Apple Offers Rare Discounts On iPhone Models In China As It Continues Facing Declining Sales

Apple has announced on its website that they will be offering a maximum of 800 yuan (equivalent to $111.6) off on selected products for the Lunar New Year from January 18th- 21st  in China, and the products included in this offer will be the iPhone 15 Pro, iPhone 15, iPhone 14, and MacBook Air.

The advertisement reveals that during the promotional period, using eligible payment methods to purchase selected products could save up to 800 yuan. Specifically, discounts of up to 500 yuan are available on the iPhone 15 Pro, iPhone 15 Pro Max, iPhone 15, iPhone 15 Plus, iPhone 14, iPhone 14 Plus, or iPhone 13.

The 13-inch or 15-inch MacBook Air models that are equipped with the new M2 chip or existing M1 chip will also be eligible for a discount of up to 800 yuan.

This price cut on the official website has many consumers expressing surprise since it is really rare to see Apple offering discounts on the products they just released, like the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Pro.

Recently, analysts like Edison Lee at Jefferies said that Apple's iPhone sales in China are declining and could continue to decline this year. According to the firm's report, based on industry data, the new generation of Apple iPhones had a difficult start in China last year, with the year-on-year decrease finally widening to 30%.

Other mobile phone markets in China, especially Huawei with its Mate 60 series, saw growth in December. As Huawei made its re-entrance into the market competition, Apple experienced a double-digit decrease in sales in December last year, and Jefferies predicts a similar decrease for 2024.

According to the investment bank, despite significant price cuts on various iPhone models on major Chinese e-commerce platforms, iPhone sales in the first week of the New Year still fell 30% compared to the same period last year.

Apple's share price has also been falling recently. In mid-December, Apple's share price reached $198.11 per share, with a total market value exceeding three trillion dollars. However, it fluctuated downward subsequently and closed at $185.92 on January 12th, reducing its total market value to $2.87 trillion, subsequently being surpassed by Microsoft's market value of 2.89 trillion dollars.

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