Launching the world's most-anticipated piece of consumer tech

SAN FRANCISCO: The queues were forming for a couple of hours - there was no chaos though - just patient, orderly and eager crowds. The guest list included global media, retail partners and select guests - numbering in the thousands. The venue, the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium in San Francisco, has been under tight security for a few days while everything was being setup. The venue can hold roughly 7,000 people and it looks like it was almost at capacity, especially considering the sheer numbers you need to manage an event at this scale.

Members of the San Francisco Police Department, in addition to Apple's own extensive security team, were tasked with keeping people (including uninterested pedestrians) a fair distance away from the venue lest some information and photos be leaked from inside the venue. This means that the road in front of the Bill Graham auditorium was cordoned off to traffic as well. A giant Apple logo on the facade of the building was the only indication that it was an Apple event.

As members of the media, we were given colour coded cards in order to gain access. We were warned several times: these cards were not transferable and were to be kept safely. If lost, we simply would not have access to the event or to the demo area after the event. Once inside, the atmosphere was electric. Not because of the sheer number of laptops, cameras and phones around - but because of the number of Apple enthusiasts.

This launch is a big deal for Apple. The iPhone is their biggest selling product but upgrade cycles have been increasing with people holding on to their phones for longer. Now what remains to be seen is whether the iPhone 7 offers enough to boost sales.