Sydney's Apple store — the first in the southern hemisphere — opens to the public at 5pm on June 19, and with 30 hours to go the queue for entry had already begun. Here is a video tour showing what punters can expect when the moment of truth arrives.

Apple opened the doors to its 215th retail store at a media event this morning, allowing access to all three levels of the glass-fronted behemoth.

As curious passersby and employees from the Telstra store across the road gazed through the transparent walls, Apple's Senior Vice President of Retail Ron Johnson welcomed the crowd, declaring Australia "one of our best markets in the world".

Surrounded by some of the store's 125 employees — many of whom went through training at the company's Cupertino headquarters — Johnson detailed the design features that set the Sydney store apart. The most distinctive of these is the glass atrium that encloses the entire front of the store. Dubbed "one giant window to Apple" by Johnson, the atrium is constructed from 700 square metres of glass and allows all three floors to be seen from the footpath.

Another hallmark is the third floor's 20-metre Genius Bar — the biggest one yet.

Size-wise, the Sydney store is the second-largest Apple store in the world, beaten only by the outlet in London's Regent Street.