Prime Highlights:
Apple will offer a discount on the iPhone series in China before Chinese New Year. The company will provide discount on iPhone 16 Pro series up to 500 yuan ($68.50), while iPhone 16 and 15 will be available at a discounted price of 400 yuan.
The company has never provided direct discounts but embraced this strategy in the recent past years due to increased competition.
The domestic Chinese brands have been pretty tough in competition, and so, Apple has experienced a 6% decrease in its shipments of iPhones in China during Q3 2024. Shipment for Huawei has increased by 24%.
Key Background:
In an effort to attract Chinese New Year shoppers, Apple has announced plans to reduce the prices of its flagship iPhone models and other products in China. The Cupertino-based tech giant will offer a discount of 500 yuan (approximately $68.50) on the iPhone 16 Pro model and 400 yuan on both the iPhone 16 Pro Max and iPhone 16. Discounts will also be available on the iPhone 14 and iPhone 15 models.
Traditionally, Apple has never sold its discounted products through its own stores. The company is okay with third-party retailers to handle the whole process of price cutting for seasonal demand. But now, as competition is heightening with local Chinese brands, Apple is trying to strategically change the game with giving retail discounts directly at some of the festival shopping. Such discounts were witnessed last year on Chinese New Year and on 618-shopping festival in May.
The company is moving since there has been growing pressure on it by other local smartphone companies in China like Huawei. Apple is still leading in that market, though its shipments dropped 6% year-over-year in the third quarter of 2024, according to Canalys. This decline has resulted in the market share of Apple in mainland China falling from 16% in 2023 to 14% in 2024. Huawei, on the other hand, had been under sanctions by the United States. The firm rebounded with a 24% increase in shipments compared to last year and was able to see market share rise from 13% to 16% over the same period.
A year later, an aggressive release of new devices helped drive the return of Huawei – a smartphone and other advanced chip-equipped devices considered impossible to be released under U.S. trade restrictions. One notable example is that Huawei released a pioneering trifold phone in 2024, signaling its technological capabilities and ambition to reclaim a larger share of the market.
As Apple looks to fight back for China, these promotions essentially point to the bigger strategy of adjusting to trending market patterns. With competition intensifying, especially from
homegrown players such as Huawei, Apple seems to be going on a warpath to stay in the fray by seeing off customers during the festive season.
