China’s OpenClaw Craze Sparks Surge in Used MacBook Demand
A wave of excitement around a new artificial intelligence tool is creating an unexpected boom in a specific corner of the Chinese tech market: pre-owned Apple computers. According to industry insiders, the rush to experiment with the OpenClaw AI agent is driving up prices and demand for secondhand MacBooks, particularly models with Apple’s latest silicon chips.
The OpenClaw Phenomenon
OpenClaw, an open-source AI agent launched in November by Austrian developer Peter Steinberger, has captured significant attention in China. The tool is designed to autonomously perform personal tasks like sending emails or online shopping. American cybersecurity firm SecurityScorecard reports that usage in China has now surpassed that of the United States.
The latest surge in Chinese interest began earlier this month, fueled by promotions from major local tech firms like Tencent, which have used OpenClaw to attract users. Jensen Huang, CEO of Nvidia, recently hailed the project as “definitely the next ChatGPT,” calling it “the largest, most popular, the most successful open-sourced project in the history of humanity.”
Why Macs? The Hardware Preference
For early adopters looking to run the software, Apple’s Mac hardware has become the popular choice. Jeremy Ji, chief strategy officer and general manager of international business at ATRenew—a major used electronics buyer and reseller that works with Apple and JD.com—explains that Apple’s self-developed chips, from the M1 to the latest M5, are favored for their power efficiency.
“We do see the growing demand for laptops, PCs as a whole, but the Mac devices benefit from that trend [to try OpenClaw] above all,” Ji said in an interview. He noted a clear trend of users trading in older M1 and M2 chip MacBooks for newer models with M4 or M5 processors to better handle AI workloads.
A Market in Overdrive
The demand has been so intense that it’s distorting the usual seasonal pricing for used Apple products. Typically, spring brings a price decline for secondhand electronics after the holiday season and ahead of new product launches. This year, from March to May, ATRenew has kept its prices for Apple products at levels usually seen during the peak fall season around new iPhone releases.
Ji shared that ATRenew processes an average of about 100,000 devices daily. While he did not specify the exact volume of MacBooks handled since late February, he expects laptops and personal computers to grow to 20% of the company’s total business, up from 15% currently. To secure more supply, ATRenew has even increased the prices it offers to consumers buying back their devices. Ji predicts this strong demand “could continue throughout the whole year.”
He compared the current surge to the pandemic-era spike in personal computing device purchases, when remote work and learning drove global demand.
Security Risks and the “Separate Device” Strategy
The enthusiasm for OpenClaw comes with a critical caveat: security. Because the AI agent can autonomously access and act on a user’s behalf, running it on a primary personal computer poses significant risks. If granted access, it could potentially alter private data like banking information or create vulnerabilities that hackers could exploit.
This risk profile is prompting many users to adopt a cautious approach. They are installing OpenClaw on a separate, dedicated device—often a cloud server or a secondary laptop—to isolate it from their main personal or financial data. This practice directly fuels the demand for affordable, powerful used machines like the Mac Mini and MacBooks.
Broader Market Ripples
The trend extends beyond laptops. The overall surge in demand for AI computing power has driven up prices for memory chips, a key component in all modern electronics. Ji noted this chip price dynamic has also encouraged more consumers in China to consider used Apple smartphones over flagship Android devices, as they seek value in a rising-cost environment.
As China’s tech-savvy population continues to explore the capabilities of AI agents like OpenClaw, the secondary market for capable, efficient hardware—especially Apple’s ecosystem—is finding itself at the center of a major new trend.
An Austrian developer, Peter Steinberger, launched OpenClaw in November. But the latest wave of interest in China only picked up early this month as Tencent and other Chinese tech companies used OpenClaw as a way to attract more users.
ATRenew’s Ji declined to share the exact volume of MacBooks handled since late February, but noted the average number of devices the company processed last year was around 100,000 a day. He expects the share of MacBook and other laptop or personal computing devices could grow to 20% of the business, up from 15% right now.
Jensen Huang, CEO of U.S. chip giant Nvidia, told CNBC’s Jim Cramer on Tuesday that OpenClaw is “definitely the next ChatGPT.”
“It is now the largest, most popular, the most successful open-sourced project in the history of humanity,” Huang said.
Overall demand for AI computing power has also driven up prices for memory chips, a key component of smartphones and laptops.
The chip price surge has specifically encouraged more consumers in China to buy used Apple smartphones, rather than flagship Android-based devices, Ji said.
