CNBC reports iPhone SE preorders in China have exceeded 3.4 million. While Apple doesn’t announce official sales or pre-order figures, the news service says its figures are from local retailers.
The initial preorder figures were cited on Monday by CNBC, which revealed that gold has been the most popular color among buyers in China. Apple’s new rose gold option was said to be in a close second place among early adopters.
it is believed that Apple’s new 4-inch iPhone SE is part of an effort to appeal to buyers in emerging markets, such as China, India, Brazil, and Russia. The new device has the lowest entry price ever offered by the company for a new handset. The new 4-inch handset will also appeal to consumers who may be buying their first smartphone or are making the switch from lower-priced Android devices.
While Wall Street investors have predicted Apple might sell anywhere from 10 million to 15 million additional handsets due to the iPhone SE’s introduction, CNBC’s reports indicates those numbers might be on the low end.
Chinese scalpers are a bit concerned about long term demand for the new handset, as they usually can charge around $300 over retail for scalped iPhones, but the iPhone SE scalping market is supporting only around $30 over retail, or it’s even selling at a discount.
The iPhone SE boasts an A9 processor, 12-megapixel iSight camera, and Touch ID and NFC capabilities for Apple Pay — the same components as iPhone 6s flagship lineup. Pricing is $399 for 16GB and $499 for 64GB, with four color options: silver, space gray, gold and rose gold.
