On Friday, hundreds queued outside Apple’s flagship Beijing retail store for the iPhone 17 launch, signaling strong initial sales in the world’s second-largest economy. Among the approximately 300 morning arrivals at the Sanlitun store to collect pre-ordered phones was 35-year-old Shuke Wang, who bought the Pro Max model, starting at 9,999 yuan ($1,406) in China, which analysts predict will be the top-selling model in the iPhone 17 series.
Reuters:
Analysts say the iPhone 17 series could give a crucial end-of-year boost to Apple’s market share and shipments in China, which have been pressured this year by intensifying competition from Xiaomi and Huawei amid weak consumer demand.
Chiew Le Xuan, a senior analyst at research company Omdia, said they expected iPhone shipments in China to rise 11% year over year in the second half, driven by the new series, contributing to 5% full-year growth for Apple in 2025.
“The iPhone 17 Pro Max is expected to outperform the 16 Pro Max, driven by a major redesign – a factor that has historically spurred replacement demand in China,” said Chiew. “It is likely to become Apple’s top-performing model in the Chinese market in 2026.”
The iPhone Air, opens new tab will be the only model in China to have telecom operators’ support for an e-SIM – a digital SIM embedded in the device. However, Apple has not opened pre-sales for the Air in China and says the availability of eSIM services from China Mobile, China Telecom, and China Unicom is subject to regulatory approval.
Will Wong, a senior smartphone analyst at IDC… said the Air won’t deliver a major sales boost, as Apple traded off battery life and camera and audio quality, which Chinese consumers value, to achieve the slimmer design features.
MacDailyNews Take: Apple’s new iPhone lineup, especially the iPhone 17 Pro and flagship iPhone 17 Pro Max, is compelling!
Please help support MacDailyNews — and enjoy subscriber-only articles, comments, chat, and more — by subscribing to our Substack: macdailynews.substack.com. Thank you!
Support MacDailyNews at no extra cost to you by using this link to shop at Amazon.
The post Apple’s iPhone launch day sees long queue at its Beijing store appeared first on MacDailyNews.
