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Chinese iPhone 13 buyers decry long delays on social media as supply shortages hit Apple amid robust demand

  • Chinese microblogging site Weibo is flooded with complaints about long wait times for the iPhone 13 amid delays Apple is facing in its supply chain
  • Analysts see this as a sign of Apple’s continued popularity in the world’s second-largest economy, but supply shortages remain a drag on sales

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People try out the latest iPhone 13 handsets on September 28 at an Apple Store in Beijing. The devices launched to huge demand in China, where consumers are complaining about wait times climbing past a month as Apple grapples with a global supply shortage. Photo: AP
When Mei Mei pre-ordered the iPhone 13 Pro on September 25, just one day after sales started, she did not expect her excitement to dissolve into impatience and then anger because of her month-long wait for Apple’s hottest new smartphone.
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Mei, who works in e-commerce in southeastern Fujian province, turned to social media as an outlet for her frustration. “Please start shipping today! It’s been a whole month, and I’m losing my patience,” she posted to Weibo on Monday, five days before Apple’s promised delivery date.

Mei is just one of many consumers across China urging Apple to speed up deliveries, which have been described by analysts as one of the longest waits for a new iPhone because of global shortages of chips and other components.
The iPhone 13 series consists of the iPhone 13, iPhone 13 Pro, iPhone 13 Max and the cheaper iPhone 13 Mini, not pictured. Photo: Reuters
The iPhone 13 series consists of the iPhone 13, iPhone 13 Pro, iPhone 13 Max and the cheaper iPhone 13 Mini, not pictured. Photo: Reuters

Since launching last month, the iPhone 13 has proven immensely popular in China. An order for the 256-gigabyte iPhone 13 Pro in Sierra Blue, for example, will currently take 37 to 44 days to ship to China’s southern tech hub of Shenzhen, according to Apple’s website.

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In addition to venting on social media, anxious consumers like Mei are using Weibo to share the latest developments of their orders. Mei said she routinely checks the iPhone 13 Pro ‘super topic’, a discussion page set up by users on the microblogging site, to see if other users have received their phones yet or if there have been any problems after delivery.

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