Apple has launched an aggressive discounting campaign on its official Tmall site in China, offering discounts of up to the equivalent of R5 800 on select iPhone models.
The discounting comes as the US tech giant seeks to defend its position in the high-end smartphone market, where it faces increasing competition from local rivals such as Huawei.
Running from 20-28 May, it is more substantial than the one Apple offered in February.
While the highest discount in the February campaign was R2 900, this time discounts are up to R5 800. The steepest discount applies to the 1TB iPhone 15 Pro Max model, while other models also see significant price cuts.
For instance, the 128GB version of the base iPhone 15 model has a discount of R3 500.
The increased competitive pressure on Apple comes after Huawei last month introduced its new series of high-end smartphones, the Pura 70, following the launch of the Mate60 last August.
Apple’s previous discounting effort in February appears to have helped the company mitigate a sales slowdown in China.
Shipments
Apple’s shipments in China increased by 12% in March, according to Reuters’ calculations based on data from the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology. This marks a significant improvement from the first two months of 2024, when the company experienced a 37% slump in sales. — Liam Mo and Casey Hall, (c) 2024 Reuters
