Apple iPhone 17 goes on sale as questions remain over China market, AI strategy
On September 19, 2025, a customer holds the new orange iPhone 17 Pro Max smartphone at an Apple retail store in China, China.
Cheng Xin | Getty Images News | Getty Images
On Friday, the iPhone 17 hit the store shelves worldwide and pulled long lines from Beijing to Singapore.
However, beyond the launch buzz, Apple is under pressure to prove itself, struggling with artificial intelligence plans as well as questions that increase competition.
One of these markets is China, where Apple customers wait for hours and even overnight to get their hands on the new iPhone.
First, this morning, Sanlitun, the Apple flagship store in Beijing was the head of Liu – CNBC’ye iPhone 17 Pro Max for the chance to get the line on Thursday at 23:00 did not want to be defined by the name.
Apple said he was excited about the new color and exterior design of the smartphone, which he said he had improved the heat distribution of the phone.
The screens include the first time on the iPhone 17 Pro, iPhone 17 Pro Max and iPhone Air, as well as new Apple Watch and AirPods models.
Although there is a global launch for pre -orders in the USA since September 12, it is particularly important because Apple has undertaken increasing competition in overseas markets.
Chinese competition
In particular, Liu said that he has turned from Huawei to Apple in recent years and saw the iPhone better for daily life and entertainment.
Yang, another person who just wanted to be defined by his surname – an old Xiaomi user – he said he expects to take his hands to the iPhone and preferred them for operating systems.
Due to new features such as both Liu and Yang, larger internal storage, many Chinese residents are waiting for their first iPhone this year.
If this trend would explode, players like Huawei and Xiaomi would have been a pleasant news for the iPhone who lost their market share in China.
After years of leadership in the region, Apple now holds only 10% of the Chinese smartphone market and follows local players such as Oppo, Huawei, Xiaomi and others, Data from Omdia.
So far, signs are positive for the iPhone 17 series in China. Last Friday, JD.com, one of China’s largest e-commerce platforms, saw that the first minute of the iPhone 17 series pre-orders exceeded the pre-order volume of the iPhone 16 series on the first day. reported.
Other markets
In Singapore’s much smaller but wealthy market, the redesigned iPhone 17s were greeted with Fervor and long lines were formed outside the apple exits all over the city.
Imman Isa and Daniel Muhammad Nuv, two young professionals in Singapore, went ahead for hours to buy the iPhone 17 professionals, which they said they had first new phones for years in the outlet of Apple in Singapore’s iconic Marina Bay Shopping Center.
They referred to fresh designs, longer battery life and an improved camera, and that new phones offer enough to keep them loyal to the Apple ecosystem.
The lines were longer at an exit in the garden of Singapore, the primary shopping center of the city state, and had a separate order for people who pre -ordered iPhones.
Based on pre -order time and consumer feedback, the first global demand for the iPhone 17 Series seems to greatly positive.
La, especially the iPhone 17 has performed better than expectations, because the launch pricing did not change from its predecessor despite the upgrades in memory storage.
In Singapore, customers who came to Apple Outlets wanted to capture some of the new AirPods Pro 3s by showing the product’s live translation feature as an important point of sale.
Apple intelligence
A successful iPhone 17 launch can help to secure Apple investors long after artificial intelligence features are excited. to start At the end of last year.
CCS Insight Chief Analyst Ben Wood, who spoke with CNBC’s “Squawk Box Europe” last week, praised Apple’s latest product launch, but said the company should give artificial intelligence.
“There is no question that Apple has to deliver AI, dedi he said that the company made great promises that could not take place last year. Such plans are now pushed to next year.
“Apple should grow [in AI]But right now, I think they have enough runway to cope in the intervening period. “
– Eunice Yoon from CNBC contributed to this report
