iPhone Struggles in China... Unusually Lowered Prices

Up to 500 Yuan Discount
Uncertain Whether Sales Will Recover

Apple's latest iPhone series, released less than six months ago, has launched an unprecedented price discount through an official promotion in China.

According to Pengpai News and others on the 15th, Apple announced on its official website that from the 18th to the 21st, it will offer discounts of up to 500 yuan (about 92,000 won) on the iPhone 15 series, as well as iPads, MacBook Airs, Apple Watches, AirPods, and other products. This promotion targets customers using specific payment methods such as Alipay, WeChat Pay, Visa, and MasterCard.

[Image source=EPA Yonhap News]

Consumers can purchase up to two items per product category, with total quantities set at 30,000 iPhones, 50,000 iPads, and 750 MacBooks at official stores.

Apple holds New Year discount promotions annually, but this is the first time the entire iPhone series has been included. On the Chinese social networking service Weibo, the keyword "Apple official website unprecedented large discount" ranked among the top searches that day.

This move by Apple is seen as a response to the recent sluggish sales of the iPhone 15 in China. In the fourth quarter of last year, competitor Huawei achieved a remarkable nearly 80% increase in mobile phone sales within China compared to the same period the previous year, while Apple's sales during the same period actually decreased by 10%. On the 7th, the American investment bank Jefferies estimated in a memo that iPhone 15 series sales in China dropped by 30% in the first week of this year. This is interpreted as an effect of the spread of patriotic consumption in China due to U.S. sanctions on Chinese companies.

According to market research firm Counterpoint Research, Apple's market share in the premium smartphone market fell from 75% to 71% last year, while Samsung's market share rose from 16% to 17%. During the same period, Huawei's market share increased from 3% to 5%.

It is uncertain whether Apple's current discount promotion will lead to a recovery in sales. Various e-commerce platforms have already begun price reductions, with discounts of up to 900 yuan on the iPhone 15 series. Pengpai News also predicted, "This iPhone 15 series will record the worst performance among iPhones released in China since 2018."