【Philippines movie 18+】

Khajorn Chiaranaipanich flew for more than two hours to be Philippines movie 18+one of the first people to experience Apple's first store in Singapore.

Witnessing its opening was very important for the managing director at a Thai social news company -- so important, that he had been waiting in the queue at 5 a.m, five whole hours before the store officially opened.

SEE ALSO: Apple's first store in Southeast Asia is here, and this is what it looks like

Located at the heart of Orchard Road, the city's retail centre, Apple's opened its first Southeast Asian location and added its ninth high-profile Apple Store globally, amidst others in Ginza, Dubai, Soho, and New York.

"It's the first Apple store in Southeast Asia, so it's very important for Thai people," Khajorn told Mashable."If they build an Apple Store here, it means that they're building something for us in Southeast Asia. The next market could be Thailand or Indonesia or something like that."

Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

A long line of people were already queueing up outside Knightsbridge Mall, before the store opened at 10 a.m. Singapore time.

Some were there since 5 p.m. the previous day. And like Khajorn, many flew in from places like China to witness the store's opening.

"We were going to start school [in Singapore], and when we heard that the Apple Store was opening, we wanted to be here," said Yang Chen, a 28-year-old graduate student from Xiamen, who was at the Apple Store from 8 p.m. the previous day.

Mashable Light Speed Want more out-of-this world tech, space and science stories? Sign up for Mashable's weekly Light Speed newsletter. By clicking Sign Me Up, you confirm you are 16+ and agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Thanks for signing up!

Grey shirts with the Apple logo, a heart shape and a red dot — symbolizing Singapore — were given out to the first few customers.

Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

"We've been waiting for this store for so long... being at an Apple Store is a different experience. It's not like going to an Apple authorized sale centre. It's very lovely to be here, it's like a shrine for Apple fans," said Reyazuddin Shaik, a 40-year-old Singaporean, had been queuing up since 8 a.m.

Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

Apple's launching the store in a region where Apple has faced immense competition with much cheaper Android alternatives, like Xiaomi, Oppo and Samsung.

It's also faced difficulties with trade regulations in Indonesia, that prevented the tech giant from launching the iPhone 6S in the country.

The Silicon Valley tech giant was only able to launch the iPhone 7 in neighboring Indonesia in April this year after acceding to Indonesian regulations.

Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

While Singapore is a small market for Apple -- the island has the highest smartphone penetration in the world -- there's still a burgeoning market for Apple in surrounding countries, where smartphone penetration is not as high.

Demand for high-end devices have increased in the region, according to research from IDC, a marketing intelligence firm. In 2015, more than 100 million smartphones were sold in the region, which has a population of more than 600 million people. The number is expected to grow even more in the years to come, as an estimated 3.8 million people come online in the region each month.

Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

Besides being home to Apple's products, the store also features the tech giant's Today at Apple program, with workshops, events and in-store classes occurring with local talent. Apple envisions the store as "modern-day town square," and expects it to be one of its most popular.

The program in Singapore's Apple Store will focus on photography, film, coding, music, art, and design.

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.

---

Featured Video For You

---

Apple's new 'Apple Park' spaceship campus will open in April

---

Topics Apple

• Games
• Deals
• Shopping
• Social Good
• Life
• Entertainment
• Tech
• Digital Culture

• Sabalenka vs. Svitolina 2025 livestream: Watch Madrid Open for free
• How to find an online community of support when freezing your eggs
• Save 23% on Soundcore by Anker sleep earbuds, just $99.99 during Prime Day.
• Watching the NBA All
• Character AI reveals AvatarFX, a new AI video generator
• Did William Blake's ‘Songs of Innocence’ Inspire Radoihead?
• Elon Musk reportedly paid $250,000 to settle a sexual misconduct case, and Twitter has thoughts
• Who Is Professor Bhaer, Really? Part 4 of 5
• Best Amazon deal: Get a $5 Amazon credit when you spend $30 on home essentials
• Who Is Professor Bhaer? Part 3 of an Ongoing Investigation

• Best Amazon Prime Day free deals: Audiobooks, music, and Kindle books all cost $0
• Amazon Prime Day book deals: Up to 50% off books
• October Prime Day Dyson deals [2024]
• Best Amazon Prime Day free deals still live: Audiobooks, music, and Kindle books all cost $0
• Best October Prime Day home security camera deals: SimpliSafe, TP
• Microsoft Surface Laptop is at an all
• Best Prime Day Kindle deal: Save $85 on Kindle Scribe
• Israel vs. France 2024 livestream: Watch UEFA Nations League for free
• Apple's leaked M4 Macbook Pro is being hawked on a Russian website
• Best Beats Studio Pro deal: Save $180 on October Prime Day

• Best headphone deal: Take 22% off the Sonos Ace at Amazon
• Save 23% on Soundcore by Anker sleep earbuds, just $99.99 during Prime Day.
• The Answers to Our Thirty Word Puzzles
• The best Prime Day 2023 Lego deals: Star Wars, Marvel, and more
• The internet is talking like Kevin from 'The Office' now
• Writ in Water: The Enduring Mystery of Keats’s Last Words
• Homemade air fryer chicken nuggets are a must
• TikTok's air fryer tortilla pizza hack is perfect drunk food
• Apple is reportedly still working on smart glasses of some kind
• Solve These Word Puzzles and Win a Free Subscription

• Analyzing Graphics Card Pricing: May 2018
• Why you should stream 'Moonlighting' right now
• Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, and the case of the Trump
• 'The Book Of Non
• Musetti vs. Diallo 2025 livestream: Watch Madrid Open for free
• 'Harry's House' finds a home on TikTok
• When Homero Aridjis Was Ten, He Accidentally Shot Himself
• Save $150 on the Acer Aspire 3 which is 22% off its normal price of $449.99.
• Best Samsung Frame deal: Free Music Frame with Frame Pro art TV purchase
• Chat messages that set off conspiracies about Buffalo and Uvalde shootings confirmed to be fake