'Pacific blue' iPhone 12 Pro a hit on 1st day sale

Taipei, Oct. 24 (CNA) The new iPhone 12 in "pacific blue" color became a hit on the first day of sale on Friday by three major telecom services providers in Taiwan, the companies said on Saturday.

The three telecom operators -- Chunghwa Telecom Co., Taiwan Mobile Co. and Far EasTone Telecommunications Co. -- said the iPhone 12 Pro model was in high demand by Taiwanese consumers on the first day of sale.

In particular, the companies said the "pacific blue" iPhone 12 Pro, the color Apple Inc. has adopted for the first time for its phone collection, is especially popular, leading to a shortage in supply.

The iPhone 12 series -- the 5.4-inch iPhone 12 mini, the 6.1-inch iPhone 12, the 6.1-inch iPhone 12 Pro, and the 6.7-inch iPhone 12 Pro Max -- are the first phones, launched by Apple on Sept. 13, to support 5G.

Market observers have anticipated the new models will trigger a big wave of people replacing their mobile phones with 5G-equipped versions.

Taiwan joined the limited number of markets in the first round of global sales of the new iPhones.

The iPhone 12 Pro and the iPhone 12 went on sale Friday after pre-order sale was launched last week.

Pre-orders for the iPhone 12 mini and the iPhone 12 Pro Max will start on Nov. 6, and they will be available in stores on Nov. 13.

In addition to the pacific blue version, the iPhone 12 Pro and the iPhone 12 Pro Max are also provided in graphite, silver, and gold, while the iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 mini are in blue, white, black, green and red.

Chunghwa Telecom cited its sales data as saying that the pacific blue 256GB iPhone 12 Pro was the top seller, ahead of the graphite iPhone 12 Pro 256GB, and the iPhone 12 in black, white and blue.

Chunghwa Telecom added many of its clients signed up for the NT$1,399 (US$48.24) monthly subscription fee for unlimited access to 5G services.

Echoing Chunghwa Telecom, Far EasTone said the iPhone 12 Pro 256GB in pacific blue color and the iPhone 12 128 GB in blue color were the two most popular models on the first day of sale.

Some netizens, however, teased that the blue color of the iPhone 12 came closer to the color of a trash can.

For its part, Taiwan Mobile said the iPhone 12 Pro was almost sold out in most of its outlets on Friday and the pacific blue iPhone 12 Pro model accounted for about 50 percent of sales.

On Friday, many Apple fans waited in line for the new iPhone 12 to become available for purchase.

A woman surnamed Wei (魏) was the first to get the phone from Chunghwa Telecom. She had been at the front of the line since Oct. 17, with the help of her family members.