Chinese actress Bai Lu has surprised members of her production team with a major gift, giving more than 10 staff members a newly launched iPhone 18 while filming her upcoming drama After the Bloom.
The 31-year-old actress made the gesture on Sept 20, with members of the production crew sharing photos of themselves holding their new phones on Chinese social media platform Weibo. One group photo showed Bai Lu alongside 12 staff members, each holding an iPhone box.
According to posts from members of the team, everyone in the production crew received a phone. They said the devices came with 1TB of storage in Apple’s Glacier colour. The exact model was not specified, although reports identified them as believed to be the iPhone 18 Pro Max.
At Apple’s Singapore pricing, the 1TB iPhone 18 Pro Max is listed at S$2,999. If 12 staff members received that configuration, the phones alone would represent a value of almost S$36,000. The actual total could be higher if additional members of the wider production team also received the gift.
The gesture prompted enthusiastic reactions from the recipients. One staff member said she felt blessed and expressed her support for Bai Lu, while another post praised the actress for regularly treating crew members to food and drinks and giving red packets during Chinese New Year.
Bai Lu is currently filming After the Bloom, a drama in which she plays Wang Yunna, a woman who returns to Hong Kong after spending seven years in the United States. The story takes a dramatic turn when she becomes involved with fashion designer Zuo Wensi, only to discover a connection between him and her troubled past.
The phone giveaway also came as Bai Lu took on a new role outside the drama. WeTV announced her as its latest global ambassador on Sept 20, further expanding her international promotional activities. She is also scheduled to meet fans at Bangkok’s ICONSIAM on Oct 25.
The iPhone 18 series itself was officially unveiled by Apple earlier this month, with the Pro Max available in storage capacities including 1TB and in a Glacier finish.
For Bai Lu’s fans, however, the expensive phones may be only part of the story. The attention surrounding the giveaway has also highlighted the relationship between the actress and the people working behind the scenes — turning an unexpected set gift into one of the latest talking points surrounding After the Bloom.
