As Chinese brand Huawei rises from the ashes, a new report says Apple is deep discounting iPhones in the country, offering up to $318 off iPhone 15 Pro Max as it aims to compete.
The latest round of discounts is much higher than those offered back in February and does contrast with the US offering at a slightly better trade-in price. on old phones …
Apple against Huawei: a brief history lesson
While Apple continued to release phones with smaller screens until the iPhone 5s, Chinese consumers were actively buying larger-screen models—what were then called phablets, a cross between a phone and a phone. and a tablet. Huawei dominated the local market – until Apple released the iPhone 6 in 2014, sparking intense competition between the two companies.
Everything changed again when the US government imposed sanctions on China, preventing the country from exporting advanced American chips. Among other things, this prevented Huawei from buying 5G radio chips for its smartphones. Don't expect to sell many premium smartphones without 5G support, which is why sales of Huawei phones have dropped like a brick, with Apple by far the biggest beneficiary.
However, fast forward to last year, Huawei somehow managed to get 5G chips and release a new premium smartphone that can compete with the iPhone. This was so unexpected that even the White House National Security Adviser expressed concern about it. As a result, iPhone sales in China have plummeted.
Apple is making deep discounts on iPhones in China h2>
Back in February, Apple introduced big discounts on iPhones, offering savings of up to $180. But today's Reuters report says the latest deals offer even bigger savings.
Apple has launched an aggressive discount campaign on its official Tmall website in China, offering discounts of up to 2,300 yuan ($318) on select iPhone models […]
Increasing competitive pressure on Apple comes after In the past month, Huawei unveiled the new Pura 70 series of high-end smartphones following the launch of the Mate 60 in August last year.
This latest offer is valid for one week, from May 20 to May 28.
Reuters reports that the discount strategy appears to be working.
Apple shipments to China rose 12% in March, according to Reuters&# 8217; calculations are based on data from the Chinese Academy of Information and Communications Technology (CAICT). This marks a significant improvement from the first two months of 2024, when the company experienced a 37% decline in sales.
Unfortunately, American customers were out of luck. The best Apple will do is offer you a little more in trade-in.
Image: 9to5Mac collage with Tamannaah Rumi on Unsplash
