Galaxy Note 7 recall may be surprising, iPhone 7 lines not so much

PALO ALTO, Calif. (KTVU) - It’s a tale of two phones—the two most popular smartphones that is. The newest iPhone goes on sale Friday and the latest Samsung Galaxy Note 7 is being recalled.

At the Apple Store on University Avenue in Palo Alto, there is a line of fans waiting for doors to open at 8 a.m. They want the latest the tech giant has to offer.

"I arrived at 6:30 this morning [Thursday]. I wanted to be first in line and I wanted to get a 7 plus," says David Eaton of San Jose.

But he and others in line say that several times on Thursday, Apple employees came out to tell them there are no iPhone 7 pluses available and they don't have the iPhone 7 in the new jet black color. But these Apple fans are undeterred.

"I try and try. I think tomorrow they will come out with it," says Tung Dao who says he plans to stay in line and hope that he'll be able to buy two iPhones 7s.

"There's always a pent up demand," says Palo Alto based tech expert Larry Magid who spoke with us via Skype from Philadelphia. He is also CEO of ConnectSafely.org.

He says it's too early to tell how strong the sales of the new iPhone will be.

"The real question is not how well it sells this week or next week. But how it sells two or three weeks from now, whether demand is sustained or is it just that initial pent up demand," says Magid.

But while Apple fans are waiting eagerly for the iPhone 7, federal consumer safety regulators formally recalled one million Samsung Galaxy Note 7's— Apples main competitor.  They're asking consumers to immediately stop using and power down the phone.

"Malfunctions happen now and then. I think it's part of technology development," says Neger Feher of Mountain View who owns a Samsung phone, which she suspects has the faulty battery.

There have been 92 reports of batteries overheating in the U.S. and dozens of reports of damage to property, including causing the fire that destroyed this vehicle.
Still, some say they'll keep using their phones.

"They've manufactured thousands, millions. It's such a small percentage. I don't think mine’s going to blow up," says Feher.

Samsung says replacement phones will be available starting next week.

"It's very embarrassing and extremely costly for them," says Magid,
But he says Samsung is a large company that makes many products and will survive.

As for some iPhone users, they tell me they want to wait and see how the first iPhones without a headphone jack will work
　
"Waiting to see if the cordless earphones work. You never know how the adapters are going to work with that," says Reta Keller of Palo Alto who owns an iPhone 6.

Those in line outside the Apple Store on Thursday say in previous years, the lines were longer.

Magid predicts the iPhone 7 will do well.