On September 18th, the new Apple product iPhone 18 Pro series officially went on sale in mainland China, with many flagship stores seeing long lines early in the morning. The starting price for the iPhone 18 Pro series was 9999 yuan.
Customers who pre-ordered through the Apple official website could receive their new devices the same day, and Apple flagship stores (offline Apple Store retail stores) also began selling them simultaneously.
The annual release of a new iPhone always results in long queues outside Apple stores becoming a familiar scene, and this year was no exception. Photos shared by netizens from various locations showed that many Apple stores had set up barriers early in the morning to maintain order, with a large number of customers queuing up to collect their purchases, creating a lively atmosphere.
Some netizens mentioned that despite waiting in line for a long time, they were unable to secure a device.
By 8 a.m. on September 18th, more than 100 consumers had gathered outside the Apple flagship store on Century Avenue in Lujiazui, Shanghai. Staff had set up barriers in advance to maintain order.
According to reports from the Daily Economic News, outside the Lujiazui store in Shanghai, scalpers constantly approached consumers who had just obtained the new devices, inquiring about reselling them. Scalpers were particularly interested in the Pro Max model, with prices for the 256GB and 512GB versions typically being marked up by 300 to 500 yuan. The new color variant “Burgundy Red” was especially popular, with scalpers selling the in-demand Pro Max models at an additional cost of 700 to 800 yuan.
In stark contrast to the high demand for the Pro Max, the Pro version received less attention. On the first day of sales, the Pro version was only marked up by 30 yuan.
At the Apple West Lake store in Hangzhou, staff reported that some consumers had started lining up as early as 5 a.m. On the same day at 12:30 p.m., a reporter from mainland China found consumers still waiting in long lines to collect their devices at the Apple West Lake store in Hangzhou.
According to information displayed on the Apple official website, both the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max are currently out of stock at the Apple flagship store in Zhengzhou.
It is reported that customers who went to offline stores to collect their devices on September 18th needed to make reservations in advance. Consumers without a reservation order were unable to purchase directly at the store.
For those who choose to order online, the expected delivery time has already been pushed back to October.