The iPhone 17 is seemingly resonating with Chinese consumers, with seemingly strong preorder sales volume. The South China Morning Post reports that iPhone 17 sales at JD.com (a large online Chinese retailer) within the first hour of preorders going on sale exceeded the first day of iPhone 16 preorders last year.
The base iPhone 17 with 256 GB storage was said to be the most popular model. Meanwhile, the launch of the iPhone Air is indefinitely delayed while Apple waits for eSIM-related regulatory approval.
The base iPhone 17’s popularity is partly because it is simply the cheapest model, but also because this year the upgrades Apple gave it make for a really good value-for-money premium phone.
Compared to iPhone 16, Apple bumped the screen size from 6.1 to 6.3-inches, added 120 FPS ProMotion refresh rate, and always-on display mode. The front selfie camera gets a big upgrade, and the back ultra-wide lens is now 48-megapixel resolution. Apple also doubled the base storage to 256 GB, at the same $799 price point as last year.
Strong sales in China will be good news for investors, who have worried that Apple’s marketshare in the region is being eroded by local brands.
In the United States, availability of iPhone 17 at the Apple Online Store also seems constrained, with Apple now quoting 2-3 weeks delivery for some configurations. The iPhone 17 Pro also seems to be doing well.
Officially, Apple will report numbers for the third quarter at its next quarterly invetor earnings call in October. However, this only includes a couple weeks of new iPhone sales. The bulk of iPhone 17, iPhone Air and iPhone 17 Pro demand will be recognized in the holiday quarter.
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