iPhone 17 Series Surpasses 6 Million Act

iPhone 17 Series Surpasses 6 Million Activations in China: What's Driving Its Meteoric Rise?

 

The newly launched iPhone 17 series has delivered an impressive performance in the Chinese market—its activation count has already broken the 6 million mark, carving an upward trajectory amid the overall sluggishness of the smartphone industry. Among the lineup, the iPhone 17 Pro Max stands out with over 2.5 million activations, including more than 800,000 units activated in a single week. The iPhone 17 Pro follows closely with approximately 1.676 million activations, while the standard iPhone 17 model also secured around 1.1 million activations. All three flagship models have exceeded 1 million activations individually, reaffirming Apple's strong appeal in the high-end smartphone segment.

 

A key driver behind the series' popularity lies in its hardware upgrades that directly address user pain points. This year, Apple finally extended the 120Hz ProMotion adaptive refresh rate to all iPhone 17 models—a feature once exclusive to Pro variants. Now, users across all versions can enjoy smoother operations, with significantly improved responsiveness when scrolling through webpages or playing graphics-intensive games. The A19 chip, the series' performance core built on TSMC's enhanced 3nm process, handles daily tasks and large-scale games with ease. Paired with a 16-core NPU that delivers a leap in AI capabilities, it has elevated experiences in scenarios like portrait photo cutouts and real-time voice translation.

 

The comprehensive upgrade to the camera system has also been a major draw. Apple broke its tradition of "compromised camera specs for standard models" by equipping all iPhone 17 variants with 48MP main and ultra-wide lenses. The standard model sees a 40% increase in light intake in low-light conditions, drastically reducing noise in night shots. The Pro models take it further with an 8x optical zoom and variable aperture, making it effortless to capture distant scenes or portrait photos. Many short-video creators cite this camera upgrade as their top reason for switching to the new iPhone. Additionally, improved battery life and faster charging have addressed long-standing user concerns: all models offer longer battery life than their predecessors, and the 40W wired fast charging can charge the device to 70% in just 30 minutes.

 

Apple's "more value, same price" strategy has acted as a catalyst for sales growth. The standard iPhone 17 not only brings upgrades like a high-refresh-rate display and larger RAM but also increases the base storage from 128GB to 256GB—all while maintaining the starting price of 5,999 yuan (approximately $820). This user-friendly pricing has convinced many hesitant consumers to upgrade and even attracted some Android users to switch to the Apple ecosystem. Staff at offline stores report frequent stock shortages of popular color options in the initial launch phase, with many customers noting the "better value for money" as their motivation to purchase.

 

Notably, the iPhone 17 series has achieved strong sales in China despite calls to "support domestic brands"—a testament to its product strength. From 1.03 million activations in the first week to over 6 million now, these numbers reflect Apple's precise grasp of user needs: it has met basic user expectations with upgrades like the all-series high-refresh-rate display and improved cameras, while catering to high-end demands with the Pro models' professional features. For Apple, the 6 million activations are more than just a sales milestone—they reconfirm its competitiveness in China's high-end smartphone market.