Pre-order sales of Apple’s new iPhone 17 series have got off to a strong start in China, “shattering previous records despite delays in the shipment of the iPhone Air,” according to the South China Morning Post.
The article says that in the first minute after pre-orders began at 8pm Friday local time, sales on JD.com – one of China’s largest online shopping platforms – surpassed the first-day pre-order volume of last year’s iPhone 16 series, according to the e-commerce operator. The standard iPhone 17 with 256GB of storage emerged as the most popular variant, JD.com said.
Those numbers don’t include the iPhone Air. The thinnest iPhone ever has been postponed as Beijing keeps a tight grip on eSIM approval. Apple says says all three state-owned telecoms network operators would provide eSIM support “subject to regulatory approval.” The iPhone Air requires an eSIM due to its small size (only 5.6mm thick).
As of Friday morning, Apple had revised iPhone Air ordering details for the mainland, replacing the original launch schedule with “release information to be updated later”. Previously, the company stated that pre-orders would start at 8 p.m. Friday local time, while deliveries would begin on September 19.
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