On Friday, over 100 consumers waited in Apple’s (AAPL.O) flagship shop in Shanghai to pick up their iPhone 15 orders on the first day of in-store availability.
After government employees were given more iPhones and Huawei (HWT.UL) released a high-end rival, fans, and market watchers watched how Apple’s latest iPhone sells in China, its third-largest market.
Pre-orders in the world’s second-largest economy, which began last Friday, have eased concerns, with delivery times stretched into November and the premium iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max selling out in one minute on Alibaba’s (9988. HK) Tmall e-commerce site.
Local media reported a 5 a.m. (1000 GMT) line at Shanghai’s East Nanjing Road retail district store.
After failing to pre-order the iPhone 15, social media influencer Zhang Ming, 25, visited the store to try it out.
I enjoy looking at new devices. I only consider color while buying Apple things. She stated she’d buy it if she liked the color.
The iPhone 15 has a titanium shell, a quicker CPU, and better video games. Apple was shocked by not raising prices, reflecting the global smartphone collapse.
But other store customers complained about the lack of significant enhancements from the previous model. Wang Puyu, 29, a real estate worker, bought a new model to gift his iPhone 14 to his nephew.
“I usually upgrade annually. My satisfaction is low this year.”