Apple slashes iPhone prices in China to stop falling sales

For the fourth month in a row, supplies of smartphones from foreign brands to China have been declining, including Apple’s iPhone, writes Reuters. In November, shipments fell 47.4% to 3.04 million units, compared with 5.769 million units a year earlier, according to the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology (CAICT). In October, the decline in shipments of smartphones from foreign brands amounted to 44.25% year on year.

Apple, China’s leading foreign smartphone vendor, has faced a slowing economy and increasing competition from Chinese manufacturers such as Huawei. After returning to the premium segment in August 2023 with models based on locally produced chips, Huawei has become a serious competitor.

China’s consumer prices fell to their lowest level in five months in November, Reuters reported. Economic uncertainty and fears of deflation are forcing consumers to save.

Apple launched a four-day promotion in China, offering discounts of up to 500 yuan (about $68.50) on flagship iPhone models to stimulate sales. Huawei previously took similar action, cutting prices on a number of high-end smartphones by up to 20%.

Apple temporarily dropped out of the top 5 largest smartphone vendors in China in the second quarter of 2024, but returned in the third quarter. According to IDC, Apple’s smartphone sales in China fell 0.3% year-on-year in the third quarter, while Huawei posted a 42% increase.

Overall smartphone sales in China, including devices from domestic brands, fell 5.1% year-on-year in November to 29.61 million units.