A young woman was in tears after police kicked her out of the queue to Apple's flagship Sydney store before she was able to buy the new iPhone 6.
Anna, a 24-year-old international student from China, was ordered by police about 10am to leave the George Street area for six hours or risk being arrested, after they asked her multiple times to stay put in the queue.
Two models of the new smartphone, the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, went on sale at 8am AEST at Apple stores across the country, as well as other retailers such as Telstra, Optus and Vodafone.
The student, who wouldn't give her last name, said she had lined up for more than 24 hours but the number of people in front of her had grown from about 80 to 180 overnight as people joined their friends.
She became worried that she wouldn't get to the front of the queue in time to buy two 4.7-inch iPhone 6 handsets as planned, because she had to leave to study for a law exam.
Other people in the queue then offered to sell her handsets at inflated prices which she could not afford – more than twice the price in one case, she said.
Anna left her spot in the queue more than once to see if anyone could sell her a phone at a more reasonable price.
Police then intervened to try to maintain a clear passageway outside the George St store, she said, which was overcrowded with customers and press.
Witnesses overhead police ask the young woman if she really wanted to get arrested "over a phone".
Anna said she was warned two or three times before being ordered to leave the area.
She said police did the right thing but was upset that Apple hadn't done more to prevent people pushing in front of others.
It was unfair that "true" Apple fans like her missed out, implying others were trying to profit from the high demand for the product.
"I just feel so excited by the iPhone but the shop did nothing [to stop people pushing in]," she said. "It's a waste of my heart, waste of my love."
She said Apple could have allocated number cards to ensure people could not jump in front of those who had been waiting longer.
 
Police on the scene said people in the queue, which snaked from the George Street store for 400 metres along York and Market streets to Clarence, had otherwise been very orderly.
Apple hired extra security for the event.
The company had also arranged a second queue for customers picking up pre-orders placed since last Friday at 5pm. They were also able to nominate a specific time for pick-up.
Apple declined to comment on the matter.
A NSW Police spokeswoman said officers from Sydney City Local Area Command spoke to a 24-year-old woman who was obstructing and harassing members of the public in George Street, Sydney, at about 10am.
"The woman was issued with a move along direction to which she complied," she said, adding police will take no further action.
Melbourne-based Hannah Francis travelled to Sydney as a guest of Apple.
With Michael Koziol
