Chinese buyers are having their pants tailored in-store

Oct 19, 2014 09:46 GMT  ·  By

This one’s for the books. A telco in China has hired a tailor to make custom-fit pockets for the oversized iPhone 6 Plus. Some say it’s a publicity stunt, but it seems that the service is indeed available for customers who want their pants adjusted to fit the large smartphone.

Something we noted in our own review of the iPhone 6 Plus, the handset isn’t a match for skinny jeans. That doesn’t make it a bad phone – after all, the targeted demographic isn’t just one group of people – but it raises the question of who really needs this phone and who doesn’t.

Chinese telco hires tailor

If you think your lifestyle and wardrobe are a no-match for the new Apple handset, think again. Take this Chinese operator for instance. This China Unicom branch in Shanghai has actually hired a tailor to adjust the pockets to the customers’ pants to make room for the big phone. It’s not a joke, and we don’t see it as a publicity stunt either, despite reports saying otherwise.

If anything, the move has the potential to raise even more concerns about the huge Apple phone which, so far, has had to fend off multiple waves of bad press. Having to adjust your pants to carry a new smartphone isn’t exactly flattering to Apple, the carrier, or even the customer. It just makes the iPhone 6 Plus look like a freak phone.

Not the first move of its kind

Amsterdam’s KPN did the same a while ago. When the iPhone 6 Plus arrived there, the operator hired a tailor who stood outside one of its retail stores and offered to enlarge pockets for whoever wanted to house their new iPhone 6 Plus comfortably in their pants.

So what does this tell us? For starters, it confirms our concerns that the iPhone 6 Plus is simply too big for people who think they’re buying a regular smartphone. It goes without saying that you shouldn’t have to adjust your wardrobe to make room for a new smartphone in your life.

Secondly, this tells us that telcos will do just about anything to sell the iPhone. Including ridiculous attempts to convince the user that their choice in a 5.5-inch smartphone is a good one, despite having to take their pants off and have them butchered before leaving the store with the new device.

Bendgate, you can defend. This? We won’t even bother.