Apple’s iPhone Air receives muted reception in China debut
It drew curiosity but no big crowds
[BEIJING] Apple’s iPhone Air went on sale in China on Wednesday (Oct 22), eliciting a subdued consumer response in the world’s biggest smartphone arena.
The launch in mainland China comes a month after Apple’s latest iPhone lineup rolled out internationally, drawing lengthy lines at many stores. Chinese consumers had to wait longer for the US$1,120 iPhone Air as it only connects to networks via eSIM, something that local carriers have been slow to adopt. It drew curiosity but no big crowds.
At Beijing’s Sanlitun store, more customers were coming in to pick up iPhone 17 Pro models, with the iPhone Air initially available to order and receive on the same day.
Over in Shanghai, there was no queue for the iPhone Air and people could purchase one immediately, though a couple of colourways were sold out by mid-morning, Bloomberg News found. The common refrain among consumers was that the thinness and new colours of the iPhone Air were intriguing, but most people were trying rather than buying the new handset.
The iPhone 17, 17 Pro and 17 Pro Max still accept physical SIM cards in China, but for the svelte 5.6-millimetre Air, Apple favoured using that space for more battery capacity. China’s major domestic carriers are now supporting eSIM, and Apple chief executive officer Tim Cook announced the iPhone Air’s forthcoming release during a visit to China last week.
Apple has been staging a comeback in China. The company reported sales growth in the greater China region with its most recent earnings announcement, after seven straight quarters of diminishing revenue. The iPhone Air could spur fresh momentum as Apple contends with local favourites Huawei Technologies, Xiaomi, Oppo and others.
Each of the local rivals has similarly thin foldable models in their lineups, and over the past week they’ve also rolled out new flagship models, such as the Vivo X300 Pro and Honor Magic8 Pro. The iPhone Air is pricey by Chinese standards, as users can generally buy an upgraded top-tier Android device for less, but there’s no other handset exactly like it on the market right now.
Demand for Apple’s new iPhones has proved strong, owing to the redesign of the iPhone 17 Pro, the fresh Air form factor, and the best base-model iPhone in years. A recent analysis from Counterpoint Research showed that the iPhone 17 series outsold the iPhone 16 range by 14 per cent during their respective first 10 days of availability in the US and China. BLOOMBERG
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