Fixation on status fuels iPhone frenzy

Chinese people raided Apple stores around the globe after the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus hit the market, in an effort to be among the first to snap up the new smartphones.

This is all because Apple's new line of iPhones passed up the Chinese mainland in their initial release.

Some rich Chinese want to get the new products as soon as possible, simply as a way to show off their wealth, even though it means paying a huge premium. According to some surveys, there will be about 5 million new iPhones heading back to China via the gray market.?

It might be hard for foreigners to understand why some Chinese consumers are so eager to get the new iPhone. Most foreigners who want a new iPhone prefer to pre-order the devices online instead of waiting in line. They don't need to have one before everyone else because they see it as simply a device for communication.?

On the mainland, there's more of an irrational worship of Apple products. They serve as a way of flaunting one's wealth and demonstrating one's superior social status. For some rich Chinese, mobile phones, like automobiles, symbolize wealth. It's a result of getting rich overnight, but it might also have something to do with the country's rapid economic transformation.