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Shoppers lined up outside Apple retail store in Shenzhen on the first day of public sales for iPhone 14. Photo: SCCMP/ Iris Deng

Apple’s iPhone 14 hits the shelves in China resulting in long queues and big mark-ups despite market gloom

  • The enduring popularity of Apple’s iconic smartphone is expected to give China’s declining handset market a boost
  • The iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max models were in hot demand in Shenzhen on Friday with consumers and scalpers
Apple

Apple’s new iPhone 14 series of handsets officially hit the shelves in China on Friday, resulting in long queues of shoppers outside the US tech giant’s store in the southern tech hub of Shenzhen, and steep mark-ups from some scalpers despite a weak overall market for smartphones.

There were around a hundred shoppers in a snaking line outside Apple’s bricks-and-mortar store in Shenzhen’s Nanshan district at around noon on Friday, anxious to pick up the iPhone 14 handsets they had pre-ordered online.

This Post reporter also spotted a group of scalpers gathered outside the store, asking people if they wanted to sell their brand new handsets at a mark-up, and who then attempted to re-sell the devices at an even steeper price to other consumers.

“The price depends on the model, we usually add 600 yuan (US$86) for some iPhone 14 Pro models to buy them, but for models like the iPhone 14 Pro Max 1TB we will give 1,200 yuan extra and can then resell it with at least a 1,500 yuan mark-up,” one of the scalpers told the Post, declining to give their name.

Only consumers who had reserved a time slot were allowed in a fast-track lane, while other shoppers had to queue up for around an hour to enter the store, according to a security person on site. “If you don’t have a reservation and only want to look around, I advise you to come back another time as it will be a long wait,” said the staff member.

Around 12 kilometres away in Huaqiangbei, home to the world’s biggest electronics trading centre, dealers and scalpers were also gearing up for the first-day of sales of the iPhone 14. Some dealers offered a price with a 2,000 yuan mark-up for an iPhone 14 Pro Max 1TB in a deep purple colour.

Apple’s iPhone 14 attracts strong China demand despite Covid-19 restrictions

Lin Shen, a so-called “backpack” dealer of smartphones in Shenzhen’s Huaqiangbei without a physical store, sold three iPhone 14 Pro Max handsets in purple on Friday morning, with mark-ups of around 1,100 yuan each.

Shoppers lined up outside Apple retail store in Shenzhen on the first day of public sales for iPhone 14. Photo: SCCMP/ Iris Deng

“The iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max are the most popular models, especially the deep purple colour, and the price keeps fluctuating during the day,” Lin said. The regular iPhone 14 and the plus version, however, have been less popular. “Our price [for these models] has dropped below the official price tag,” he said.

Meanwhile, in southern Hainan province, known as China’s Hawaii, the latest iPhone 14 handsets were being offered at discounted prices in the duty-free shops, with some models selling at 100 to 400 yuan lower than official price tags, according to the cdf duty free store in Haikou Meilan Airport, operated by China Tourism Group.

The enduring popularity of Apple’s iconic smartphone is expected to give China’s declining handset market a boost, amid weaker consumer demand due to a slowing economy and disruptions in supply chains because of China’s strict Covid-19 control policies.

China’s smartphone shipments plunged 31 per cent in July to 19.1 million, amid weak consumer sentiment and the lack of major new releases, according to the latest data by the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology. For the first seven months of 2022, total smartphone shipments in China reached 153 million units, down 23 per cent from the same period last year.

Chinese users pan iPhone 14 for lack of innovation but experts predict success

While some enthusiasts have paid mark-ups to get their hands on new Apple handsets on the first day, many consumers are prepared to wait for their deliveries, which could take weeks.

When pre-orders started last week, strong demand crashed Apple’s online services and shipments were pushed back five to seven weeks beyond the launch date for the Pro and Pro Max models. A check on Friday showed that orders for the Pro models still required a wait time of six to seven weeks in mainland China.

The two Pro models accounted for about 85 per cent of all iPhone 14 pre-orders in China, according to Kuo Ming-chi, an analyst at TF Securities known for his accurate assessment of Apple’s business in the country.

“It’s unclear whether Apple will increase the Pro models shipment forecast, but the likelihood of iPhone 14 and 14 Plus shipments – which account for about 45 per cent of overall iPhone 14 shipments – being cut is growing,” Kuo wrote in a research note earlier this week.

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