(Yicai Global) Sep. 21 -- Today's release of Apple's latest iPhones in China, a key market for the US tech giant, is reported not to have drawn the throngs of buyers seen outside its stores in recent years perhaps because of higher pricing, third-party online sales or even consumer reaction to the new look.

The launch of the iPhone XS, XS Max and XR produced shorter lines in front of Apple's flagship store in Beijing, online news outlet TechWeb reported. Unusually, no scalpers were spotted in the vicinity of the store, the California-based company's first in China, which reopened last week after a refurbishment.

This year's pre-sales volume is relatively low compared with last year's hot business, when hundreds of people thronged stores of the first day, according to the report.

Apple unveiled the new lineup at a press conference on Sept. 13. Priced at CNY12,799 (USD1,870) in China, the iPhone XS MAX 512G is so far the most costly of its smartphones sold in the country and is almost a third more expensive than the same handsets marketed in the US.

Many customers with reservations arrived at Apple's Beijing flagship on Wangfujing Street, one of the capital's most famous shopping promenades, before 9.00 a.m today and got in line, the report said. About 25 to 30 customers were seen waiting and at least 10 more came to the store in succession.

Editor: Emmi Laine