Apple’s iPhone 12 family introduction had fans cheering in mainland China on Wednesday over a 5G model from their favorite brand.
In its second-largest market by revenue, Apple’s announcement was feverishly discussed on social media. With over 6 billion views, the tag ‘iPhone12’ ranked as the no. 1 topic on China’s Twitter-like Weibo.
Asked if they’d buy the new iPhone, which will give Apple users 5G access in a market where such networks are already widespread, respondents to a Caijing magazine poll were almost evenly split: some 10,000 voted no, 9,269 said yes, and just over 5,400 said they were still considering it.
“In China now, 5G is not a premium feature, it’s a must-have feature,” said Nicole Peng, who tracks China’s smartphone sector at Canalys. Peng said the 5G launch will “trigger a new wave of phone replacements” for Apple in China before the end of the year and in first-quarter 2021.
Apple’s unit shipments in China increased 35% year-on-year in China in the second quarter of 2020, according to Canalys. That made it the only top brand besides Huawei to see positive growth – a feat it achieved even without offering a 5G device.
MacDailyNews Take: The multi-year Mother of All iPhone Super Cycles begins at at 5 a.m. PDT on Friday, October 16th with the first preorders!
Customers in Australia, China, Germany, Japan, the UK, the US, and more than 30 other countries and regions will be able to:
• Pre-order iPhone 12 beginning at 5 a.m. PDT on Friday, October 16, with availability beginning Friday, October 23
• Pre-order iPhone 12 Pro beginning at 5 a.m. PDT on Friday, October 16, with availability beginning Friday, October, October 23
• Pre-order iPhone 12 mini beginning at 5 a.m. PST on Friday, November 6, with availability beginning Friday, November 13
• Pre-order for iPhone 12 Pro Max beginning at 5 a.m. PST on Friday, November 6, with availability beginning Friday, November 13.