Stefan Mileschin

Apple fans in line for the iPhone 5S at the company's flagship London store have shown little interest in the 'cheap' iPhone 5C, according to a survey.

More than half of those asked thought the iPhone 5C model - which still retails for a minimum of £469 - was not good value for money. Of Apple's two new iPhones, the 5C has left some critics stumped, as it ships with a high price tag in tandem with a lower spec.

Some analysts optimistically believed the 5C threatens to cannibalise 5S sales, but Apple has always been a high-end, high-price company.

Of the majority who were there to buy the 5S, plenty were strangely enthusiastic about Apple's Touch ID fingerprint scanner, despite reports from security experts that handing over unchangeable biometric data to a company may not be the best move for the privacy minded.

Others were excited about the A7 chip with 64 bit architecture, while others still liked that the iPhone will be available in a few different colours.

By 8AM, the queue had built to roughly 3,000 people, largely men. Almost half were students and the average age was 26.

Asked why they were in line, almost four in ten admitted it was purely because they were die hard Apple fans. Others wanted to experience the cultlike consumerism, a fifth said they missed out on pre-orders, and others still said they were going to buy up some iPhones and sell them on for profit. The iPhone 5s was not available for pre-orders.

Stephen Ebbett, director of gadget insurance company Protect Your Bubble, which carried out the survey, said: "With just £80 between the 16GB versions of the iPhone 5S and 5C, it’s no wonder the 5S is more popular with some of Apple’s biggest fans".

It has emerged that Apple has, unusually, been holding back pre-order sales from the public. Suppliers have expressed their annoyance at the 5C being easily available, with Apple holding back on shipping the 5S to partners.

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