On October 17th, the pre-order for Apple’s iPhone Air officially began in mainland China. Within 5 minutes of the pre-order opening, the first batch of iPhone Air was sold out on the official website, and offline retail stores also ran out of stock. Delivery times are now delayed by one to two weeks.
According to the Apple’s official website, the iPhone Air 256GB version is priced at 7999 yuan (RMB, the same below), or can be paid in three installments of 2666 yuan per month (for 3 months), with a limit of two units per customer. In addition, the 512GB version is priced at 9999 yuan, and the 1TB version at 11999 yuan. The iPhone Air will be officially released on the 22nd. Media reports such as China’s leading financial media stated that on the morning of the 17th, at 9 a.m., after Apple China’s official website opened the pre-sale of iPhone Air, it was sold out in just 5 minutes. Orders now placed will have to wait for 1 to 2 weeks.
On Chinese e-commerce platforms, as of 12 p.m. on the 17th, the “Dewu” App had over 9200 users who made reservations; on the JD.com platform, 332,000 people made reservations, with over “10,000+” units sold. Currently on JD.com platform, iPhone Air in various colors all show as out of stock, only the Cloud White iPhone Air 256GB version is available for reservation.
Alibaba’s Tmall Apple Store official flagship store still accepts orders, but the shipping time is shown as within 15 days, with a limit of two units per person.
Offline retail stores currently show “out of stock” as well. In 5 retail stores in Baoan District, Shenzhen, all colors and storage capacities of the phone showed as “out of stock today.” Retail stores near Dongcheng District in Beijing and Huangpu District in Shanghai also indicate “out of stock today.”
The release of iPhone Air in China has faced several setbacks. In September, after the release of the iPhone Air, the official launch scheduled for September 19 had to be postponed due to issues with the eSIM card. Some Chinese media mentioned how eSIM needs to be compatible with China’s strict real-name system and regulatory framework for preventing telecommunications fraud, which still needs to be explored.
On October 13, the three major telecommunications operators in China – China Unicom, China Mobile, and China Telecom – finally announced on their official platforms that they have received approval to start commercial trials of eSIM mobile services and opened eSIM reservation channels. Subsequently, Apple announced the official release of iPhone Air in China.
iPhone Air is the first domestic smartphone to support eSIM. As of 1 p.m. on the 17th, the number of online reservations for China Unicom’s eSIM has reached 195,000 people.
China Mobile and China Telecom stated that in addition to the iPhone Air, more eSIM-supported phones will be launched on the market soon.
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