Orange iPhone 17 Pro Max sold out in Vietnam within minutes

At 7 p.m. on Friday, Apple’s online store and authorized resellers simultaneously launched pre-orders for the new iPhone 17 and iPhone Air models.

While initial deliveries were slated for Sep. 19, strong demand quickly overwhelmed many retail websites, leading to crashes and delays.

Cosmic orange iPhone 17 Pro Max. Photo by VnExpress/Tuan Hung

Duc Trung of HCMC reported logging onto Apple’s website at the exact launch time, but encountered a waiting screen and was only able to place his first order at 7:07 p.m.

While attempting to buy a second device minutes later, he found the expected delivery extended by two weeks.

On Apple’s site, both the 256GB orange and silver iPhone 17 Pro Max models became unavailable for immediate delivery, as did the 512GB orange version, with estimated shipping dates shifted to late September or early October.

Other colors, such as green, remained available, as did the iPhone Air and iPhone 17 Pro models.

Authorized retailers also reported unprecedented demand.

ShopDunk said the orange 256GB iPhone 17 Pro Max sold out in four minutes, with the 512GB variant gone by the ten-minute mark.

Websites for The Gioi Di Dong and FPT Shop experienced outages, while The Gioi Di Dong later announced a "record-breaking" 80,000 new iPhone deposits in just 30 minutes.

"We recorded more than 9,500 deposits in the first 15 minutes, mostly for the iPhone 17 Pro Max," said Nguyen Quang Vinh, retail director at ShopDunk.

"The orange version accounted for 85% of pre-orders on that model. With this turnout, we expect overall sales for the iPhone 17 series, Air, Pro, and Pro Max to grow 30% over last year."

Interest in the iPhone Air made up about 8% of orders with deposits.

FPT Shop representatives echoed these trends, with the iPhone 17 Pro Max constituting over 70% of registrations.

"We expect to complete deliveries by Oct. 19," a company spokesperson said.

At FPT, orange accounted for 60% of orders for the Pro and Pro Max, followed by silver and green at around 20% each. The green color accounted for half of iPhone Air orders.

CellphoneS also reported strong uptake, tallying about 20,000 orders for the new iPhones within four hours, with shipment set to begin Sep. 19.

High demand for new iPhone colors are not unusual. Last year’s desert titanium iPhone 16 Pro Max 256GB also sold out in three minutes.

According to industry analysts, strong demand for new colors comes from buyers’ desire for visually distinct devices and the perception of exclusivity.

Retailers and manufacturers are also believed to limit initial stock to generate buzz and drive rapid sales.

Apple’s new iPhone lineup announced Sep. 9 features significant hardware upgrades. The iPhone Air, just 5.6mm thin, is now the slimmest device in Apple’s history – narrower even than rival flagships.

Meanwhile, the iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max have been redesigned with a larger camera module, aluminum bodies for better cooling, and improved displays and processors.

Retailers cited currency and tax changes behind higher prices but still forecast the iPhone 17 Pro Max will remain the top seller with high possibility of selling out in launch week.