An iPhone fan who is camping outside Sydney’s flagship Apple store for 10 days to be the first to get his hands on the latest device has revealed he regrets lining up so early.
Mazen Kourouche is waiting outside the George Street store and plans to stay there until the iPhone 8 is released on September 22, so he can be the first in the world to unbox it for his YouTube followers.
But while the 20-year-old is still enjoying the experience, he admitted to Daily Mail Australia that he regrets getting there so far ahead of time.
Mr Kourouche grabbed the coveted spot at the front of the queue before Apple CEO Tim Cook unveiled the latest products at the company’s brand-new headquarters in Cupertino, California, on Tuesday.
Mazen Kourouche is camping outside the Apple store in George Street, Sydney, until the iPhone 8 comes out on September 22
The student, who is studying software engineering, had hoped the ‘anniversary’ iPhone X would be launched this month, but the highly-anticipated device won’t be available to pre-order until October 27 and shipped on November 3.
However, he is not prepared to spend seven weeks waiting for it.
But instead of leaving and losing his current spot, he is going to drop more than $3,000 to get the new iPhone 8 Plus when it is released next week before coming back later to line up for iPhone X.
‘When I got here, I regretted it almost immediately. As soon as I sat down, I realised it was pretty early,’ he told Daily Mail Australia.
‘But it’s too late to back out now.’
He added: ‘I’ve gotten a lot of attention in the media, so if I packed up it would have been more of an embarrassment. So I’m kind of stuck.
‘Now people know I’m here, so if I leave, it will become a headline.’
The 20-year-old documented his preparations for the 10-day wait in a video on YouTube
Mr Kourouche says the experience so far has been fun, but he is finding it difficult to keep up with his university assignments.
‘I’ve spent a couple full nights here, it only gets hard around 2 or 3am when everyone is coming back from the club drunk.
‘They just mess around with you, I’ve had some people fall on the tent.’
But Mr Kourouche says his friends – Rami, 21, and Abdul, 20 – are rotating shifts with him, so he can still attend university and go home to rest.
‘They take over from me when I need it. I’d gone 25 hours with no sleep because I stayed up to watch the announcement.
The software engineering student is ready to spend more than $3,000 on an iPhone 8 Plus and an iPhone X
Mr Kourouche is excited to be the first person in the world to unbox the iPhone on YouTube
‘I’ve gotten them excited and on launch day, all three of us are going to be in line.’
Nevertheless, he says he will likely return to camp out for the iPhone X ahead of its release.
‘I had been hoping I could hit two birds with one stone and buy the iPhone 8 and X together,’ he said.
‘I will probably camp out for the X, but not for 10 days, definitely not.’
And although this is the third year in a row that he has lined up for an iPhone launch, he doesn’t plan on returning next year.
‘The first time I lined up here, it was for a few hours,’ he said.
‘It was a few hours in 2015, three days in 2016 and now, its 10 in 2017.
‘I don’t think there will be a next time. I think I end on the 10th anniversary with 10 days out here.’
While he admits he regrets lining up so far in advance, the students says he has enjoyed the experience so far
The 20-year-old says the biggest challenge has been keeping up with university assignments
He is planning to buy an iPhone 8 Plus – a 64GB silver model that will set him back $1,229 – and then buy the iPhone X – a 256GB version in space grey for $1,829.
The two devices will add to his already extensive collection of Apple products, including an iPhone 7 Plus, a MacBook Pro, Apple TV, iPad Pro and Apple Watch.
Although he concedes that it is a lot of money to spend on two gadgets, he’s saved up from his part-time job in order to do so.
‘That’s a lot of money. The iPhone X, that’s going to be my phone, and I might sell the iPhone 8 online after a while,’ he said.
‘The people that know me know that tech is the only thing I spend money on,’ he adds.
Apple Senior Vice President of Worldwide Marketing, Phil Schiller, introduces the iPhone 8 during a launch event in Cupertino, California, on September 12
A man takes photos of the new iPhone X during the Apple launch event on September 12
‘For people that spend on designer clothing, it gets spent throughout the year. With me, all my money gets saved until September
‘It’s more of an investment for me as well as I use it for my YouTube channel.’
Mr Kourouche also said that while his family are supportive of his mission.
‘My parents are supportive. But they still tell me, ‘we can’t believe you’re doing this. You sure you don’t want to come home?’
‘My sister thinks I’m nuts, but she’s supportive too.’
He also added that he’s determined to carry on, despite the negative comments he’s received online.
‘I’ve gotten a lot of comments, 90 per cent of them negative,’ he said.
‘People get creative, I commend them for being bothered.
‘They’ll say things like ‘get a life’ and ‘this guy probably doesn’t have a job.’
‘I mean, how do you think I’m affording it? But it doesn’t bother me.’