Robust pre-order demand for new iPhone X

The impending arrival of Apple Inc's iPhone X is being greeted with growing enthusiasm among consumers in China, who are rushing to preorder the company's most expensive and advanced smartphone.

The positive user reaction came as a new report showed that the US tech giant's smartphone shipments to China grew by 40 percent in the third quarter, bringing an end to six consecutive quarters of decline in the country.

Apple's flagship store on Tmall, an e-commerce website of Alibaba Group Holding Ltd, said sales of iPhone X on Friday afternoon exceeded the first-day sales of iPhone 7 series within 50 minutes of it becoming available for pre-ordering.