Around 200 people queued outside an Apple Premium Partner store at a mall in Makati City on Friday, with some even having spent the night lining up, so they could be among the first to get their hands on the latest iPhone model.

Accessories worth several thousand pesos were given to the first 300 individuals who purchased the iPhone 15 before dawn.

• iPhone 15 models running hot? Apple working on fix
• Are you ready for the iPhone 15 launch in PH?

The first person in line was Joey Reyes, who said he flew all the way from Cebu to attend the midnight launch hosted by Ai Dela Cruz and Enchong Dee.

“Dumating ako Manila October 13, pumila ako Monday morning. Nandito na ako hanggang ngayon,” he said.

Reyes, along with the next 49 individuals in line, were gifted with iPhone accessories worth P30,000.

According to the smartphone enthusiast, while the cost of the gadget breaks the bank, the freebies made a great bang for the buck.

“Worth the wait. Yung accessories ang ganda, sulit, ang sarap gamitin. Benta ko rin pangbawi,” he said.

This is the third time Reyes had triumphed as the first person to purchase the latest phone model at the reseller’s annual midnight launch event.

Reyes was also the first to buy the iPhone 14 from the same store last year and the iPhone 11 in 2019.

• 'Sulit': Nearly 200 customers camp out for new iPhone 14

“Nagustuhan ko iPhone 11, then iPhone 14, ngayon iPhone 15. Pangarap ko itong iPhone 15. Sulit, total package. Ang ganda po,” he said.

“Itong event [makes it] 100 percent memorable. Malaki pasasalamat ko nasungkit ko na naman number 1,” he added.

He said he had to save up money for a few months for the gadget. He also sold the iPhone 14 he bought last year to scrap up some additional cash.

He said he did not regret spending his hard-earned money on the phone, which he saw as an investment to “make the most out of his day.”

“Sobrang saya, sobrang blessed hindi ko na iniisip pagod ko. Ang akin nasa akin pangarap magkaroon ng iPhone,” he said. “Grabe 100 percent achievement. Nakikita ko yung pera ko 'pag nagagamit ko.”

Others who queued starting Thursday afternoon also snagged free accessories.

Ella and Ralph, who lined up at around 1 p.m., were the 101st and 102nd customers in the queue. The 51st to 150th customers received freebies worth P15,000.

“Triny lang namin, P15,000 din ‘yon, malaking bagay pang bawi sa gastos,” Ralph said.

The next 150 new iPhone owners went home with P8,000 worth of free accessories.

Krisel Loreto, the marketing manager of Power Mac Center, said they host the giveaway annually to help patrons “make the most of their investment.”

“We all know iPhone comes with a hefty price. We do events such as this because we want this moment to be memorable,” Loreto said.

“A lot of our customers really save up and exert effort to buy the latest iPhone. They invest their savings. We want to invest in such events where they will get more than what they are paying for," she said.

"The iconic giveaway is done during the 'ber' months, we want to play a part in making their Christmas special.”

Filipino bands Lola Amour and December Avenue and singer Adie performed for the crowd.

Celebrities such as siblings Daniel Matsunaga and Vanessa Matsunaga-Sunga, couple Mikael Daez and Megan Young, Marc Nelson, Rovilson Fernandez, Andrea Torres and content creator Philip Te Hernandez (Davao Conyo), were among those spotted at the launch.

Watch more News on iWantTFC