China is undergoing a wave of OpenClaw frenzy. The viral open-source AI agent is witnessing unprecedented success in China, and as a result, it has led to a huge increase in demand for used Apple MacBooks in the Chinese market. The surge is demand is highly comparable to the one observed during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown.
According to ATRenew, a major Chinese reseller of pre-owned consumer electronics that partners with Apple and JD.com, Chinese consumers are rushing to buy powerful used Macs to experiment with the OpenClaw autonomous AI agent, leading to higher buyback offers and stable pricing through the typically slower spring season.
OpenClaw goes viral in China
OpenClaw, launched in November 2025 by Austrian developer Peter Steinberger, is a free, open-source AI agent capable of performing personal tasks autonomously on your PC. OpenClaw can take care of tasks such as sending emails, shopping online, managing calendars, and handling other digital workflows.
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang has hailed it as “definitely the next ChatGPT” and “the largest, most popular, most successful open-sourced project in the history of humanity.”
While its GitHub repository has garnered massive attention globally, the adoption has exploded in China since early March 2026, outpacing usage in the United States, according to cybersecurity firm SecurityScorecard. Chinese tech giants like Tencent and Baidu have promoted compatible versions or integrations, accelerating the trend among everyday users and developers eager to “raise lobsters” — the tool’s playful mascot nickname.
Why MacBooks, now Windows, are top choice of OpenClaw enthusiasts
The surge in Mac sales comes from OpenClaw’s demanding nature – although free to download, running OpenClaw effectively requires significant computing power, especially for local execution of advanced models. Apple’s M-series chips, particularly the efficient M4 and M5 generations, offer superior power efficiency compared to many Windows-based systems, thus making Mac devices ideal for hosting the agent without excessive energy use or heat.
Many users opt for secondary or dedicated machines like Mac Minis to mitigate security risks, as OpenClaw requires broad system access and could expose personal data (such as banking details) if compromised.
Jeremy Ji, chief strategy officer and general manager of international business at ATRenew, explained, “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.” ATRenew has increased buyback prices for used MacBooks to boost supply amid the rush, keeping resale values at peak fall-season levels from March through May 2026, instead of the usual seasonal dip. The report states that new MacBooks generally sell about 15% higher than used ones on the platform, but the gap is narrowing as demand intensifies.
Consumers are trading older M1 and M2 devices for newer M4 or M5-equipped units, with the Mac Mini emerging as a favourite for dedicated OpenClaw setups. Ji described consumer interest in more powerful secondhand MacBooks as “still going very strong,” expecting the trend to persist throughout the year.
With the AI agent mania rising, the rising memory chip prices and the rising demand of AI computing are only favouring power-efficient Apple hardware.
While OpenClaw’s autonomous capabilities excite users, security concerns have prompted China’s government to ban it from official computers and issue guidelines. Many run it on cloud servers or isolated devices to avoid risks.