iPhone 6 reservations in China top 4 million before preorders open

By Malarie Gokey October 3, 2014

Apple iPhone 6 Plus review

The iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus are selling like hotcakes. Apple already sold a record 10 million iPhones during opening weekend and now the Chinese media says that more than four million iPhone 6 units have been reserved at carriers in the country. According to Tencent, two million reservations were made in the first six hours.

Preorders for the new iPhones have not yet opened in China, but many carriers set up pre-launch pages where customers can reserve an iPhone 6 before the phone officially goes on sale in the country. Of course, not all of these reservations will turn into real sales, but it’s still a strong show of demand ahead of the October 10 preorder launch date.

Recommended Videos

The Chinese government delayed approval of the iPhone 6 due to a number of concerns that have since been resolved. Now that the iPhones have the regulators’ approval, everything else should go without a hitch. The handsets will arrive in stores on October 17, one week after preorders start. Still, some analysts say that the delayed launch of the new iPhones in China may hurt sales.

Earlier this week, the New York Times reported that black market sales of the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus had slowed dramatically, with some retailers slashing prices. While some predicted that the iPhone 6 would be a flop in China, others argued that slowing black market sales were caused by news of the impending official launch. Based on the new report of huge reservations for the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, it seems that fears may prove unfounded.

The four million reservations seem to indicate that interest in the new iPhones is high in China. The report also hinted that the iPhone 6 Plus may be more popular in the country than the smaller iPhone 6. Retailer Jingdong reportedly has 1,106,379 reservations for the iPhone 6 and 1,189,083 for the iPhone 6 Plus. The same trend may also be happening in other countries, as a DigiTimes report says that 60 percent of all iPhone 6 sales go to the larger iPhone 6 Plus. It seems that Apple’s phablet has a slight edge over smaller models.

Topics

Former Digital Trends Contributor

As DT's Mobile Editor, Malarie runs the Mobile and Wearables sections, which cover smartphones, tablets, smartwatches, and…

Mobile

I lost my iPhone on a dream vacation — and it wasn’t a nightmare

Photo of Spain.

Our trip to Spain and Morocco, which my wife, Julie, had meticulously planned for 15 months, started off rather inauspiciously on June 25. After arriving in Chicago from Portland, Oregon, we learned that our connecting flight to Newark, New Jersey, had been canceled due to weather concerns. As we waited in line for two-and-a-half hours to talk to a United Airlines agent, we were told via text by a customer service rep that we might be stuck in the Windy City for two days.

A 30-year Spanish teacher, Julie was on the verge of fulfilling a lifelong dream of visiting Spain. Now, several activities were in danger of being erased from her bucket list as her worst fears about the trip were being realized. When we finally made it to the service desk, our hope was all but snuffed out. We explained the situation to the agent, who spent several minutes looking at his computer wordlessly. He eventually looked up and said: "I can you get out on a flight tonight."

Mobile

How to fast charge your iPhone

iPhone 12 Mini with charger

While they may not be some of the longest-lasting smartphones on the market, modern iPhones boast more than respectable battery life that should be able to get you through an entire day's use without breaking too much of a sweat. Of course, that assumes a lot of things — including a battery that's still relatively new and in good health, plus a usage pattern that doesn't include all-day streaming or gaming.

If you fall into either (or both) of these categories, then overnight charging isn't going to cut it, and you'll want to get your battery topped up again as quickly as you can so you can get back on the road. Thankfully, every iPhone released in the past six years supports much faster charging, but the downside is that with very few exceptions, Apple has never supplied you with the right adapter to get the best possible charging speeds from your iPhone.

Mobile

These are the only 2 reasons I’m excited for the iPhone 15 Pro

The App Library on the iPhone 14 Pro.

It’s peak summer right now, though fall is just around the corner with back-to-school season on the horizon. With that also comes Apple’s annual iPhone event.

This year, we are definitely expecting the iPhone 15 lineup, as well as Apple Watch Series 9, and maybe a new Apple Watch Ultra. The rumors for the iPhone 15 series have been going strong for months, though there has also been a lot of back-and-forth too, mostly relating to the iPhone 15 Pro models.