There’s no doubt that, by now, Apple has perfected the art of hype building. Its retail store openings are the perfect example of this. The well drilled team awaits opening time donning blue t-shirts, jeans and sneakers as hundreds of excited locals wait in line to get their hands on the latest gear branded with the half-eaten Apple. The story is no different at the latest retail opening in Wangfujing, Beijing. Asia’s largest Apple store opened to a huge crowd.

Staff at the store got typically ramped up, giving out excited high-fives and handing out boxed goodies ready to be processed and sent out with happy consumers. The Next Web was there to cover the exciting day as it happened. The store was built out of huge sheets of curved glass with the trademark glass stair case covering three levels.

What do you make of these launches? Is it a case of Apple rewarding the patient early arrivers by creating a spectacle and performance for them? Or, is it a sad state of affairs whereby Cupertino is hyping up what is essentially consumers handing over cash for its over-priced products? Leave your thoughts below or tweet: @TiP_Cam