The iPhone 17 series went on sale in mainland China on September 19 and immediately sparked a frenzy among consumers. Apple flagship stores saw long queues, with scalpers offering as much as 1500 yuan above the retail price to buy stock on hand. Some Huawei supporters even converted to “Apple fans.” What is the truth behind the hot sales of the iPhone 17 in mainland China amidst the long-standing nationalist propaganda of the Chinese authorities and the recent economic downturn and consumer downgrade?
On the morning of September 19, the iPhone 17 series officially went on sale, and users who pre-ordered on the official website could pick up their phones at Apple’s flagship stores by presenting their identification cards. It was reported that users who pre-ordered on the Apple website will have to wait until mid to late October to receive their phones.
Several Chinese media outlets reported that on the 19th, long queues formed early in the morning outside Apple stores in Sanlitun, Beijing, and Nanjing East Road, Shanghai. Some consumers in line mentioned that they were mainly attracted to the upgraded camera functionalities in this release. Meanwhile, some existing users noted that while the price remained the same this year, the upgraded features made it worth getting a new phone.
Outside the Apple flagship stores, in addition to users picking up their phones, there were also scalpers holding multiple iPhone 17 Pro and Max models, with a significantly higher presence compared to last year. This year, the 256GB version of the iPhone Pro Max was particularly popular, with scalpers willing to pay an extra 500-600 yuan, while other versions saw increases of 100-200 yuan. For the orange-colored iPhone 17 Pro Max with 512GB and 1TB storage versions, scalpers were willing to pay an additional 1000 yuan and 1500 yuan, respectively.
Some people traveled from places like Changzhou to Shanghai as early as 2 a.m. to be among the first to get their hands on the new iPhone. Apart from fans coming to pick up their purchases, there were also many consumers who came to experience the new device.
Shortly after the opening of Apple’s flagship store in Sanlitun, Beijing, on the day of the sale, all iPhone 17 series models were sold out.
Data from the Chinese e-commerce platform JD.com showed that the pre-order volume for the iPhone 17 series in the first minute surpassed the total sales of the iPhone 16 from last year.
Under the long-term nationalist brainwashing and anti-American propaganda by the Chinese authorities, many mainland Chinese people were enthusiastic about buying domestic products and supporting Huawei. However, now many have shifted their preferences. Some consumers saw the release of the iPhone 17 as an opportunity to switch to the Apple camp for the first time.
According to CNBC’s report, there were people queuing at the Apple flagship store in Sanlitun, Beijing from the early morning on the day of the sale. A customer named Liu said he had been waiting since 11 p.m. on Thursday (the 18th) only to buy the iPhone 17 Pro Max. He expressed great anticipation for the new color scheme and cooling design and admitted to switching from being a Huawei user to an Apple supporter.
Another customer named Yang switched from Xiaomi to Apple, citing a preference for the iPhone’s operating system and overall experience. He believed that this year, many Chinese consumers would choose to buy an iPhone for the first time due to the upgraded features and expanded storage capacity, thereby becoming “Apple fans.”
Wang Guochen, a research assistant at the Taiwan Institute of China Economic Research, told Epoch Times that the booming market for the iPhone 17 can be attributed to several reasons. Firstly, domestic smartphones in China, especially Huawei, are not priced much lower than the iPhone. In the past few years, domestic Chinese brands relied on patriotic or so-called nationalistic sentiments to support their pricing. However, their after-sales service is not as good as foreign brands’, leading to several negative feedback online.
Wang further explained that the equipment of domestic smartphones in China is not as good, especially after being restricted due to the U.S. sanctions on smartphone chips. The performance and product quality of domestic Chinese chips have been affected. After two or three years of patriotic stimulation, people are now returning to reason and queuing to buy iPhones. Despite certain restrictions, the overall cost-performance ratio is still better than that of Huawei.
Beijing white-collar worker Chen Feng (pseudonym) mentioned that he had asked some young people on the 19th. They believe that buying a new iPhone is one of the few luxuries available, especially under the current political and economic environment in China, where “no one wants to be monitored by the Communist Party, and that’s the reason.”
