Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) just dropped some rare deals in China, slashing up to 500 yuan ($68.50) off its iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max. The four-day promotion (Jan 47) is no small move it’s Apple’s answer to Huawei and other domestic giants muscling into its turf. Shoppers using We Chat Pay or Ali pay also score savings on older models and gadgets like Mac Books and iPads. But let’s not kid ourselves: this isn’t just about New Year cheer. It’s Apple’s play to protect its slice of the world’s biggest smartphone pie. Apple’s market share in China slipped to 14% in Q3 2024, down from 16% a year earlier. Meanwhile, Huawei has been on fire, surging to 16% with shipments up 24%, thanks to its game-changing chipsets and aggressive pricing. And it’s not just Huawei other local brands are turning up the heat too.
Apple, historically allergic to discounts, is leaning into promotions more than ever, knowing it needs to keep up or get left behind. For investors, this is a frontline battle worth watching. Apple’s performance in China region critical to its global play book could shape its growth story in 2025. While the discounts might juice short-term sales, the bigger picture is whether Apple can outpace Huawei’s momentum and defend its premium brand status. If Apple doesn’t win this round, it’s not just market share on the lineit’s the future of its edge in a cutthroat market. Apple is making moves to defend its market share in China’s mobile phone market as it battles rising competition from domestic rivals like Huawei.
The U.S. tech giant is offering rare discounts of up to $68.50 on its latest iPhone models in China. The four-day promotion, running from January 4th to the 7th applies to several iPhone models when purchased using specific payment methods. The flagship iPhone 16 Pro and the iPhone 16 Pro Max will see the highest discounts. But consumers remain cautious with spending amid China’s slowing economy and deflationary pressures. Apple is grappling with declining market share in China which is the world’s largest smartphone market. Local manufacturers have intensified competition. Huawei has emerged as a strong challenger since its return to the premium segment in 2023 with locally-made chipsets. It also cut the prices of a variety of high-end devices over the weekend on one of China’s leading e-commerce platforms.
Apple briefly fell out of China’s top five smartphone vendors in the second quarter of 2024 before recovering in the third quarter. The U.S. company’s smartphone sales in China still slipped 0.3% during the third quarter from a year earlier. Huawei’s sales surged a reported 42%. Shoppers in China are getting rare discounts on iPhones as Apple faces growing competition from local brands. The four-day promotion, which starts this Saturday (4 January), includes discounts of as much as 500 yuan ($68.50, £55.30) on some of the US technology giant’s newest handsets. Chinese phone maker Huawei has also cut prices of its high-end mobile devices by as much as 20%. The discounts come as consumers in China remain hesitant about spending because of the country’s economic challenges. The offer covers Apple’s top models as well as older handsets and some other devices. The biggest discount of 500 yuan will apply to Apple’s flagship iPhone 16 Pro, which has a starting price of 7,999 yuan, and the iPhone 16 Pro Max which currently costs 9,999 yuan. The US firm re-entered China’s top five smartphone makers in the third quarter of 2024 after briefly dropping off the list.
According to IDC’s latest research, Vivo was China’s best-selling smartphone maker in the period as its sales jumped by more than 20%. During the same period, Apple saw sales dip by 0.3%. Huawei’s jumped by more than 40%. We’ve seen market competition increase with almost everyone launching a flagship last quarter,” said Ivan Lam, a senior analyst at Counterpoint Research. Huawei has seen demand for its products surge after its return to the premium smartphone market in August last year. The Shenzhen-based firm has since launched several new devices powered by advanced technology despite the company facing US restrictions.
