iPhone 6s release date: new phones to go on sale at 8am, queues likely to form long before that

The Apple Watch had a muted release — but the huge queues are set to come back for the new iPhone

Customer Sylvain leaves an Apple store with boxes as the new iPhone 6 goes on sale in Paris

Apple’s new iPhones are set to go on sale on Friday — but the first ones will probably go to people who joined the queue long before then.

All of the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus models will be available at 8am local time on September 25. But arriving then will likely leave people waiting for hours and the phones might have sold out.

Apple itself has said that stores “will have the new iPhones available for walk-in customers”, but that they are “encouraged to arrive early”. Phones can also be reserved from the website and then picked up in store.

Some models already have a long wait on Apple’s online store. Many models of the iPhone 6s Plus in particular are unavailable, with waits of three to four weeks.

As well as being for sale from Apple stores, in the UK the handsets will be available from EE, O2, Three, Virgin, Vodafone and other carriers. They’ll also be able to be bought from Apple’s authorised resellers.

The iPhone 6s will be available for £539 for the 16GB model, £619 for the 64GB model and £699 for the 128GB model. The 6s Plus will cost £619 for the 16GB model, £699 for the 64GB model and £789 for the 128GB model.

Apple launched the iPhone 6s at an event earlier this month. The new phones’ two headline features are a vastly improved camera and a new pressure-sensitive screen.