Apple Daily: Robot Holds iPhone Buyer's Place in Line; Nat Geo Photog Uses iPhone 6s Plus

It's that time of year again — the time when thousands of people worldwide brave the cold or heat and camp outside of Apple Stores for the new iPhones. And this time, someone's even sent a robot of sorts in her place. Elsewhere, a National Geographic photographer shows what the iPhone 6s Plus can do when he takes it on assignment instead of his usual photography equipment.

People (and Robots) Already Lining Up for Tomorrow's iPhone Launch

The Apple retail experience has changed a lot in the last few years, but for better or worse, people still camp out in lines by the dozen at various stores in order to be the first to get their hands on the new iPhones. This year, though, the biggest lines appear to be overseas.

So far the most notable sitter can be found at the flagship Apple Store in Sydney, Australia. According to Mashable, media agency executive Lucy Kelly of the Atomic 212 has set up a telepresence robot at the fourth spot in line that takes her place while she's free to attend to her duties at work. The contraption is essentially an iPad attached to an Segway-type device, and Kelly apparently even hopes that she'll be able to buy the iPod with the device without any real human interaction.

Source: Mashable

According to Kelly, the other people waiting in line aren't too bothered by it.

"Everyone thinks it is pretty cool," Kelly said. "They were happy to let a robot go ahead."

So far, the biggest lines appear to be in Germany, where the Munich store has installed temporary rows for those waiting to purchase their phones (via Martin Gollwitzer and Lana Lee). In Hamburg (via Daniel Knott) the crowd of waiting customers is so thick that they're taking up almost the entire sidewalk.

While comparatively tame, things are still getting a little crazy over here in the States. In Little Rock, Arkansas, for instance, a Twitter user named Stephen has set up his Xbox One in front of the local Apple Store, where he's been playing the game Destiny since Monday (and, oddly, even getting uncut pizza from Domino's).

National Geographic Photog Uses iPhone 6s Plus Instead of Traditional Equipment

It's true that good photography ultimately comes from the photographer, not his or her equipment, but it's hard to argue that good equipment doesn't help make that vision all the more beautiful. As for National Geographic photographer Mark Leong, he's finding that the new iPhone 6s Plus is doing a great job of replacing his former heavy, clunky equipment.

Source: National Geographic

Leong's most recent assignment sent him to Sanjiang in China, where he revisited sites from the 1989 trip that led to his becoming a professional photographer. The difference is that he was only allowed to take an iPhone 6s Plus this time, but with the help of a tripod and Cogitap's Slow Shutter Cam app, that didn't prove a problem (particularly with the camera's new 12 megapixel sensor).

In fact, he found that not having to lug along all that extra equipment "incredibly liberating." Back in the '80s, Leong carried eight pounds of Kodak film with him, along with two Nikon cameras and three lenses. You can check out the results from Leong's impressive journey over at National Geographic.

Follow this article's writer, Leif Johnson, on Twitter.