Apple’s uber-slim iPhone Air became available for pre-orders on Friday, and the device sold out within hours, reports South China Morning Post.
Demand was strong for the Air, with orders surging immediately after pre-orders became available. Both Apple’s online store and the official Tmall flagship both listed multiple color and storage configurations as unavailable within the first two hours of pre-order availability, marking even higher demand for the device than we saw with pre-orders in western markets in September. Prices begin at 7,999 yuan (approximately $1,122).
While the iPhone Air debuted around most of the globe in September, the device’s release was delayed in mainland China, due to a delay in government approval for the eSIM used in the device in place of the traditional physical SIM cards.
The launch comes as China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology’s made the decision to authorize eSIM trials for smartphones, marking the first time Chinese users can activate a mobile number without a physical SIM card. This paved the way for China Mobile, China Unicom, and China Telecom to launch the iPhone Air in the country.
