New iPhones sell out 2 minutes after preorders open: Vendor

Taipei, Sept. 12 (CNA) Apple's latest iPhones -- the iPhone 18 Pro series and the iPhone Duo, the first foldable iPhone -- sold out within two minutes of preorders opening Thursday afternoon, Chunghwa Telecom Co., one of Taiwan's major telecom operators, said late Friday night.

Apple unveiled the iPhone 18 Pro series and the iPhone Duo early Thursday morning Taiwan time.

Chunghwa Telecom, Taiwan Mobile Co. and Far EasTone Telecommunications Co., three of Taiwan's leading telecom operators, have begun or will soon begin taking preorders, expecting the new iPhones, including the iPhone Duo, to spur a wave of handset upgrades despite higher price tags due to more expensive chips.

The 6.3-inch iPhone 18 Pro has a starting price of NT$44,900 (US$1,419), compared with NT$39,900 for the iPhone 17 Pro, while the 6.9-inch iPhone 18 Pro Max starts at NT$49,900, compared with NT$44,900 for the iPhone 17 Pro Max. The iPhone 18 Pro series will be available in four colors: Burgundy, Glacier, Silver and Black.

The iPhone Duo starts at NT$74,900 for a 256GB model, while the 2TB model is priced at NT$118,900. The foldable iPhone will be available in two colors: Star White and Night Sky.

Citing a survey, Chunghwa Telecom said 70 percent of Apple fans favored the iPhone 18 Pro and the iPhone 18 Pro Max, with 45 percent saying they would choose the 512GB model. Meanwhile, 46 percent of them preferred the Glacier color and 26 percent favored Burgundy.

The survey also found that 60 percent of those interested in buying the iPhone Duo favored the Star White color, with the remaining 40 percent favoring the Night Sky color.

Taiwan Mobile, which has also begun taking preorders, said preorders for the iPhone 18 Pro series surged nearly 200 percent compared with those for the iPhone 17 Pro series. It added that the iPhone Duo sold out within two minutes of preorders opening on its myfone online store.

According to Taiwan Mobile, the iPhone 18 Pro Max was the most popular model, accounting for about 50 percent of the new iPhone preorders, with the 256GB version the most popular configuration. Taiwan Mobile said Burgundy was the most popular color, followed by Glacier.

Far Eastone will begin taking preorders at 8 p.m. Saturday. The telecom operator said it has accepted preorder registrations since Thursday afternoon, with registrations more than double the level recorded last year. Burgundy was the most popular color, while the 512GB iPhone 18 Pro Max was the most popular configuration.

The three telecom services providers did not disclose their preorder volumes.

The iPhone 18 Pro series is scheduled to go on sale at the three telecom operators' outlets at 8 a.m. on Sept. 18, while the iPhone Duo is slated to hit store shelves Oct. 23.