Reports say consumers in the world's largest smartphone market have reserved about 20 million iPhone 6 and 6 Plus handsets, as Apple readies shipments of its latest series of smartphone for release in China and 36 other countries.
China's collection of roughly 20 million iPhone 6 reservations is approximately five times the volume of the devices ordered in advance when the smartphones first went on sale in the U.S., the U.K. and eight other countries.
The report of the 20 million iPhone orders stems from a tech analyst's estimates, which were picked up by Chinese news site Tencent QQ. From there, the heady estimate has been spreading through tech sites around the world.
Chinese wireless powerhouses China Unicom, China Mobile and China Telecom were said to have fielded approximately 10 million of the iPhone 6 preorders. Jingdong Mall is said to have taken 9.5 million preorders for Apple's latest smartphones.
The iPhone 6 and 6 Plus will launch in China, India and Monaco on Oct. 17; in Israel on Oct. 23; in the Czech Republic, French West Indies, Greenland, Malta, Poland, Reunion Island and South Africa on Oct. 24; in Bahrain and Kuwait on Oct. 30; in Albania, Bosnia, Croatia, Estonia, Greece, Guam, Hungary, Iceland, Kosovo, Latvia, Lithuania, Macau, Macedonia, Mexico, Moldova, Montenegro, Serbia, South Korea, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Ukraine and Thailand on Oct. 30.
After the round of launches on Oct. 30, the iPhone 6 series will be available in a total of 69 countries. The smartphones were officially unveiled at an Apple press conference in Cupertino, Calif., on Sept. 9 and they went on sale in the U.S. and nine other countries on Sept. 19.
Apple isn't done showing off new hardware and software, as the tech company has scheduled another media event for Oct. 16. The tech firm is widely expected to showcase a refreshed iPad, bearing the Touch ID tech required to join in on the company's new mobile payment network, Apple Pay.
A purported leak of an internal memo from Walgreens indicates that Apple will launch Apple Pay on Oct. 18.
The memo describes Walgreens as a participant in the Oct. 18 launch of the mobile payments network, indicating that more merchants could be preparing to roll out compatibility for the virtual wallets on that date. Other large organizations said to be onboard with Apple Pay include Disney, Nike, McDonalds and Whole Foods.
Apple iPhone 6 users will have the ability to buy good and services with the virtual wallets at any of 220,000 retail locations. The tech firm has been working with online retailers to enable consumers to checkout via Touch ID.
