Apple Offering Rare iPhone Discounts In China

Apple is giving Chinese consumers a rare discount on iPhones as the tech giant reportedly faces intense competition from homegrown rivals.

New statistics show that foreign-branded phones, including Apple plunged in November, the fourth month in a row they were down.

Apple is launching a four-day promotion beginning Saturday that offers discounts of as much as $68.50 on some of its latest top model iPhones, the BBC reported.

The top discount of $68.50 will apply to the iPhone 16 Pro and the iPhone 16 Pro Max.

A smaller $54.66 discount will be given on purchases of iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus.

The price cut comes as Chinese phone maker Huawei slashed prices by as much as 20% on some of its high-end mobile devices, the report said.

"Apple's strategy has changed to adapt to the change in Chinese consumers' shopping behavior," Will Wong, a senior research manager for market intelligence firm International Data Corporation (IDC), told the BBC.

"The value-seeking trend has made price discounts more attractive to consumers. Apple may fall behind other competitors if it doesn't adopt such a pricing strategy," Wong said.

Apple reentered the top five smartphone makers in China in the third quarter of 2024 after briefly falling off the list, IDC data shows.

Vivo ranks as the top smartphone maker in that period, with sales of more than 20% and 18.6% market share.

Huawei, whose sales jumped 42%, came in third with 15.3% market share.

Apple finished in second with 15.6% market share, but its sales fell 0.3%.

"Huawei has staged an impressive comeback, recording four consecutive quarters of at least double-digit growth. The launch of the world's first tri-foldable phone is expected to further drive the foldable market development," the IDC said in its analysis.

Sales of Huawei smartphones were propelled by its introduction of artificial intelligence in the devices, a capability not available in Apple devices in China.