Apple officially launched the iPhone 18 Pro Max at its flagship store on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan. The event marked the first time Apple CEO John Ternus hosted a product launch as the company's leader, following his appointment to the role on September 1. Ternus took over from former CEO Tim Cook, who now serves as Apple’s Executive Chairman. Customer Number 1, Harry Sung, was the first to receive the new iPhone 18 Pro Max, which was available in a new burgundy color. Sung, who has been the first customer at Apple’s iPhone launch events for two consecutive years, had pre-ordered the 256GB version online and arrived at the store the night before at 8:30pm ET to wait in line. Ternus personally escorted Sung into the store to hand him the first unit. At exactly 8am ET, Ternus appeared behind the frosted glass doors of the flagship store and then opened them to a crowd of eager customers and onlookers. While the event was filled with excitement, a small group of protesters stood nearby, raising concerns about working conditions in iPhone manufacturing. As the crowd cheered, the protesters’ voices seemed to fade into the background. Ternus greeted the long line of customers waiting outside, many of whom had pre-ordered the new iPhone. He first met with Sung, who had visited over 120 Apple stores worldwide and had met Ternus before at the launch of Apple’s 100th store. Sung had Ternus sign a book, which also featured signatures from several other Apple executives. After posing with Sung, Ternus continued greeting other customers. Following the event, Sung briefly appeared outside with his new iPhone 18 Pro Max, holding it up for the crowd to see. He told reporters he had never used an Android phone and that his first iPhone was the iPhone 15. Sung, a native of China now living in New Jersey and attending university, said his passion for Apple was the reason he visited so many stores and attended the event.