Spend hundreds of millions of dong to buy iPhone 18 Pro Max on the first day of sale
(Dan Tri) - On the morning of September 18, iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max officially arrived in the hands of Vietnamese users. While some points of sale in Ho Chi Minh City have long lines of customers waiting, the atmosphere in Hanoi is somewhat different.
From the early morning of September 18, the atmosphere at many retail systems became bustling as users waited to receive iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max.
By 7:00 a.m. on September 18, more than 300 customers were present at TopZone 181 Ham Nghi, Ho Chi Minh City, lining up to receive iPhone 18 (Photo: The Anh).
At exactly 8am, the first devices began to be delivered to customers. This is the second consecutive year that Vietnam is in the group of markets with early opening sales of new iPhones along with many countries such as the US, Canada, China, France, Japan, Singapore, Korea and Thailand.
Hanoi: Users lined up early to wait for the first iPhone 18
In Hanoi, before the machine was delivered, many customers were present at the stores to complete procedures for receiving the products. Some people travel more than 10km, even 15km to be able to own the device the first morning.
Among the customers who received the device on the morning of September 18, Mr. Chen Lixin, 29 years old, a Chinese living and working in Vietnam, spent more than 100 million VND to own two red and blue iPhone 18 Pro Max at the same time, with accessories.
Lixin said he decided to choose the iPhone 18 Pro Max because he realized that this year's generation has many changes compared to the iPhone 17 Pro Max, in which he was especially interested in the A20 Pro chip and heat dissipation ability.
Mr. Chen Lixin spent more than 100 million VND to own two red and blue iPhone 18 Pro Max at the same time, with accessories (Photo: Tuan Anh).
According to Lixin's feeling, the performance of the A20 Pro has moved closer to Apple's M chip series. He expects these changes will help the device maintain good performance and meet usage needs for a long time.
Mr. Quach Manh Tu, living in Cau Giay ward, said he moved about 15km to the Nguyen Trai area early in the morning to receive the phone.
Mr. Quach Manh Tu traveled about 15km to receive iPhone 18 Pro Max on the first day of sale (Photo: Tuan Anh).
After using iPhone 13 Pro Max, this year he decided to upgrade to iPhone 18 Pro Max. Besides new features, color is also one of the factors that made him choose this year's generation.
Similarly, Nguyen Van Luan, living in Dai Thanh commune, was present at the point of sale about an hour before the pick-up time. He said his work often involves filming and taking photos, so he pays special attention to changes in the camera system.
"I am interested in cameras with the ability to adjust aperture because I often do photography work. I also chose new colors because they feel soothing to the eyes," Mr. Luan shared.
The Ice Blue color version was chosen by many users on the first day of sale (Photo: Tuan Anh).
Mr. Luan said he upgrades his iPhone almost every year. During this sale, he and a friend chose iPhone 18 Pro Max to receive the device on the first day.
Not only people who often change their phones, this year's sale also attracts a group of customers who have used old devices for many years.
Upgraded after many years of using old machine
Recorded in the morning showed that users' reasons for upgrading were quite diverse. Besides the need to own new products, cameras, performance, heat dissipation and software features are factors that many customers are interested in.
Nguyen Son Truong Giang, born in 2005, senior student at FPT University, came to receive the iPhone 18 Pro in Ice Tan color that had been pre-ordered since September 14.
Before that, Giang used iPhone 11 Pro Max and said he had not changed his phone for a long time. Initially, male students were confused between iPhone 17 and the new generation. Because someone in the family already uses the iPhone 17 and has experienced this device himself, Giang finally chose the iPhone 18 Pro.
Nguyen Son Truong Giang decided to upgrade from iPhone 11 Pro Max to iPhone 18 Pro after many years of using the old device (Photo: Tien Dat).
The need to study and process videos also affects male students' decisions.
"I often edit and render videos, so I'm quite concerned about heat dissipation. In addition, I also want to experience new changes in the camera system," Giang shared.
Meanwhile, Pham Quang Vu, 30 years old, living in Kham Thien, Hanoi, belongs to the group of users who upgrade their devices after a relatively short time.
Working as IT Support, Mr. Vu used to work with OPPO phones for about 7 years before switching to iPhone 17 Pro Max. After a year of use, he continued to choose the iPhone 18 Pro Max 1TB version in Ice Blue color.
"I am interested in the upgrades in AI, photography capabilities and software features introduced by Apple. Because I have used the iPhone 17 Pro Max for a year, I want to experience it directly to see what differences the new generation has compared to the device I am currently using," Mr. Vu said.
After a year of using iPhone 17 Pro Max, Mr. Vu continued to upgrade to iPhone 18 Pro Max to experience changes in AI, camera and software (Photo: Tien Dat).
To receive the equipment on the first morning of opening for sale, he proactively arranged his work and asked to come to the company later than usual.
