Multiple news outlets in mainland China are reporting that reservations for Apple's new iPhone 6 and 6 Plus models across retailers and the nation's three mobile carriers have reached two million.
Both Sina and ITHome have reported "incomplete statistics" stating that retailers and carriers have booked more than 2 million reservations just six hours after opening their queues.
The report also mentioned that the majority of initial bookings have been 64GB iPhone 6 and 6 Plus models, both priced at nearly $1,000, rather than the cheapest tier Apple offers, according to AppleInsider.
Previous reports on black market smuggling indicated that buyers were paying extreme premiums for the larger model and for gold finish, two options Apple made available with the Chinese market in mind.
Apple issued a press release on Wednesday saying that preorders from its own store wouldn't start until October 10. Buyers can reserve the new phones on Oct. 14 for in-store pick-up starting on Oct. 17.
The release said that actual sales by carriers China Mobile, China Telecom and China Unicom and from Apple Authorized Resellers wouldn't start until October 17. That doesn't appear to have stopped all three carriers and several major retailers from booking preorders early however.
"We are thrilled to bring iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus to our customers in China on all three carriers at launch," said Apple's CEO Tim Cook in the release. "With support for TD-LTE and FDD-LTE, iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus customers will have access to high-speed mobile networks from China Mobile, China Telecom and China Unicom for an incredible experience."
The new iPhone 6 is 5,288 RMB ($861) for the 16GB model, 6,088 RMB ($991) for the 64GB model and 6,888 RMB ($1122) for the 128GB model, while iPhone 6 Plus is priced at 6,088/6,888/7,788 RMB ($991/1122/1269) at the same three capacities, according to AppleInsider.
Pricing for an unlocked iPhone 6 is $649/749/849 and iPhone 6 Plus is $749/849/949 for the same three storage options. This means the Chinese prices between $173 and $212 higher than U.S. prices.
Apple's initial iPhone 6 sales exceeded ten million over the new models' first weekend.
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