A new report today says that there is increasing evidence of steep iPhone discounts being used in China in an attempt to counter weak demand.
It gives the example of the iPhone 15 Pro Max being offered at a $180 discount on the official price, which is significantly larger than has been offered in previous years …
Bloomberg reports that while Apple has returned to full price on its website after earlier sales, major resellers are still discounting heavily.
Apple Inc.’s resellers in China are slashing the price of iPhone 15 models by as much as $180, signaling an unusually prolonged slump in demand.
iPhone 15 Pro Max handsets are now selling at prices 1,300 yuan ($180) lower than their original on Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.’s Tmall. It’s a steeper drop than the roughly $120 discount the company offered on its smartphone lineup around the same time last year, and there are similar reductions on JD.com Inc.’s online platform.
IDC analyst Will Wong said that “Apple is catching up with the ‘deflation’ trend in China, intending to boost the demand for iPhones.” The Cupertino company reported a 13% year-on-year fall in holiday quarter sales, and IDC data indicates that iPhone sales in January are still down by 10%.
Apple is facing two issues in the country. The first is a poor economy in general, with people seeking to reduce their spending, while the second is the surprise re-emergence of Huawei as a competitor following an apparent workaround to US sanctions.
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