Apple has concluded a three-year period of declining sales in the Chinese market. The latest financial report reveals a significant 38% year-over-year increase in its fourth-quarter revenue in China, reaching $26 billion, which contributed to nearly one-fifth of the company's global total sales. This reversal was primarily driven by the design innovations of the iPhone 17 series, particularly a new color option widely referred to on social media as "Hermès Orange" (officially named "Cosmic Orange"), which generated substantial consumer interest.
The color, due to its high resemblance to the iconic shade of the luxury brand Hermès, created a spontaneous viral effect on social platforms, generating thousands of user-generated content pieces since its autumn launch. Analysts noted that this design strategy effectively reinforced the iPhone's status as a high-end social symbol in China, making the new model more recognizable and sought-after.
This earnings rebound provided crucial support for Apple, which has recently faced pressures from trade policies and competition in the AI sector. Strong global demand for the iPhone has driven its stock price up by approximately 7% over the past week, indicating positive market feedback on its adjusted product strategy.
Design innovation served as a key driver for sales. The iPhone 17 series successfully tapped into the core purchasing motivations of Chinese consumers through notable exterior updates, especially the new color strategy. Nabila Popal, Senior Research Director at IDC, commented:
"It may seem simple, but the significant changes in exterior design—including the introduction of the striking orange variant—directly influenced early adopters' decisions to upgrade."
Market feedback supports this view. A model and influencer described the color in a showcase video as "feeling very special" and directly linked it to Hermès' signature shade. Consumer David Qiu also stated after his purchase that the new color offered high distinctiveness and a sense of novelty.
The color also triggered a homophone marketing effect in Chinese, where "orange" (橙) sounds similar to "success" (成), leading to viral phrases on social media such as "May all your wishes come 'orange' true." Another influencer known for showcasing high-end lifestyles remarked in a video:
"Choosing orange means everyone knows you're using the latest iPhone 17; it's a statement of identity."
These phenomena collectively indicate that the design update was not merely a color iteration but a successful communication strategy targeting the social psychology and symbolic consumption specific to the Chinese market.
Government subsidies and product upgrades worked in tandem. Sales of the base model iPhone 17 in China were also bolstered by macro-level policies. As part of government efforts to stimulate consumption, consumers purchasing smartphones priced below 6,000 yuan were eligible for subsidies of up to 500 yuan, directly lowering the entry barrier for the device.
Nabila Popal further noted that the comprehensive upgrades across core specifications of the iPhone 17 series—including the camera system, chip performance, display, and battery life—successfully catalyzed a "super upgrade cycle." Notably, this growth comes four years after Apple's last significant sales increase in China in 2021, aligning with its traditional product upgrade rhythm.
Wamsi Mohan, an analyst at Bank of America, added that the growth figures also benefited from a comparison with a lower base in prior periods. Before 2024, Apple's sales in China had declined year-over-year in eight of the past nine quarters, with no sustained growth achieved since 2022.
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