iPhone 17 โPre-Orders Shatter Records in China โขDespite Air Model Delay
BEIJING -โ Pre-ordersโ forโ Apple’s iPhone 17 series have surged in China,exceeding all โคpreviousโ recordsโ despite โฃa โdelay in the release of the new,ultra-thin iPhone โAir model.โ Within the first minute of availability on Friday at 8 p.m. local time, sales on JD.com, a major Chinese e-commerce platform, surpassed โthe totalโ first-day pre-orderโ volume forโ last โyear’s iPhone 16 series.
The โขstrong demandโ underscores โขApple’s continued popularity in the crucial Chinese market, even โasโ the company navigates regulatory hurdles. The standard iPhone 17โ model with 256GB of storage proved the most popular choice on JD.com. โคThe iPhone Air’sโ release has been โขpostponed while Apple worksโค with Chineseโ authorities to gain approval for its embedded SIM technology.
Reports indicate overwhelming demand โledโ to โขwebsite access issues for โcustomers attempting โฃto pre-order directly from Apple. Chineseโ media outlet The Paper reported difficulties accessing the pre-order page on Friday.
Customers who successfully โplaced orders faced processing delays, โฃwith one reporting aโข five-minute wait for payment confirmation. All in-person pickup slots โfor the iPhone 17 โProโข Max at Apple stores in Shanghai were fully booked within 20 minutes. As of Saturdayโฃ morning, customers in guangzhou were facing a โwait time extending to October 15 for any iPhone 17โ variant, according to Apple’s website.