Apple introduced four new iPhones this year, but the early numbers in China suggest the least exciting one might be the most popular.
According to a report, the standard iPhone 17 with 256GB of storage received more pre-orders on JD.com than any other model after sales opened.
That includes the new iPhone Air, which was supposed to be the headline product of the lineup.
There’s some context here. Apple delayed pre-orders for the Air in China while regulators review its eSIM setup, which certainly helped push attention toward the regular 17.
But the bigger story is what Apple actually put into the base model this year. For the same $799 starting price in the United States (5,999 yuan in China), the phone now comes with a larger 6.3-inch display, slimmer bezels, ProMotion support, and double the base storage at 256GB.
That list looks suspiciously like Apple took a handful of long-requested features from the Pro models and decided to make them standard.
ProMotion, in particular, has been a dividing line in the lineup since 2021. Now it’s just part of the entry iPhone.
Doubling the storage at the same price is another change that makes a real difference over the long run.
So instead of being the boring option, the iPhone 17 is suddenly the value option — the one that delivers most of what people actually care about without making them pay a premium.
That’s not how Apple usually positions the regular iPhone, but it might be exactly what the market responds to.
The Air will eventually get its chance to stand out, assuming Apple sorts out the regulatory delays. The Pro models will always appeal to buyers chasing the latest camera hardware.
But the early signal from China is clear enough: the regular iPhone 17 is no longer the phone you settle for. It’s the one people are choosing first.
