Overview

• Apple opened China preorders for the iPhone 17, 17 Pro and 17 Pro Max at 8 p.m. Beijing time on Sept. 12, with the iPhone Air to follow after approval, and early platform data showed record preorders and rapid sellouts on JD.com and Tmall.
• Apple’s China site confirms the iPhone Air activates only via eSIM with no physical SIM, and China Mobile and China Telecom say service preparations are complete pending final sign-off, while China Unicom has not detailed timing.
• Apple China posted new out-of-warranty repair prices that lift an iPhone 17 screen fix to 2,698 yuan, up 400 yuan from iPhone 16, with batteries priced at 809 yuan for iPhone 17 and 969 yuan for iPhone Air and Pro models.
• The iPhone 17 launch has become a showcase for instant-retail rivalry as Meituan Flash and Taobao Flash pressed for “first release” distribution to win speed and coverage advantages.
• T-Mobile executive Jon Freier shared photos of iPhone Air and iPhone 17 packaging, and Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman reports Apple plans roughly 10 more hardware launches through early 2026, with about half expected before year-end.