Apple rides iPhone 17 ‘Hermès orange’ craze to major China comeback

Apple’s latest iPhone lineup, which features a brightly orange colored premium model, has taken the Chinese market by storm and helped reverse the tech company’s prolonged sales downturn.

China is bulk-buying the iPhone 17 vivid orange variant, a design overhaul said to have made the devices more visually distinctive compared to the launch version released last autumn. Consumers have nicknamed the handset “Hermès orange,” a reference to the signature tone of Hermès handbags. 

“It’s eye-catching,” said David Qiu, who replaced an older iPhone with the new orange version. “It’s the newest colour.”

Even though Apple markets the shade internally as “cosmic orange,” the luxury bag color comparison has stuck with buyers and influencers. The model is being flashed around Chinese social media platforms through unboxing videos and lifestyle clips. Thousands of users have shared posts featuring the device since its release.

“It sounds simple, but it’s the external obvious changes to design, which include the introduction of a shout-out orange colour, that pulled out early upgraders,” said Nabila Popal, senior research director at IDC.

A model using the stage name Xiao Mei posted a video featuring the device as a fashion accessory. “I was instantly drawn to the colour because it felt very special. Who doesn’t like Hermès orange? The more I look at it, the more I love it,” she said.

Chinese iPhone sales reverse a multi-year Asian market slump

Between 2024 and early 2025, Apple’s China revenue fell for 18 consecutive months. The contraction came as home-based brands such as Huawei, Vivo, and Xiaomi pulled ahead in the competition with feature-rich flagship devices.

Moreover, Apple has been in the middle of the strained relations between Beijing and Washington. Some public-sector workers in China were actually directed to phase out iPhones. A year later, Chief Executive Tim Cook boasted of a turnaround during a recent earnings call, citing record iPhone sales in China in the fourth quarter. 

According to Cook, sales revenue from the country rose 38% year on year to $26 billion, accounting for nearly one-fifth of Apple’s total sales.

Apple has the standard iPhone 17 to thank for its impressive performance during the quarter. In previous editions, Chinese buyers upgrading immediately after launch chose the Pro and Pro Max versions. But in this cycle, the base iPhone 17 had a more noticeable leap over the iPhone 16 than in previous generations.

The handset was positioned just below the ceiling for a nationwide consumer subsidy scheme introduced by Beijing last year to boost spending. The government had allocated about $43 billion in 2025 to support purchases of electronics, home appliances, and vehicles. 

Under the program, smartphones priced under 6,000 yuan qualified for discounts of up to 15%, while Apple set the iPhone 17 price in China at 5,999 yuan. 

China has also introduced consumer subsidies for lower-priced smartphones to spur domestic spending. Buyers can receive subsidies of up to RMB500, or about $72, on devices priced below RMB6,000. Since Apple’s base iPhone 17 model falls within that range, it appeals to Chinese consumers who can’t afford the premium versions.

While advanced software features like AI are under regulatory review, hardware aesthetics seem enough to get the market looking Apple’s way.

“I’m not too sure how somebody like Oppo or Vivo or Xiaomi can break that kind of stranglehold,” said global tech firm Counterpoint researcher Gerrit Schneemann.

Apple’s record quarter results in China surprise analysts

Cook told analysts that Apple set a record for iPhone upgrades among Chinese customers. The company also recorded double-digit growth in users switching from rival operating systems to iOS. “Overall, a great quarter in China. We could not be happier with it,” Cook said on the earnings call.

Apple had ceded share in recent years as domestic brands offered competitive cameras, foldable screens, and locally tailored features. The rebound has provided relief for investors after a year of tariff uncertainty and setbacks in AI.

A strong global iPhone demand has lifted Apple’s shares about 7% over the past week, according to Google Finance data.

Bank of America analyst Wamsi Mohan said Apple’s China revenue had contracted in eight of the previous nine quarters and had not delivered consistent growth since 2022.

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