BEIJING/SHANGHAI: Apple’s latest iPhone 11 range hit stores in China on Friday, with short queues of die-hard fans contrasting with the hundreds who camped out ahead of some previous launches.
The sales performance of the US tech giant’s latest line-up is being closely watched in the world’s largest smartphone market, where Apple has been losing ground to competitors with cheaper and feature-packed handsets in recent years.
The queues at the Shanghai and Beijing stores, which combined added up to few dozen customers, were in sharp contrast to previous years, when hundreds used to wait for hours outside Apple’s shops to be the first to grab its latest offerings.
But much of the fanfare in China has moved online where the pre-sales for iPhone 11, priced between $699 and $1,099, started last week.
Analysts said they had gotten off to a better start than the last cycle a year ago. Chinese e-commerce site JD.com said day one pre-sales for the iPhone 11 series were up 480 percent versus comparable sales for the iPhone XR last year.
Among customers that took to a store in Beijing on Friday to make a purchase in person was a programmer who only gave his surname as Liu, who said he had a model from every Apple series since the 3G range.
He said he was particularly attracted to the more expensive iPhone 11 Pro, which has three cameras on the back. “When it comes to taking photos, it’s better for night shots and the image is clearer,” he told Reuters.
Other customers, however, said that they were concerned that the range was not enabled for fifth-generation networks, putting them behind 5G models already released by China’s Huawei Technologies and smaller rival Vivo, and expressed hopes that Apple could make it happen for its next line-up.
“I think by the end of next year, especially in big cities like Beijing, 5G will be commonplace,” said civil servant Liu Liu. “If they don’t research this then they’ll lag way behind.”
The in-store launch of the iPhone 11 in China came a day after Chinese smartphone maker Huawei unveiled new smartphones which it said were more compact, with more sensitive cameras and wraparound screens more vivid than those of the latest iPhone, though it played down concerns about the lack of access to Google’s popular apps.
Huawei has experienced a surge in support from Chinese consumers after the brand was caught up in a trade war between the United States and China, which has in turn eaten into Apple’s market share in the country.
No crowds as Apple’s iPhone 11 hits stores in China
No crowds as Apple’s iPhone 11 hits stores in China
- The sales performance of the US tech giant’s latest line-up is being closely watched in the world’s largest smartphone market
- Apple has been losing ground to competitors with cheaper and feature-packed handsets in recent years
Saudi non-oil trade surplus with GCC jumps 102% in November
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s non-oil trade surplus with Gulf Cooperation Council countries more than doubled in November, driven by a surge in exports, preliminary government data showed.
The surplus reached about SR6.6 billion ($1.76 billion), up 102 percent from SR3.3 billion a year earlier, according to the General Authority for Statistics.
Total non-oil trade with GCC countries rose 30 percent to SR20.4 billion from SR15.7 billion, as exports outpaced import growth. Non-oil goods exports climbed to SR13.5 billion in November from SR9.5 billion a year earlier, while imports increased to SR6.9 billion from SR6.2 billion.
Re-exports made up the bulk of outbound trade, rising to SR9.76 billion in November from SR6.56 billion a year earlier, while national exports increased to SR3.75 billion from SR2.92 billion.
The UAE remained Saudi Arabia’s largest GCC trading partner on a non-oil basis. Exports to the Emirates totaled SR10.48 billion in November versus SR7.18 billion a year earlier, comprising SR8.38 billion in re-exports and SR2.10 billion in national exports.
Imports from the UAE were SR4.79 billion, up from SR3.95 billion, lifting the non-oil trade surplus with the UAE to about SR5.69 billion from SR3.23 billion.
Trade with Kuwait also expanded, with exports rising to SR769.9 million from SR610.6 million, including SR199.2 million in re-exports and SR570.7 million in national exports. Imports from Kuwait fell to SR176.4 million from SR333.3 million, pushing the trade surplus to SR593.5 million from SR277.3 million.
With Bahrain, exports edged down to SR900.7 million from SR929.7 million, reflecting a decline in re-exports to SR380.3 million from SR572.7 million, while national exports increased to SR520.4 million from SR356.9 million. Imports rose to SR862.4 million from SR662.4 million, reducing the surplus to SR38.3 million from SR267.2 million.
Saudi Arabia narrowed its non-oil trade deficit with Oman, as exports increased to SR666.7 million from SR356.5 million, supported by re-exports of SR259.6 million versus SR39.3 million and national exports of SR407.0 million versus SR317.3 million.
Imports from Oman declined to SR873.2 million from SR1.11 billion, bringing the trade balance to a deficit of SR206.6 million compared with a deficit of SR749.1 million in November 2024.
Trade with Qatar strengthened, with exports rising to SR691.1 million from SR395.8 million, including re-exports of SR536.2 million versus SR253.9 million and national exports of SR155.0 million versus SR141.9 million. Imports increased to SR199.3 million from SR148.9 million, resulting in a surplus of SR491.8 million, up from SR246.9 million.
