Apple’s new iPhone 14 series are so popular in China that a deluge of pre-orders crashed the tech giant’s online services and pushed shipments out five to seven weeks beyond the September 16 launch date for the Pro and Pro Max, the two most premium models, reports The South China Morning Post.
By Saturday, 24 hours after pre-orders opened, Chinese consumers had placed more than 2 million orders for iPhone 14 devices through the official Apple Store on JD.com, continuing the strong demand that JD saw last year for pre-orders of the iPhone 13, the article adds.
A significant portion of the pre-orders were for the two Pro models. The iPhone 14 Pro had more than 1 million pre-orders on JD, while the Pro Max had nearly 800,000.
Last month Counterpoint Research reported that China’s premium smartphone sales (US$400 and above wholesale price) increased their share in overall sales to 33% in the second quarter (Q2) 2022 from 31% in Q2 2021 — and Apple dominated the market.
Premium segments (which include affordable premium, premium and ultra-premium segments) declined by only 10% in terms of unit sales compared to the broader market which fell 14%, according to the research group. The $600-$799 (premium) and $1,000 and above (ultra-premium) segments recorded increases in Q2 2022.
“Apple did well in the $1,000 and above segment, recording 147% year-over-year increase, while Samsung also grew 133% year-over-year,” according to Research Analyst Mengmeng Zhang. “Both these brands benefitted from Huawei’s decline and the shift in purchase trends towards premium phones in China.”
According to Counterpoint Research, the iPhone now has 46% of the premium smartphone market in China. That compares to 43% in quarter one of 2021.
