Update:
Sales opened last night at 8 p.m. Despite the widely cited 13 000-unit cap, all color variants of the 256 GB Air were still available as late as 11 p.m. on Apple’s official Tmall store. This store is operated directly by Apple; compared with the Apple Store website, it usually offers a shorter 7-day return window and installment plans capped at 12 months (half of Apple’s usual terms), but compensates with heavier discounts.
Taken together, this suggests that while the Air is strongly hyped by tech influencers, real consumer preferences in China are more conservative and practical. Many users still prefer a dual-camera setup over a single camera, especially at this price point. There is also persistent skepticism about the Air’s battery life, along with the perception that its thinner form factor inevitably means weaker sustained performance compared with the regular 17.
On top of that, eSIM remains a friction point in the Chinese market. Activation requires visiting a carrier in person with an ID, and removing or transferring an eSIM typically triggers a cooldown period of around three days. For many users, this is far less convenient than simply swapping a physical SIM. A common practice is to run a secondary SIM for cheaper data packages—often bundled with home broadband plans, such as an extra 10–50 GB per month for about 10 CNY (≈ 1.5 USD), sometimes shareable across family members. This kind of setup favors physical SIM flexibility, further reducing the appeal of the Air.
Overall, the pattern points to a preference for more grounded options: the regular 17 as a reliable workhorse, or the larger Pro Max for those who want the full feature set.
