DHAKA: The new iPhone 6s and 6s Plus hit stores Friday, with dozens of people — and a robot — queuing in Sydney to kick off a global sales cycle that will be scrutinized for signs of how much juice Apple Inc’s marquee product has left.

Analysts expect 12 million to 13 million phones to fly off the shelves in the first weekend, up from more than 10 million last year when the hugely successful iPhone 6’s launch was delayed in China, the world’s biggest smartphone market.

Among the first to pick up the new iPhone 6s in a cold, rainy Sydney was a tele-presence robot named Lucy, operated by marketing executive Lucy Kelly.

‘I obviously have my work and other things to attend to and can’t spend two days lining up so my boss at work suggested I take one of the robots down and use it to stand in my place,’ she said via an iPad mounted on top of the wheeled robot, reports themalaymailonline.com.

‘I love new gadgets. The new camera is meant to be amazing.’

BDST: 1330 HRS, SEPT 25, 2015
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