The iPhone 6/Plus finally went on sale in China this morning after regulatory delays, in contrast to last year’s launch of the iPhone 5s and 5c in China on the same day as the US …
The WSJ reported very quiet scenes at one of Apple’s four Beijing stores …
Unlike some past debuts for its new gadgets, the event was decidedly low-key. About 100 customers waited in line Friday morning outside Apple’s store in Beijing’s upscale Sanlitun shopping district, which opened its doors at 8 a.m. for buyers who had pre-ordered their new wares
The lack of crowds is largely explained by pre-orders, which have been reported to exceed 20M units. The WSJ may also have been better off checking the lines at carrier stores, who opened their doors at midnight – some eight hours before Apple Stores opened for the collection of pre-orders only.
Apple managed to achieve record opening weekend sales of 10M iPhone 6/Plus models even without China’s help. If the rumored Chinese pre-order numbers are correct, that number would have been dramatically higher had the company managed to launch in China on day one. Forrester Research, speaking to Bloomberg, says that 20M pre-registrations would likely convert to early sales of 2-3M units.
Photo credit: Jerome Favre/Bloomberg
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iPhone 6 launches in India too. Stores started selling at 12 a.m. and the response was cool.
Click here to watch-
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/videos/tech/Apple-iPhone-6-and-iPhone-6-Plus-go-on-sale-in-India-as-buyers-thronged-outlets/videoshow/44850123.cms
Yes the Indian and Chinese sales cement the fact that Apple, now with seven years of iPhone, has an unbroken string of incredible hits on its hands. The other players in the market are faltering with each having to capitulate the next year or more to Apple, with Apple’s superior performance and quality. Undoubtably many of the 2nd and 3rd tier providers will leave the market after they clear their channels and dump their inventories on the unaware public. Kudos to Apple for building this top product.
Might not be to many in lines because most of the iPhone 6’s sold here are now back in China. Those that wanted them there, already have them now and were willing to pay whatever the price was.
I was going to make this same comment – but I did not want to be thought of as “A Privileged American Who Is Discriminating Against Asians Who Are Making A Living” or something similar.
That thought was followed by a mental image of a bunch of Americans standing in line outside the Chinese Apple store, with fists full of RMB notes, looking to buy multiple iPhones. :lol:
— “Those that wanted them… already have them…” —
I’m pretty sure Apple will sell a few more iPhones in China. Or maybe tens of millions more.
People buy iPhones all year long… not just in the first month.
Hahaha the guy behind that girl buying the phone looks miserable. He’s like, “Look at all that money going bye bye.”
When I first heard that 20 Million number as if it was “Sell Through Direct to Consumers in China”, I thought…. not so fast people. We are talking about more high end smartphones than any one company sells in China during a full quarter. As an illustration….. Samsung still holds the record in China for most high end phone sales in any one quarter in China and it took them 5 models to do it in Q1 March Quarter 2012 with 115 Million all time record of all phones they sell Globally. It does not look like any one company will ever challenge that again. For March Quarter Samsung’s Galaxy Note 3 was number 1 and they had 4 out of the Top 10 phone models sold in China vs iPhones in bottom half of the top 10.
Samsung fell out of the Top low and mid range market in June Quarter, but retained 3 phones in top10 tier models. Although Note 3 fell to #3 to Xiaomi taking #1 and #2, most people in China were admittedly waiting for Note 4. When Note 4 went on sale in September it quickly sold out of all pre-sales (not just pre-registrations) and there were lines of people waiting to get them, who did not get pre-solds. Samsung had been saturating China with TV, Billboards and Ads for 3 months prior to it going on sale. Because they knew China was their biggest market for the Stylus crazed Note fans there! ……iPhone 6 Plus most likely sold well, but no doubt Samsung getting an unprecedented Fast Track Approval on Note and two other models to launch in September had already taken many of the high end Phablet Buyers.
If Apple would have been more on the ball, they would have been openly advertizing iPhone 6 Plus in China and would have submitted it earlier for approval. That point right there is what has led to lower sales than they could have had, had they have gone on market the same time Note 4 did. Plus if they had adequately prepared the market with ads and commercial the way Samsung had!
btw…. again…. I had no doubt Apple had not sold 20 Million iPhone 6’s to consumers and I can’t believe the rest of the World was that gullible as to believe that this was true. With even analysts still pegging total iPhone model (4, 4s, 5c and 5s) sales in China to get the 6.8 Million they got in June Quarter. Still only half what Samsung sold in the slowest quarter to date over the last 3 yrs. Xiaomi did well primarily because of RedMi high end spec, low price (zero profits) model sales! …..no doubt iPhone 6 sold more than iPhone 6 Plus purely because Note 4 came on market first and had been so well prepared for with marketing in China! …..for the Chinese the Note S Pen Stylus is a remarkable tool for writing Chinese characters with such great sensitivity for the flare and style used in them! ….Apple needs one too!