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Apple’s new iPhone 14 series of handsets officially hit the shelves in China on Friday, resulting in long queues of shoppers outside the US tech giant’s store in the southern tech hub of Shenzhen, and steep mark-ups from some scalpers despite a weak overall market for smartphones.

There were around a hundred shoppers in a snaking line outside Apple’s bricks-and-mortar store in Shenzhen’s Nanshan district at around noon on Friday, anxious to pick up the iPhone 14 handsets they had pre-ordered online.

This Post reporter also spotted a group of scalpers gathered outside the store, asking people if they wanted to sell their brand new handsets at a mark-up, and who then attempted to re-sell the devices at an even steeper price to other consumers.

“The price depends on the model, we usually add 600 yuan (US$86) for some iPhone 14 Pro models to buy them, but for models like the iPhone 14 Pro Max 1TB we will give double (1,200 yuan) extra and can then resell it with at least a 1,500-yuan mark-up,” one of the scalpers told the Post, declining to give their name.

Only consumers who had reserved a time slot were allowed in a fast-track lane, while other shoppers had to queue up for around an hour to enter the store, according to a security person on site. “If you don’t have a reservation and only want to look around, I advise you to come back another time as it will be a long wait,” said the staff member.

Lin Shen, a so-called “backpack” dealer of smartphones in Shenzhen stated that "The iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max are the most popular models, especially the deep purple color, and the price keeps fluctuating during the day.

The enduring popularity of Apple’s iconic smartphone is expected to give China’s declining handset market a boost, amid weaker consumer demand due to a slowing economy and disruptions in supply chains because of China’s strict Covid-19 control policies.

Apple's two Pro models accounted for about 85 per cent of all iPhone 14 pre-orders in China, according to Kuo Ming-chi, an analyst at TF Securities known for his accurate assessment of Apple’s business in the country. For more, read the South China Morning Post report by Iris Deng.

Apple posted photos from the Apple Store in Beijing earlier today that you could view here.

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Photo from an Apple Store in Beijing today