iPhone SE Pre-Orders Reach an Astounding 3.4 Million in China

The finance cable channel, CNBC, recently reported that pre-orders for Apple’s new iPhone SE handset have so far reached a whopping 3.4 million units in China. And, in addition, the report also alleges that the two most popular color options among those who pre-ordered the highly-acclaimed, 4-inch device, are yellow gold and rose gold.

China is but one of several “emerging markets” that Apple was initially hoping to infiltrate with its somewhat old-school, though internally hearty 4-inch handset. The others are countries like Russia, India, and Brazil, among other locales, where the prospect of a full-size iPhone is too far out of reach for the budgets of most consumers. Apple, for its part, also released the iPhone SE in hopes that it will appeal to customers, near and far, who simply prefer the smaller, more compact design of the handset over that of the company’s larger iPhones.

With that being said, the new iPhone SE boasts the same, 1.85 GHz dual-core A9 SoC that originally debuted in Apple’s iPhone 6s and 6s Plus. Additionally, the 4-inch munchkin also comes to market featuring the same, high-quality 12MP rear camera and 5 MP FaceTime camera that debuted as primary features of the iPhone 6s/6s Plus. And although the iPhone SE doesn’t feature Apple’s revolutionary 3D Touch, pressure-sensitive display technology, it does incorporate the same long-press functionality to activate Live Photos. The phone is also equipped with an NFC chip and Touch ID — enabling it to work with Apple’s mobile payment service, Apple Pay.

Still, even despite the generous number of pre-orders, several Chinese retailers have gone on record indicating that they don’t think the iPhone SE brings anything revolutionary to the table — claims, at least to an extent, which may be responsible for some independent retailers offering the new, pint-sized handset at a discounted price, or even at a smaller premium than is normally the case with an iPhone launch in China.

According to CNBC’s estimations, Chinese retailer JD.com has received pre-orders totaling 882,295 units, while Suning and Gome have accumulated 1,709,427 pre-orders and 889,668 reservations, respectively.

Meanwhile, for those anxiously awaiting the iPhone SE elsewhere, the handset will be launching this coming Thursday, March 31st; and, at least in the United States, the 16 GB variant will retail at just $399, while the 64GB unit will be available for $499.

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Are you planning on picking up one of Apple’s iPhone SE handsets this week? Let us know in the comments below!