The common point shared by many users is the desire to directly experience improvements in camera, performance and software instead of only caring about changes in appearance.
HCMC: Noisy, crowded, hundreds of people waiting in line
The crowded atmosphere on the first delivery day in Ho Chi Minh City was somewhat predicted from the pre-order stage.
In Ho Chi Minh City, some iPhone 18 sales locations had long lines of customers waiting to receive the device on the morning of September 18 (Photo: The Anh).
From 7:00 p.m. on September 12, Apple and authorized dealers in Vietnam began accepting pre-orders for iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max.
Just a few minutes after the ordering portal opened, some versions fell into scarcity. The websites of some retail systems also flickered at times when traffic increased.
Mr. Nguyen Lac Huy, CellphoneS media representative, said that as of the morning of September 14, the system recorded nearly 50,000 pre-orders, 3 times higher than the same period last year.
Figures from another system show that iPhone 18 Pro Max accounts for 87% of total orders, while iPhone 18 Pro accounts for 13%. The 256GB capacity version is the most chosen with a rate of 91%, followed by 512GB with 7.5% and 1TB with 1.5%.
Many customers waited to receive iPhone 18 inside the TopZone store in Ho Chi Minh City on the morning of September 18 (Photo: The Anh).
Besides the machine version and capacity, new colors also create attraction in this year's sale. Burgundy Red and Ice Blue are among the choice groups that many people are interested in. According to Mr. Huy, these are also two prominent colors in the number of pre-orders in the system.
Burgundy Red and Ice Blue are the two iPhone 18 colors that received a lot of attention from Vietnamese users during this year's sale (Photo: Tuan Anh).
The need to upgrade equipment also accounts for a significant proportion. A retailer recorded that about 55% of customers interested in iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max want to change from their current phone to the new generation.
The number of pre-orders increased rapidly, causing the supply of some versions to be under pressure right in the first round. On Apple's online store in Vietnam, delivery time for some iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max configurations has lasted about 3-4 weeks.
At authorized dealers, shortages are mainly concentrated on iPhone 18 Pro Max and new colors.
The supply of iPhone 18 Pro Max, especially with new colors, is forecast to be limited in the first delivery (Photo: Tuan Anh).
"Similar to previous years, the number of iPhone 18 Pro, especially the new color Pro Max, will be quite limited in the first delivery. It is expected that it will take until the end of October for the new supply to better meet the demand for some versions," said a representative of Hoang Ha Mobile.
According to a representative of another retail system, shortages often appear in the early stages when demand for new colors exceeds the allocated number of machines. Supply pressure is expected to gradually decrease when the next batches of goods arrive in Vietnam.
The attraction of some versions also spreads to the secondary market. Before the opening day, on social networks appeared posts offering resale for early receipt of iPhone 18 Pro Max in Burgundy Red color with a difference of 6-10 million VND compared to the genuine price.
In Vietnam, iPhone 18 Pro has a starting price of 39 million VND for the 256GB version. iPhone 18 Pro Max with the same capacity costs 42 million VND.
How to return air changer on opening day
The scene at the selling points on the morning of September 18 is not entirely the same.
In Ho Chi Minh City, some stores and opening events gathered a large number of customers, so there were long lines of people waiting to receive equipment.
Before opening hours, a system said it had prepared about 20,000 devices for the first round of returns at more than 80 stores nationwide. The event in the center of Ho Chi Minh City alone is expected to welcome about 500 guests.
Meanwhile, in Hanoi, Dan Tri's reporter's notes at some selling points showed that the number of people gathering at the same time was not as large as in previous years.
Many retailers allocate customers to receive iPhone 18 according to different time frames and delivery points to limit crowding (Photo: Hung Anh).
The way retailers organize device deliveries this year has changed as pre-order customers are distributed to many stores and different time frames during the day.
Some systems proactively send pick-up schedules to each group of customers instead of focusing entirely on 8:00 a.m. Other units increase the number of return points or support home delivery of devices.
Streamlining helps limit the situation where hundreds of customers appear at the same time, while also shortening waiting time for check-in procedures.
This way of organization partly creates two different images of clarity for sale. At some locations in Ho Chi Minh City, long lines of buyers still create the familiar vibrant atmosphere every new iPhone season.
In Hanoi, customers arrive more scattered according to the pick-up schedule, making the scene less crowded even though device delivery activities take place continuously.
Many KOLs checked in with iPhone 18 on the first day the product hit shelves in Vietnam (Photo: Hung Anh).
The change also reflects a different phase of the iPhone market in Vietnam.
As Vietnam has entered the second year of being in the early sale group, owning a genuine iPhone on the first day is no longer dependent on a few centralized delivery points.
Instead of everyone waiting at the store at the same time, buyers have more choices about location, time frame and method of receiving the device.