Apple offers iPhone discounts in China as competition intensifies

BEIJING: Apple is offering rare discounts of up to 500 yuan ($68.5) on its latest iPhone models in China, as the US tech giant moves to defend its market share against rising competition from domestic rivals like Huawei.

The four-day promotion, running from Jan 4-7, applies to several iPhone models when purchased using specific payment methods, according to its website. The flagship iPhone 16 Pro with a starting price of 7,999 yuan and the iPhone 16 Pro Max with a starting price of 9,999 yuan will see the highest discount of 500 yuan. The iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus will receive a 400 yuan reduction.

The discounts come as consumers remain cautious with spending amid China’s slowing economy and deflationary pressures, with the country’s consumer inflation hitting a five-month low in November.

Apple is grappling with declining market share in China, the world’s largest smartphone market, where local manufacturers have intensified competition.

Huawei has emerged as a particularly strong challenger since its return to the premium segment in August 2023 with locally-made chipsets. Huawei had cut the prices of a variety of high-end devices, including mobile phones, by up to 3,000 yuan over the weekend on one of China’s leading e-commerce platforms. Apple briefly fell out of China’s top five smartphone vendors in the second quarter of 2024 before recovering in the third quarter. The US company’s smartphone sales in China still slipped 0.3 per cent during the third quarter from a year earlier, while Huawei’s sales surged 42 per cent, according to research firm IDC.

The Apple promotion also includes discounts of 200 to 300 yuan on older iPhone models, as well as other categories of products such as MacBook laptops and iPad tablets. Customers must use designated payment methods including WeChat Pay or Alipay to qualify for the discounts.