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The queue outside an Apple store in London for the launch of the iPhone 6. AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth

Will large queues for Apple products be a thing of the past?

A leaked Apple memo suggests it’s trying out a different strategy for the launch of the Apple Watch and Macbook.

APPLE LAUNCH EVENTS bring a lot of fanfare with them, and part of that involves queuing up for the latest release on launch day.

Every major product released by the company has resulted in long queues of people waiting to get their hands on the latest iPhone or iPad device.

Yet for the launch of the Apple Watch and Macbook, Apple is taking a different approach and will encourage customers to buy either device online, where more will be in stock.

A leaked memo acquired by Business Insider shows Apple’s retail chief Angela Ahrendts instructing staff members to encourage customers to order online instead of visiting their local Apple Store on launch day.

The days of waiting in line and crossing fingers for a product are over for our customers. The Apple Store app and our online store make it much easier to purchase Apple Watch and the new MacBook. Customers will know exactly when and where their product arrives. This is a significant change in mindset, and we need your help to make it happen. Tell your customers we have more availability online, and show them how easy it is to order. You’ll make their day.

By right, the queues for a new Apple product are the kind of thing that results in publicity for Apple as people wait hours, sometimes days, to purchase a device. In one way, it can help highlight how popular and desirable a device is but said fans can be the target of ridicule by brands for going to such lengths to buy a product.

Business Insider also reports that stores in the UK may not have any stock during launch, meaning the best way to order one is online. Customers will be able to try out the watch in stores, but will be directed to kiosks or Apple’s website if they want to order one.

Read: Australia has just set a major precedent against online piracy, but could the same happen here? >

Read: This battery only needs one minute to charge completely >

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26 Comments
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    Mute RJ.Fallon
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    May 20th 2018, 12:12 PM

    “privatisation Drive” , another ” lets grab all they have” scam. Like ourselves, soon to be left with nothing to call our own.

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    Mute Aidan Mitchell
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    May 20th 2018, 12:16 PM

    @RJ.Fallon: beating up a 75 year old man should sort that right out…

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    Mute BananaRepublic1922
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    May 20th 2018, 12:20 PM

    @RJ.Fallon: we have nothing to call our own its all been given away by our treasous politicians….this republic has been sold right under our feet and stupid paddy doesnt give a f@@k.

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    Mute P.J. Nolan
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    May 20th 2018, 12:47 PM

    @BananaRepublic1922:
    Good.
    I rather see them sold than the Irish taxpayer being on the hook for them
    I worked in the semi state sector for years, my god the people in them would get some fright if there jobs were actually at risk.

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    Mute Sean Conway
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    May 20th 2018, 12:48 PM

    @RJ.Fallon: Millionaire FF/FG politicians are just waiting for an excuse to sell IW from under our noses.

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    Mute Robert O'Rourke
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    May 20th 2018, 12:31 PM

    It isn’t the Greeks it’s the Chinese he’s after.

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    Mute Boyne Sharky
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    May 20th 2018, 5:26 PM

    We can all sympathise with how they may feel, seeing their country being sold out from under them, but beating the ever loving sh.. it out of a 75 year old man isn’t the way to solve anything. That’s the sort of thing that makes their cause worthless, it makes them worse than those they’re angry about. A big muscled lad picking on the weakest in society, yeah that sends a great message.

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    Mute John Fergus
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    May 20th 2018, 7:13 PM

    With a meeting of eurozone finance ministers set for 21 June, teams of experts from the EU, the European Central Bank (ECB) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) have met with the Greek government in recent days to discuss its privatisation drive, an overhaul of the civil service and the deregulation of the state-dominated energy market.
    In a statement that gave no detail on the agreement, the EU’s executive said a staff-level accord had been reached.

    This is the main piece of the article that deserves attention. The people they carried out the attack were labelled as being far right wing by the office of the countries left-wing leader. A cynical person would question this.
    Perhaps the attackers were people that voted for Tsipras and Syriza in 2015 and now are utterly dismayed at how their country is and sold out from under their feet.
    In any event I don’t know I wasn’t there.
    The sad thing is there is no end in sight, Greece cannot effectively survive in the euro it is the totally wrong currency for them.

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    Mute John Fergus
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    May 20th 2018, 8:46 PM

    @John Fergus: don’t get me wrong it’s tragic what happened. Those responsible for beating a 75-year-old man should be figuratively hung. That being said the official line on this is likely skewed to benefit those giving it.

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    Mute Danny Rafferty
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    May 21st 2018, 1:14 AM

    @John Fergus: Currency? If your economy was a basket case to begin with, does it matter much about the currency? Interestingly, most Greeks want to stay in the Euro, apparently – go figure?

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    Mute Gerry Fallon
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    May 20th 2018, 6:07 PM

    Disgusting hitting a 75 year old man.
    Unforgivable.

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    Mute Jasun Ó Cearnaigh
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    May 20th 2018, 11:33 PM

    Would it have been OK If he was 30 and not 75?

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