iPhone 15 enjoys strong sales in China, selling out promptly

The iPhone 15 has gained significant attention and demand in China, exceeding initial expectations and countering previous predictions of potential challenges for the company due to increased competition from Huawei and government restrictions on iPhone usage.

Shortly after the launch of the iPhone 15, Apple's official website in mainland China experienced technical difficulties due to the high traffic volume. This led to increased purchasing activity across various sales channels throughout the region.

The iPhone 15 series has generated remarkable pre-order activity on e-commerce sites like Alibaba's Tmall and JD.com. According to SCMP, the initial batch of iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max units up for pre-order on Tmall was sold out in less than 60 seconds after preorders began. Tmall officials had to restock nine times in under half an hour, with the iPhone 15 Pro Max being the most popular choice.

JD.com saw its customers place over 3 million pre-orders for all four models of the iPhone 15 as of Monday. The iPhone 15 dominated the premium smartphone category on JD.com, outpacing its competitors.

Additionally, on-demand service platforms like Meituan and Ele.me now offer the iPhone 15 alongside more traditional online retailers. Meituan has teamed up with over 5,000 authorized Apple product retailers in the country and successfully sold 200 million yuan worth of iPhone 15 models in the initial 30 minutes of last Friday's presales session.

Similarly, Ele.me has partnered with over 3,000 Apple retailers and assured customers of delivering new iPhones within 30 minutes after they are officially shipped on September 22.

The iPhone 15 lineup consists of four models starting at 5,999 yuan for the base iPhone 15 model. The premium iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max models are priced between 7,999 and 13,999 yuan and feature Apple's A17 Pro, the industry's first 3-nanometer chip.

In contrast, Huawei's Mate 60 Pro, which uses a made-in-China chip with 7-nanometer technology, is priced at 6,999 yuan.

Despite these successes, Apple is navigating a partial ban on government usage in China. While China's foreign ministry denies any government law or regulation banning iPhone use, several government agencies have issued notices instructing their employees not to use iPhones within government buildings.

According to Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, demand for the high-end iPhone 15 Pro Max is strong, while demand for the standard iPhone 15 models is consistent with last year's numbers.

Latest Exclusives

Latest comparisons

12 Comments

tmay 11 Years · 6456 comments

About 1 year ago

Is Huawei actually competitive in China with iPhone 15 models?

Benchmarks for the Mate 60 come in kind of like an iPhone XR, which is late 2018, though in fairness, the Mate 60 has a long feature list, topped off with an option for satellite voice com, though I doubt that will actually be a big seller.

It's safe to state that Huawei is more likely to take share away from Chinese OEM's than Apple.

king editor the grate 15 Years · 662 comments

13,999 yuan makes me feel better about 1,486.44.

Afarstar 1 Year · 79 comments

BOOM. Useless analists predicting doom and gloom for the new models have been proved wrong - AGAIN. They will never understand Apple.

avon b7 20 Years · 8046 comments

tmay said:

Is Huawei actually competitive in China with iPhone 15 models?

Benchmarks for the Mate 60 come in kind of like an iPhone XR, which is late 2018, though in fairness, the Mate 60 has a long feature list, topped off with an option for satellite voice com, though I doubt that will actually be a big seller.

It's safe to state that Huawei is more likely to take share away from Chinese OEM's than Apple.

Every Mate 60 Pro purchase has the potential to take share away from Apple, especially those who had switched from Huawei over the last few years.

Every Mate X3 and X5 also has potential to take share away from Apple, simply because Apple is not offering a folding or flip option.

There are no 'safe bets' though, just lots of rumours. Apple has pent up demand which is normal for its sole, pre-Christmas phone releases.

Huawei has returned to its pre-sanctions release cycle which means at least two flagship series per year (and possibly four).

The Mate series is the business series and the P series is the photography series.

There is yet another launch event on the 25th of September and rumours of an RS phone to complete the late 2023 phone launches.

Unless China sales pick up in general, it's clear Huawei will be clawing back share from all flagship vendors and that includes Apple.

Just how much is the question.

Rumours have claimed Huawei has massively increased its original projections. There is no way to know for sure.

Competitiveness isn't only a question of processor performance. That has been clear for years, so while it will be a factor for some, for others it won't.

Yes, satellite voice calling is a new advance and Huawei has had to ask users not to use it on planes (aviation regulations) after people started posting videos of themselves on social media using satellite voice calling while in flight. It's been getting a lot of attention but isn't the only new feature.

We won't know how things are playing out in terms of share until around Q2 next year, and a lot could happen (politically speaking) between now and then. Assuming there are no major changes to that side of things, the real show should begin around MWC2024.

avon b7 said:

tmay said:

Is Huawei actually competitive in China with iPhone 15 models?

Benchmarks for the Mate 60 come in kind of like an iPhone XR, which is late 2018, though in fairness, the Mate 60 has a long feature list, topped off with an option for satellite voice com, though I doubt that will actually be a big seller.

It's safe to state that Huawei is more likely to take share away from Chinese OEM's than Apple.

Every Mate 60 Pro purchase has the potential to take share away from Apple, especially those who had switched from Huawei over the last few years.

Every Mate X3 and X5 also has potential to take share away from Apple, simply because Apple is not offering a folding or flipping option.

There are no 'safe bets' though just lots of rumours. Apple has pent up demand which is normal for its sole, pre-Christmas phone releases.

Huawei has returned to its pre-sanctions release cycle which means at least two flagship series per year (and possibly four) .

The Mate series is the business series and the P series is the photography series.

There is yet another launch event on the 25th of September and rumours of an RS phone to complete the late 2023 phone launches.

Unless China sales pick up in general, it's clear Huawei will be clawing back share from all flagship vendors and that includes Apple.

Just how much is the question.

Rumours have claim Huawei has massively increased its original projections. There is no way to know for sure.

Competitiveness isn't only a question of processor performance. That has been clear for years so while it will be a factor for some, for others it won't.

Yes, satellite voice calling is a new advance and Huawei has had to ask users not to use it on planes (aviation regulations) after people started posting videos of themselves on social media using satellite voice calling while in flight. It's been getting a lot of attention but isn't the only new feature.

We won't know how things are playing out in terms of share until around Q2 next year, and a lot could happen (politically speaking) between now and then. Assuming there are no major changes to that side of things, the real show should begin around MWC2024.

Politically speaking, the U.S. is going to close the loopholes that have allowed continued DUV sales thru the end of the year, which is technology behind the Kirin 9000S, so it will get more and more difficult, and expensive, for SMIC to evolve the Kirin.

I get that Chinese people want to support the home team, ie Huawei, but Huawei sure is taking a hit on SOC performance, hence why I don't think that Apple is going to be impacted by Huawei much, if at all.