Over 20 Million iPhone 6 Pre-Orders Racked Up In China As Friday Launch Draws Near
As Apple gets ready to release its iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus devices in China on Friday, October 17, Chinese consumers are already coming out in record numbers to own the company's latest iOS handsets. More specifically, it's estimated that Chinese consumers have placed 20 million iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus pre-orders since last Friday.
Assuming the figure from Chinese-language website Tencent is accurate, that works out to around double the number of combined orders Apple placed during the iPhone 6's launch weekend in September, and five times as many that were sold in the first 24 hours of availability.
Apple didn't include China in its initial launch because there was a delay in the regulatory approval process, CNET reports. China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology have to approve new mobile phones for network access before retailers are allowed to sell them, and that approval for the iPhone 6 handsets didn't come until late September.
That might have worked out best for Apple, as the delayed launch seems to have initiated a pre-order frenzy among would-be iPhone 6 owners. Half of the pre-orders so far are said to be through China Mobile, China Unicom, and China Telecom, the country's three major wireless carriers, while the other half went through Jingdong Mall.
If you haven't already, be sure and check out our review of the iPhone 6 Plus as well as our shootout between Apple's phablet and the Galaxy S5, second generation Moto X, and LG G3.
Assuming the figure from Chinese-language website Tencent is accurate, that works out to around double the number of combined orders Apple placed during the iPhone 6's launch weekend in September, and five times as many that were sold in the first 24 hours of availability.
Apple didn't include China in its initial launch because there was a delay in the regulatory approval process, CNET reports. China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology have to approve new mobile phones for network access before retailers are allowed to sell them, and that approval for the iPhone 6 handsets didn't come until late September.
That might have worked out best for Apple, as the delayed launch seems to have initiated a pre-order frenzy among would-be iPhone 6 owners. Half of the pre-orders so far are said to be through China Mobile, China Unicom, and China Telecom, the country's three major wireless carriers, while the other half went through Jingdong Mall.
If you haven't already, be sure and check out our review of the iPhone 6 Plus as well as our shootout between Apple's phablet and the Galaxy S5, second generation Moto X, and LG G3.
