Apple is resorting to significant price cuts on its iPhone 15 lineup in mainland China to revive sluggish sales. Major online retailers like JD.com and Alibaba’s Tmall platform are offering the phones at new lows.
For instance, the top-tier 256GB iPhone 15 Pro Max is now priced at 7,949 yuan ($1,100) on these platforms. That’s a big 2,050 yuan (20%) reduction from its initial September 2023 launch price of 9,999 yuan.
Price Reductions Across Models
The base 128GB iPhone 15 also sees a 23% price drop, going from 5,999 yuan ($829) to 4,599 yuan ($635).
Note that Apple’s official mainland online store is listing the iPhone 15s at their original launch price. The discount is only available on major e-commerce platforms.
Apple is believed to be offering such aggressive discounts to reignite Chinese audience interest in their flagship product. For those unaware, iPhone sales in Greater China (including mainland China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan) dipped by 8% to US$16.4 billion in the March quarter.
Competitive Market Moves
Apple’s unusual discount strategy in Chinese online marketplaces began in January. It came after several Chinese manufacturers like Xiaomi and Honor slashed prices of their phones on both online and offline markets.
So in the same month, Apple itself offered discounts of up to 800 yuan on its mainland online store for iPhones, iPads, MacBooks, AirPods, and Apple Watches.
According to market research firm Counterpoint, Apple’s market share in mainland China’s smartphone market shrunk to 15.7% in the March quarter, down from 20.2% a year earlier.
Market Share and Competition
The decline placed them behind Vivo (17.4% share) and Honor (16.1% share). Huawei, with its successful 5G handset comeback featuring the Mate 60 Pro, secured a 15.5% market share during the same period.
Despite the concerns, the discounts on iPhones may be yielding some positive results for Apple. Data published by the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology earlier this month suggests that shipments of foreign-branded smartphones in China grew 12% compared to March 2023. While the academy didn’t specify the brand, Apple typically dominates foreign handset sales in mainland China.
