Apple is offering rare discounts of up to CNY 500 ($68.50 or roughly Rs. 5,874)) 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 January 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 CNY 7,999 (roughly Rs. 94,012) and the iPhone 16 Pro Max with a starting price of CNY 9,999 (roughly Rs. 1.17 lakh) will see the highest discount of CNY 500 (roughly Rs. 5,876). The iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus will receive a CNY 400 (roughly Rs. 4,701) 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 CNY 3,000 (roughly Rs. 35,250) 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 percent during the third quarter from a year earlier, while Huawei’s sales surged 42 percent, according to research firm IDC.
The Apple promotion also includes discounts of CNY 200 (roughly Rs. 2,350) to CNY 300 (roughly Rs. 3,525) 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.
© Thomson Reuters 2024
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