Almost as expected, absolute chaos broke out around Apple Stores around China for the release of the iPhone 4S, with either delays or shortages causing angry crowds to revolt against the store itself and the security guards, Reuters reports.
At Sanlitun, the riot police even had to intervene to prevent events turning seriously ugly. The other Apple stores opened as planned, but the 2,000 unit supply of the iPhone 4S was gone within hours, leaving customers angry and disappointed.
Apple later released a statement regarding the chaos:
Unfortunately, we were unable to open our store at Sanlitun due to the large crowd. And to ensure the safety of our customers and our employees, iPhones will not be available in our retails stores in Beijing and Shanghai for the time being.
They also pointed out that the iPhone 4S can be ordered online as well as in China Unicom retail stores, but this is unlikely to deter people from wanting to buy them from the Apple Stores themselves.