Chen said that most buyers were from prestigious schools like Peking University and Tsinghua University, and they all believe that American technology is superior. Despite Huawei launching a new AI system to compete with OpenAI, many believe that Huawei, no matter how powerful, still lags behind in terms of its technological capabilities under the framework of the Chinese Communist Party. These top-tier students and some tech professionals feel that China’s technology is not as good as promoted by the state.
Hu Decheng, former general manager of a telecommunications company, mentioned that Apple’s supply chain was mainly localized in China, where it was minimally impacted by tariffs, making its prices more reasonable. While the Chinese Communist Party vigorously promotes local smartphone brands through patriotic marketing and flashy selling points, briefly capturing a market share, the innovative design of the iPhone 17—which includes a thinner body, longer battery life, and enhanced AI functionality—directly attracted middle to high-end users.
Hu added that due to the Chinese Communist Party’s censorship policies, Apple’s AI functionalities and many international apps cannot be downloaded or used. Chinese consumers still choose to buy the iPhone 17 because Apple is seen as a luxury brand and a symbol of quality in China, making Apple phones a “status symbol.”
Wang Guochen believed that in the authoritarian environment of the Chinese Communist Party, even when using an iPhone, the government can still implant spyware to monitor people’s actions. Therefore, whether buying a domestic or an iPhone, the result is the same for the Chinese people. However, there are not many options available to the Chinese people in this regard.
Wang also noted that recently, anti-Communist slogans have even appeared in toilets in China, indicating that young people are resisting the so-called patriotism in various ways. The strong sales of Apple phones themselves represent a form of passive anti-nationalism.
In recent years, as the Chinese economy has declined and consumer spending has decreased, there is a contrast between Chinese youth lining up to buy iPhones and the overall trend of consumption downgrade among the populace.
Chen Feng mentioned that in recent years, the government has been stimulating consumption through national subsidies, with smartphones being one of the main areas subsidized by the state, otherwise, people would not buy them.
According to reports, in recent years, the launch of new iPhone models has become a pre-sale battle among e-commerce platforms like JD.com, Tmall, Pinduoduo, and Meituan.
At 8 p.m. on September 12, in addition to the Apple website, JD’s self-operated flagship store for Apple products, Tmall’s Apple Store official flagship store, and Pinduoduo’s billion-subsidy platform simultaneously launched payment pre-sale models. Users on the Apple website, JD’s store, and Tmall’s store had to pay the original price to pre-order the iPhone 17 series. Users in certain regions who purchased the 256GB version of the iPhone 17 on JD would be eligible for a 500 yuan national subsidy. On Pinduoduo, pre-ordering the iPhone 17 series could be discounted by up to 1000 yuan, with each user limited to one purchase, and shipping to be completed by September 27.
Chen Feng mentioned that each e-commerce platform had to subsidize the prices themselves to engage in price wars. This is why Chinese consumers are still willing to buy the iPhone 17—it’s a blend of price and security factors.
However, Chen highlighted that people’s purchasing power is actually much lower than in previous years. People don’t have as much money in hand, buying a smartphone is just a small expenditure, but now, the authorities want people to make bigger purchases like houses, cars, and appliances, which many cannot afford.
Wang Guochen pointed out that consumers lining up to buy iPhones indicate that they still have a certain level of purchasing power, but the high sales of iPhones alone do not fully represent the overall consumption trend. Since Apple doesn’t release new models every month, these consumers may have saved up for a long time or had discussions with their parents or grandparents before getting funding to buy an iPhone.
He believed that consumers shifting from buying Huawei phones to iPhones suggests that Chinese people can no longer exclusively buy domestic products purely out of patriotic sentiments as in the past. To some extent, this shift also reflects a form of consumption downgrade.
Hu Decheng also acknowledged that overall, due to the downward trend in the Chinese economy, high unemployment rates, and insufficient consumer confidence among the populace, people are more willing to save money rather than spend it.