technology expert and founder of news site Pocket-lint Stuart Miles also said the iPhone 8 would be a different kind of Apple launch.

‘The people that are considered the die-hard fans are more than likely, I suspect, to wait for the iPhone X in November,’ he said.

‘I am still expect the iPhone 8 to do very well, but not to see the usual rush to get it first, as the people that this phone is now aimed at aren’t the people who queue up over night.

‘That comes in November.’

The iPhone X will feature Apple’s first ever edge-to-edge screen and facial recognition technology.

It is due to be released on November 3, starting at £999, making it the most expensive iPhone ever.