As part of a sale pegged to the Lunar New Year event, Apple’s official Chinese website is listing discounts of up to 500 RMB ($70) on the latest iPhone lineup. Other flagship Apple products, including the Mac and iPad, are also going to be discounted up to 800 RMB ($112) and 400 RMB ($56), respectively, as part of the promotion, which runs from January 18 through January 21.
Although third-party sellers at times discount Apple products, Apple themselves very rarely offer deals or sales, part of their effort to maintain a premium brand image – something that has been particularly important as Apple seek to attract high-end buyers in China.
The move to slash prices on the iPhone comes just over five months after Chinese tech giant Huawei released their latest smartphone, the Mate 60 Pro. The Huawei smartphone has been eagerly embraced by Chinese consumers – so much that its use of an advanced chip has come under scrutiny from US officials.
The new discounts on the iPhone in China are raising fresh questions about how demand for Apple products is faring recently in the world’s second-largest economy. China has long been a key market for the iPhone maker, with roughly one-fifth of Apple’s overall sales last year coming from China.
Sales for the iPhone 15 were down 4.5% in China compared to iPhone 14 sales in the first two weeks after its launch in September, according to Counterpoint Research. And last week, Jefferies Research in a note to clients said iPhone sales had tumbled 30% in the first week of the year, Reuters reported.
Still, China is one of Apple’s most important markets. And it is second-largest in sales, behind only the North American market. Therefore, Apple can ill afford to continue dropping sales.
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