Pre-orders open for iPhone X
Pre-orders for the iPhone X opened in China Friday afternoon.
Online pre-orders for Apple Inc’s much-anticipated iPhone X began in China on Friday.
Apple calls it the “future of the smartphone” with features like wireless charging, facial recognition and in-processor Artificial Intelligence services.
But Chinese consumers now have more choices from brands like Huawei, Vivo and Oppo with similar features.
The iPhone X costs 8,388 yuan (US$585) for the 64GB model and 9,688 yuan for 256GB model. Shipping is at least three weeks. The prices are US$200 more expensive than that in Hong Kong, the United States or Japan.
“It’s unexpectedly easy (to buy an iPhone X), easier than the purchase of new Huawei Mate 10,” said Pharos Ge, who works for an online finance firm in Beijing. Ge wants to buy both an iPhone X and Huawei Mate 10 for his family and himself.
The pre-ordering is “not as hot as we expected”, said Jia Mo, a Shanghai-based analyst at research firm Canalys, citing the higher mainland prices. Jia himself plans to buy a 64GB iPhone X during a business trip to the United States in December.
The iPhone X, with a 5.8-inch screen and list of features which includes an infrared camera, is still one of the most advanced smartphones available, analysts said.
