iPhone 17 Pre-Orders Shatter Records in China Despite Air Model Delay
BEIJING - Pre-orders for Apple’s iPhone 17 series have surged in China,exceeding all previous records despite a delay in the release of the new,ultra-thin iPhone Air model. 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 the total first-day pre-order volume for last year’s iPhone 16 series.
The strong demand underscores Apple’s continued popularity in the crucial Chinese market, even as the company navigates regulatory hurdles. The standard iPhone 17 model with 256GB of storage proved the most popular choice on JD.com. The iPhone Air’s release has been postponed while Apple works with Chinese authorities to gain approval for its embedded SIM technology.
Reports indicate overwhelming demand led to website access issues for customers attempting to pre-order directly from Apple. Chinese media outlet The Paper reported difficulties accessing the pre-order page on Friday.
Customers who successfully placed orders faced processing delays, with one reporting a five-minute wait for payment confirmation. All in-person pickup slots for the iPhone 17 Pro Max at Apple stores in Shanghai were fully booked within 20 minutes. As of Saturday morning, customers in guangzhou were facing a wait time extending to October 15 for any iPhone 17 variant, according to Apple’s website.