First batches of iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max sold out in China
Preorders for iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max in China were significantly stronger than last year’s lineup. Despite the price increase, sales of the new Pro models on Tmall were twice as high as those of iPhone 17 Pro over a comparable period.
It is important that this refers to revenue, not the number of smartphones sold. A higher average price alone increases the monetary figure. Nevertheless, order structure data also indicate strong demand: the iPhone 18 Pro Max proved more popular than the standard Pro model; the most sought-after color was the new Burgundy Red; and among storage options, 256 GB was chosen most frequently. These details are reported by Digital Chat Station; Apple has not published its own pre-order statistics.
Preorders in China opened on September 12 at 8:00 PM local time. On several major platforms, the first batches of popular configurations sold out in less than a minute, although some variants remained available for order with later delivery at the Apple Store. Thus, reports of a complete sellout of the entire series are somewhat exaggerated. Official retail sales of the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max will begin on September 18.
Demand remained high despite price increases. The iPhone 18 Pro with 256 GB storage costs 9,999 yuan (≈ $1491) in China, up from 8,999 yuan for last year’s iPhone 17 Pro. The base model iPhone 18 Pro Max price rose from 9,999 to 10,999 yuan (≈ $1640). In both cases, the increase was 1,000 yuan.
A shortage of specific versions quickly emerged in the secondary market. Journalists from Beijing Business Daily found on the Dewu platform that the iPhone 18 Pro Max with 256 GB storage in silver was selling at an average markup of 3,000 yuan (≈ $447), while the burgundy version of the same configuration was priced 1,800 yuan (≈ $268) above the official price. Notably, the burgundy variant led in order volume.
An additional factor in this launch was Apple’s revised lineup. The company did not unveil the standard iPhone 18 in September, and the foldable iPhone Duo will arrive in China later. Consequently, the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max remain the only new Apple smartphones that Chinese customers can order ahead of the September sales kickoff.
