Apple CEO showed off an unusual Labuba

Apple CEO Tim Cook arrived in Shanghai to celebrate the upcoming launch of iPhone Air in the Chinese market. During his trip, he met with Pop Mart CEO Wang Ning and artist Kasing Lung - the creator of the popular The Monsters characters. Lung presented Cook with an exclusive Labubu figurine created in his image, reports MacRumors.

On social network Weibo, Cook shared that Lung demonstrated the process of creating his characters - he draws sketches on iPad Pro using Apple Pencil. Lung himself is the author of the famous Labubu character, which has become a global phenomenon.

During the meeting, the designer gifted the Apple CEO a unique Labubu figurine resembling Tim Cook himself - with white fur, glasses, black jeans, blue shirt, sneakers, and a miniature iPhone 17 in hand. Cook noted that Labubu now "has his own iPhone 17 Pro in Cosmic Orange color." Additionally, Lung created an illustration depicting their meeting and published a selfie with Cook on Instagram*, adding photos of the exclusive "Tim Cook Labubu" toy.

During his stay in China, Tim Cook also visited the Apple Pudong flagship store, met with Lilith Games developers who created the game AFK Journey, and attended the filming of a new music video by singer Wang Feifei, shot in one take using iPhone 17 Pro.

Pre-orders for iPhone Air in China will start on October 17, with sales beginning on October 22.

The device's release in the country was delayed due to the need to obtain regulatory approval for using a model without a physical SIM card slot. The iPhone Air is just 5.6 mm thick, making it impossible to install a traditional SIM slot. Thus, the iPhone Air will be the first Apple smartphone to offer Chinese users exclusively eSIM support.