Crowd waits for iPhone 7 outside Spokane’s Apple Store

About two-dozen iPhone devotees lined up Friday morning outside the Apple Store in downtown Spokane to get their hands on the latest model.

The iPhone 7 hit store shelves Friday, attracting both fanfare and criticism.

The Spokane crowd was noticeably smaller than it’s been on previous Apple product release dates, reflecting a common sentiment among consumers that the iPhone 7 doesn’t bring high expectations.

“I’m an Apple fanboy,” said Mike Gaskins, a Spokane resident. But, “in terms of the amount of features they included with this upgrade, it’s the absolute minimum they could do to get me to upgrade.”

Gaskins likes that the iPhone 7 has a better camera and faster processor than previous models. But, like many consumers, he took issue with the absence of a headphone jack. The new model instead relies on wireless ear buds, which some complain are easily lost.

“I don’t know. I love my headphones,” said Bianca Arce. “It is what it is. I’m sure people will love it.”

Others like that the iPhone 7 is waterproof.

“That’s a big thing for me,” said Teresa Sanger, who has owned the last several models. “I’ve had an iPhone sink to the bottom of a pool before.”

Some arrived at the downtown store early Friday to purchase the Apple Watch, not the phone.

On social media, news of plummeting iPhone 6S prices spread like wildfire. Many consumers said they would rather buy that slightly older model, which can support the same iOS 10 operating system, than pay more for the iPhone 7.