<\/p>\n
Apple\u2019s latest iPhone Air has become an overnight hit in China, selling out within minutes of launch on Friday despite ongoing tariff disputes between Washington and Beijing. The ultra-thin model, which supports only e-SIM, went on sale at 9 AM local time, over a month after its global debut.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
According to Apple\u2019s website, all physical stores across major cities, which includes Beijing, Shanghai, and Tianjin ran out of stock almost instantly, while online orders now face a one to two-week delay, the South China Morning Post<\/i> reported.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n The enthusiastic response highlights Apple\u2019s enduring popularity among Chinese consumers, even as domestic brands like Huawei and Xiaomi intensify their push into the premium smartphone market.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n The iPhone Air launch coincided with Apple CEO Tim Cook\u2019s visit to China, his second this year, where he met top government officials and business leaders. Cook, who chairs the advisory board at Tsinghua University\u2019s School of Economics and Management, used the trip to reinforce Apple\u2019s long-standing partnership with China.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n During the visit, he held meetings with Chinese Vice-Premier He Lifeng, who leads Beijing\u2019s trade talks with the US, and Commerce Minister Wang Wentao. Discussions reportedly centred on bilateral trade, Apple\u2019s continued growth in China, and collaboration on \u201chigh-quality development\u201d initiatives.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Cook reaffirmed Apple\u2019s commitment to the Chinese market, calling cooperation between the two nations \u201cessential for global economic progress,\u201d according to a statement from China\u2019s commerce ministry.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Beyond diplomacy, Cook announced new local collaborations aimed at expanding Apple\u2019s footprint in China\u2019s innovation and research sectors. In a Weibo post, he revealed a partnership with Beijing\u2019s Anzhen Hospital, renowned for cardiology research, to explore how Apple Watch users in China can better monitor heart health.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Cook also pledged a donation to Tsinghua University to support environmental education and sustainability initiatives, describing it as part of Apple\u2019s mission to \u201cfoster the next generation of environmental leaders.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Despite the iPhone Air\u2019s initial success, Apple continues to face fierce competition in China\u2019s contracting smartphone market, which shrank 3 per cent year-on-year in Q3 2025. According to industry estimates, Vivo led the market with an 18 per cent share, followed by Huawei (16 per cent) and Apple (15 per cent), with Xiaomi and Oppo trailing close behind.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Apple\u2019s latest iPhone Air has become an overnight hit in China, selling out within minutes of launch on Friday despite ongoing tariff disputes between Washington and Beijing. The ultra-thin model, which supports only e-SIM, went on sale at 9 AM local time, over a month after its global debut. According to Apple\u2019s website, all physical […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":408472,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[529,41925,41916,41918,40431,41921,41922,188,183,297,39670,41924,185,186,41919,40075,41917,187,184,7700,41926,189,150,182,2848,190,41923,41927,41920],"class_list":["post-408471","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-technology","tag-apple","tag-apple-ceo-visit","tag-apple-china-sales","tag-apple-esim-phone","tag-apple-iphone-air","tag-apple-watch-china","tag-beijing-anzhen-hospital","tag-blockchain-tech","tag-blockchain-technology","tag-china","tag-china-smartphone-market","tag-china-us-trade-tensions","tag-crypto-technology","tag-cryptocurrency-technology","tag-huawei-competition","tag-iphone-air","tag-iphone-air-launch","tag-metaverse-technology","tag-nft-technology","tag-smartphone-market","tag-smartphone-market-share-china","tag-soul-bound-token","tag-tech","tag-technology","tag-tim-cook","tag-token-technology","tag-tsinghua-university-partnership","tag-vivo-huawei-apple","tag-xiaomi-premium-phones"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dripp.zone\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/408471","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dripp.zone\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dripp.zone\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dripp.zone\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dripp.zone\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=408471"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dripp.zone\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/408471\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":408473,"href":"https:\/\/dripp.zone\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/408471\/revisions\/408473"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dripp.zone\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/408472"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dripp.zone\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=408471"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dripp.zone\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=408471"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dripp.zone\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=408471"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Cook\u2019s high-profile China visit<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Strengthening Apple\u2019s local partnerships<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Competitive landscape remains tight<\/strong><\/h2>\n