After Apple released the iPhone 16 series new products, Huawei officially launched its first foldable screen phone, Mate XT. However, the iPhone 16 Pro Max is selling like hotcakes, with instant sellouts on multiple platforms in China.
On September 13th at 20:00, the iPhone 16 series officially started pre-orders. It is reported that this year, the starting price of the iPhone 16 series remains the same as the previous generation, starting at 5,999 yuan. The new iPhone 16 not only adds a camera button and AI functions but also introduces a new Desert Gold color option.
According to reports from “First Financial” and “JiMu News”, the sales of the iPhone 16 series are still booming. Within the first minute of the iPhone 16 series going on sale, the Apple official website was flooded with consumers causing it to crash and become a top trending search.
Platforms like JD.com, Pinduoduo, and Douyin all started pre-selling the iPhone 16 at the same time. Additionally, immediate delivery services such as Eleme, Meituan, JD Instant Delivery, and Taobao Hourly Delivery actively participated in the intense competition of the iPhone 16 pre-sale.
At 20:00 on the 13th, at the Tmall Apple Store official flagship store, the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max were highly sought after, especially the Desert Gold version. The initial batch of units of the Desert Gold version was sold out instantly, leading Tmall to replenish the stock up to 15 times within an hour.
Behind the significant investment in pre-sales of the iPhone 16 new series by e-commerce platforms lies the remarkable sales boost that the “new products” bring to their Apple sales figures.
Data from Eleme shows that within 10 minutes of pre-sales opening, Apple’s overall sales exceeded the total monthly sales of September last year. Within half an hour of sales opening, the revenue had already surpassed the daily sales volume by 41 times.
JD.com’s pre-sales turnover exceeded last year’s 28-hour figure within the first 10 minutes of opening. Currently, the Tmall Apple Store official flagship store has a fan base of 26.45 million, with an addition of 420,000 fans within 3 days from the release of the new product to the pre-orders.
Looking at the data, the iPhone 16 Pro Max quickly sold out on various platforms.
Data from Eleme shows that the iPhone 16 Pro Max became the hottest-selling model, quickly selling out after its release, with the Desert Gold color being the most popular. On JD.com, the iPhone 16 Pro Max was also the first model to go out of stock. By September 14th, JD.com had restocked the iPhone 16 Pro Max, but shortages still persisted in the Beijing area.
Earlier this month, before the release of the iPhone 16 series, insights from Wall Street revealed that there were over 88 million units of iPhone 16 series stocked in the supply chain.
An article published by The Paper on the 15th stated that on second-hand platforms, many sellers are already listing orders for the iPhone 16 series, essentially “selling orders”, with price markups ranging between 200 to 500 yuan. Some sellers even ask for transfer fees as high as 500 to 1000 yuan, refusing negotiations and showing strong confidence.
Overall, the price increments for the iPhone 16 series depend on the product model. Upgrades for the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus generally range from 200 to 350 yuan, while the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max require additional amounts of 300 to 500 yuan.
During the release of the iPhone 15 series last year, scalpers purchased the series from consumers and resold them at higher prices, with the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max models demanding markups of 500 to 700 yuan. With most transfers of iPhone 16 series orders ranging from 300 to 500 yuan, it is clear that the iPhone 16 series continues to have strong sales.