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Apple highlights successful global iPhone 15 launch despite fears of China ban

Published Sep 22nd, 2023 9:35AM EDT
Apple Beijing Store queue for iPhone 15 release
Image: Apple Inc.

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The iPhone 15 series, Apple Watch Series 9, Apple Watch Ultra 2, and revamped USB-C AirPods Pro 2 are now finally available worldwide across 40 countries. As Apple is doing everything it can to ensure the new products arrive to more customers every week, the company has shared a few images of the launch day from Apple Stores across the globe.

Apple Regent Street store on iPhone 15 launch dayImage source: Apple Inc.

While the photos highlight crowded Apple Stores, even though most customers are just picking up their preorder products, Apple’s Deirdre O’Brien was at the company’s Sanlitun store in Beijing, China, amid the reported iPhone ban on the country for people working for the government.

As China is Apple’s second biggest market – home of most manufactured products – this release could become a real issue for the company. However, as my colleague Chris Smith highlighted in a previous story, what iPhone ban? The iPhone 15 is already a hit in China.

Apple’s Deirdre O’Brien followed the iPhone 15 release in China. Image source: Apple Inc.

Last week, within the first 10 minutes of iPhone 15 preorders, Apple’s China website crashed. The handsets were also available from third-party retailers, including Alibaba’s Tmall, JD.com, Meituan, and Ele.me – which reports say sold out in a minute.

Reuters, for example, reports that in the Shanghai store, over a hundred customers queued inside the company’s flagship store, waiting to pick up their iPhone 15 orders today. Local media reported the queue at the store on Shanghai’s East Nanjing Road shopping belt started forming at 5 a.m.

Image source: Apple Inc.

Although Apple no longer reveals numbers, we can glimpse iPhone sales in the next financial quarter as the company aims to boost its revenue with the first week of new products released.

Below, we highlight tips and tricks for new iPhone buyers and everything they can do with this new device.

José Adorno Tech News Reporter

José is a Tech News Reporter at BGR. He has previously covered Apple and iPhone news for 9to5Mac, and was a producer and web editor for Latin America broadcaster TV Globo. He is based out of Brazil.