During the pre-order period in China, retailers quickly ran out of available iPhone 18 Pro series units – according to estimates, 7 million units were pre-ordered. Some stores saw double the revenue compared to the 17 Pro and 17 Pro Max launch last year.
This momentum has carried over into actual sales too. According to information by blogger RD Observation, the new iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max have sold approximately 1.3 million units during the first week of availability in China.
This is 15% more units than what the 17 Pro and 17 Pro Max sold last year during their first week. Of course, they were competing with the vanilla iPhone 17 and the iPhone Air.
iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max
But here’s the more impressive stat – sales of the iPhone 18 Pro and 18 Pro Max are 90% of what the whole iPhone 2025 lineup sold in China during the first week of availability. The absence of a new vanilla and a new Air model isn’t hurting Apple’s bottom line, it seems. Anyone who wants a new iPhone now has to get a Pro. And if you don’t, in a few months, Apple will release the new vanilla (and likely the new Air) model.
Interestingly, these estimates point to the iPhone 18 Pro Max as the more popular model of the two – it sold 55.5% of the total. During the pre-order stage it was the other way around – 60% of people picked the smaller Pro.
Apple raised the prices of its new models, but it was clever about it. The 256GB and 512GB models only went up by CNY 1,000 (around $150). Meanwhile, the already expensive 1TB and 2TB models’ prices were hiked up by CNY 2,500 and CNY 3,500, respectively. This is despite Apple using slow QLC chips.
Our iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max reviews are already out (linked below)
The new iPhone 18 Pro and 18 Pro Max may not be doing as hot in other regions, though. Data compiled by BigGo shows that the prices for a 256GB model in China went up by around 11%. In the US, the $100 price hike for the same capacity comes out to around 9%.
In Japan, however, the 256GB iPhone 18 Pro is JPY 40,000 more expensive – a notable 22% increase. Before the 18 Pro launch, Apple increased the iPhone 17 Pro price from the original JPY 179,800 to JPY 194,800. But the 18 Pro launched at JPY 219,800, so even compared to the revised 17 Pro price, the 18 Pro is more than JPY 20,000 more expensive.