Apple CEO Tim Cook holds new iPhones during an announcement of new products at Apple Park on Tuesday, September 9, 2025, in Cupertino, California, US. Photo: VCG

US tech giant Apple introduced an upgraded line of new products on Tuesday, including the new iPhone 17 series, iPhone Watches and AirPods, which sparked mixed discussions on Chinese social media platform, with some netizens praising the competitive price of the entry-level iPhone 17 while others expressed doubts about the display and upgrades of the new series.

Apple announced four new iPhone models, including the iPhone 17 base model, the slimmer iPhone 17 Air, iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max, according to the company's official website.

A 256-gigabyte version of the iPhone 17 base model will start at $799, the same price as the previous iPhone 16 model which had half the storage space. According to a CNBC report, the new iPhone features an improved display with a higher refresh rate, and enhanced camera capabilities. The phone's screen is also slightly larger, while the overall size of the phone has remained the same.

On Tuesday, Apple also announced its newest model iPhone 17 Air. It is thinner and lighter than Apple's other devices, and it's based on a new titanium body. It starts at $999, according to Apple website.

Following the release of Apple's new products, the hashtag "Price of iPhone 17 series" became a trendy topic on Chinese social media platform Sina Weibo. One netizen posted that the price of iPhone 17 base model is "great", asking "how do users of iPhone 12 with 64-gigabytes of storage feel?" Another netizen commented that iPhone 17 is ugly, while yet another wrote: "I wonder what significant upgrades were made from iPhone 14 to iPhone 17 series."

Another netizen posted he'd prefer domestic smartphone brands, "I do not quite use some of iPhone's functions and thus it's not cost effective." Another netizen wrote "iPhone 17 is a little expensive and looks like not many changes."

"Initially, I had no expectations for Apple's launch event, but there are some highlights such as larger storage, more kinds of products and new design of iPhone 17 Pro," Liu Dingding, a veteran tech industry analyst, told the Global Times on Wednesday. However, it's a pity that the event doesn't cover much about artificial intelligence (AI) and the application of eSIM has limitations, Liu said.

Apple shares were down about 1.5 percent when its launch event ended.

According to preliminary data from the International Data Corporation (IDC) Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker, China's smartphone market shipped 69 million units in the second quarter of 2025, with Chinese tech giant Huawei reclaiming the top spot with a market share of 18.1 percent.

Apple captured a market share of 13.9 percent in China over the period. "Apple narrowed its decline, leveraging strategic price adjustments that made specific iPhone 16 and 16 Pro variants eligible for government subsidies," said Will Wong, senior research manager for Client Devices at IDC Asia/Pacific.

Apple CEO Tim Cook visited the Chinese mainland multiple times in recent years, underlining the importance of the vast Chinese market.

During his latest visit to Beijing in March 2025, Cook said that Apple will continue to increase investments in sectors such as supply chains, research and development, and social responsibility in China, aiming to support the country's high-quality development.