(Bloomberg/Mark Gurman and Vlad Savov) — For the past four years, some Apple Inc. customers have been waiting for a fresh design before buying a new iPhone. The time has come for those consumers, with the iPhone 17 Pro, Pro Max and iPhone Air going on sale Friday.
In a first since 2020, Apple is rolling out several new iPhone designs. It’s also releasing into stores a new Apple Watch SE, Watch Series 11, Watch Ultra 3 and AirPods Pro 3.
Early sales across Asia showed strong demand for the Pro models. In Hong Kong, a small crowd assembled at Apple’s flagship store to check out the new handsets, but stock for walk-in purchases was limited only to the novel iPhone Air. Anyone wanting to purchase an iPhone 17 or Pro edition was directed to order online, where Apple indicated wait times of roughly three weeks.
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Australia, New Zealand, mainland China and Singapore’s Apple stores showed similar shipping times, with the iPhone 17 Pro Max wait extending to as long as four weeks. Japan was the only major market where consumers could acquire any new iPhone model with next-day delivery, while in South Korea the 17 Pro was available within a week whereas the Pro Max was marked as unavailable until late October.
The new Pro editions return the iPhone to an aluminum shell and have a redesigned back, while the iPhone Air is Apple’s first attempt at a radically different design with its thin shape as the main selling point.
The stakes are high for Apple. The company faces high expectations from Wall Street for sales over the holiday period, despite global economic concerns and the threat of future price increases due to tariffs. The Cupertino, California-based electronics giant is also trying to convince consumers its mojo is back after its artificial intelligence strategy fell flat.
The new models’ reception in China will be of great importance to the company. Sales in the region fell 6% in the weeks leading up to the new device family launch, marking a steeper-than-usual slump. After years of success in the region over the past decade, Apple now only holds 12% of the local market, trailing Oppo, Huawei Technologies Co., Xiaomi Corp. and others.
The launch of its latest major iteration of the iPhone — a product that debuted in 2007 — hits as Meta Platforms Inc. and others are moving on to AI-powered wearables, including smart glasses with displays. The new models also land weeks after Alphabet Inc.’s Google and Samsung Electronics Co. rolled out upgrades to their flagship smartphones.
Samsung, in particular, is a threat to the iPhone’s dominance. It launched a seventh-generation version of its book-style foldable phone, which appears to be a hit with consumers due to its more durable frame and thinner look. Apple won’t have a foldable phone until the end of next year, Bloomberg News has reported.
The iPhone 17 Pro line is resonating most with buyers because it improves the features that people most want in a new phone: battery life, camera technology and durability. It’s also priced from $1,099, only $100 more than the iPhone 16 Pro it replaces.
“Prices are being really increased for the first time in several years, so if we see a typical replacement cycle with higher prices, plus some progress on AI, that may not be an exciting setup for the stock, but it’s a decent one,” said John Belton, portfolio manager at Gabelli Funds, which has $33 billion in assets under management.
The iPhone Air, on the other hand, may not drive sales despite the attention it will receive. The $999 device focuses on a thin profile, but has drawbacks in battery life, audio and cameras. It’s also the same price as a 17 Pro when factoring in an optional magnetic battery attachment to increase endurance.
Earlier this year, Samsung launched the Galaxy S25 Edge, using a similar concept to Apple’s iPhone Air. Thus far, it’s been a sales dud.
(Updates with availability in international stores.)
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