Plus: Some new sparkle is coming to downtown San Francisco, right along a popular SF cable car stop.
Techtemper has become synonymous with smartphone debuts, particularly from Apple, for well over a decade. However, the last few years have seen the $3.6 trillion Silicon Valley darling launch uninspired iterations of its flagship product, the iPhone. The lack of year-over-year change has birthed many relevant memes.
But this year was different; there was a seismic change; novelty, again, had found its way into Apple’s signature line of handheld glass-wrapped rectangles. The iPhone 17 finally got a 120hz display, doubling the hertz rate it’s had for years; the iPhone 17 Pro got a downgrade in materials, but saw a new unibody and updated rear-facing camera lens array; and last but certainly not least, the iPhone Air was debuted to wild fanfare after months of speculation that a new thin model would be coming to the iPhone lineup in 2025.
The iPhone Air, with its polished titanium design, reworked “plateau,” and talks of being the most durable model ever — though speculations of another Bendgate swirled, given its thinness — attracted massive interest. It was the first iteration of the iPhone in over seven years that proved to be unique and different. And it’s that distinctiveness that drew crowds to Apple’s San Francisco flagship store in Union Square.
For thousands at 300 Post Street, Friday, September 19th, was new iPhone day. People were seen lining up all around the block to secure their new phones. Others were merely curious to hold the iPhone Air and see what all the fuss was about.
It was a sight unseen in years past; for Yoann Nussbaumer, it was a reminder of the “good old days.”
“People are queuing for the new iPhone at the Apple Store in San Francisco, just like in the good old days,” wrote Nussbaumer on Threads. With downtown’s new Pop Mart store and all around increased foot traffic — the free concerts featuring popular talent are definitely helping — maybe the good old days of crowded San Francisco sidewalks are coming back, after all.
What else transpired over the week? Let’s take a look.
- Have you checked out the new redesigns of this popular SF-based news outlet? Broke-Ass Stuart just went through an entire website redesign, and it looks great — much easier to navigate. More info.
- Downtown San Francisco’s an LED makeover. Field Operations — the design firm that’s responsible for the illumination atop — and Site Lab collectively got the green light for a review of Powell Street, where the cable cars swing around, featuring a massive orb of hanging LEDs. More info.
- RIP, Lucky’s in Bayview. After just three years, the mega-popular local grocer is closing its location at 3801 3rd Street; November 1st will be its last day of operation, and, once closed, will widen the area’s growing food desert. More info.
Feature image: Courtesy of Threads via [at]spicty___t
