Abstract:
On the occasion of the official launch of Apple’s new generation iPhone 18 Pro series, Apple’s iconic direct-operated store on Fifth Avenue in New York ushered in a special protest. Apple's new CEO John Ternus personally opened the store for the first batch of iPhone 18 Pro sales in the US market that day, and an organization focused on children's online safety sent a number of promotional vehicles before the store opened to display protest signs against Apple's child safety policy along Fifth Avenue.
The Apple Fifth Avenue store is one of Apple’s most iconic stores in the world. The store’s famous glass cube has just undergone a special transformation and is available in three colors: burgundy red, silver and glacier blue to echo the new colors of the iPhone 18 Pro. The store had been briefly closed for the launch of new products, and reopened at 8 a.m. local time on September 18 to welcome the first batch of consumers purchasing the new iPhone.
Before the store opened, the Heat Initiative, an organization that focuses on child safety issues, parked a number of promotional vans near Fifth Avenue. The vehicles were equipped with illuminated electronic signs and displayed protest content against Apple. One banner accused Apple of being involved in child sexual abuse content and addressed Apple CEO John Ternus directly, demanding action.
Judging from the situation at the scene, the protesters had arrived at around 4 a.m. When the Apple Fifth Avenue store officially opened at 8 a.m., at least six such promotional vehicles were lined up along Fifth Avenue in New York, making the event originally centered around the launch of the new iPhone simultaneously a protest site on child safety issues.
As of the time of the report, Heat Initiative had not issued an official statement on the protest, and Apple had not responded.
At the same time, Apple’s Fifth Avenue store still holds the iPhone 18 Pro launch event as originally planned. John Turnus opened the store door himself and welcomed the first customers into the store. Deirdre O'Brien, head of Apple's retail business, and Greg Joswiak, vice president of global marketing, also appeared at the scene to participate in the new product launch event.
The Fifth Avenue store has always had a special status in Apple's new product launches. For many years, former Apple CEO Tim Cook often came here in person to open the store for consumers on the day the new iPhone was launched. When the iPhone 17 Pro was launched last year, Cook appeared in the same store and was warmly welcomed by the crowd.
This year is the first new iPhone product launched after John Ternus took over as Apple CEO. Apple had not previously announced the CEO's specific itinerary on new product launch days in advance, so Ternus ultimately chose to come to the Fifth Avenue store in person, continuing Cook's past tradition of participating in new product launches at this important store.
Before the store officially opened, Greg Joswiak was also photographed walking quickly through the crowd gathered outside Fifth Avenue. The attention of consumers and media at the scene was quite high, and there were a large number of people waiting to buy new machines around Apple stores.
The focus of this protest is not the iPhone 18 Pro itself, but the safety of children in smartphones, app stores, and online services. Heat Initiative has long been concerned about how technology companies deal with child sexual abuse materials, children's online protection and related content dissemination issues. The organization chose to take action on the launch day of the iPhone 18 Pro and outside Apple's most symbolic stores this time, apparently hoping to use the massive attention attracted by the new product launch to expand the influence of related issues.
At present, iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max have officially entered Apple direct stores around the world, and the first batch of pre-order users have also begun to receive the new machines. Consumers in the U.S. market can purchase on-site or receive previously reserved devices at Apple's direct-operated stores, and the first batch of consumers in other regions have also received their new iPhones.
Therefore, two completely different scenes appeared at Apple's Fifth Avenue store that day: inside the store, Apple's new CEO personally launched sales of new iPhones, and consumers lined up to buy new products. Outside the store, child safety organizations protested against Apple's policies through multiple illuminated promotional vehicles. The intersection of the two events at the same time and place also added an episode to Apple's iPhone 18 Pro launch day this year that has nothing to do with the product itself.
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