The iPhone 15 has lowered its price again, this time on Apple's official website in China.
On January 15th, Apple's official website released promotional information stating that from January 18th to January 21st, consumers can purchase designated products through eligible payment methods, with a maximum price reduction of 800 yuan.
This discount policy almost covers the entire range of Apple products, including iPhone, Mac, iPad, Apple Watch SE, AirPods, Apple Pencil (second generation), etc.
All iPhone 15 series models, iPhone 14, iPhone 14 Plus, or iPhone 13 can have a maximum price reduction of 500 yuan; The MacBook Air (including 13 inch or 15 inch, as well as M1 and M2 chip models) can be reduced by up to 800 yuan; The entire range of iPads (iPad Pro/iPad Air/iPad/iPad mini) can be reduced by up to 400 yuan; The Apple Watch SE, AirPods, and Apple Pencil can be reduced by up to 200 yuan, 100 yuan, and 50 yuan respectively.
However, Apple has indicated that the number of products eligible for discounts is limited, with 30000 units for iPhone, 5200 units for iPad, 750 units for Mac laptop, 1000 units for Apple Watch, 2500 units for AirPods, and 540 units for Apple Pencil. Sales will be discontinued upon completion.
This is not the first time Apple has initiated a price reduction on its official website. Similar policies have also been implemented in the past two years, but they are not very frequent and occur more frequently on third-party platforms such as JD.com and Tmall. At the end of October last year, Apple promoted the iPhone 15 series on the aforementioned two platforms, reducing prices by 500 to 800 yuan.
This time, Apple's official website took the lead in lowering prices, releasing a signal that all channels may simultaneously adjust prices. For offline channels, agents will receive price protection during this period, and will lower the prices of their goods. In theory, the degree of price reduction will be greater than on the official website; Online channels will also have a certain degree of price reduction, but the intensity will not be higher than during major promotion periods such as 618 and Double 11.
Interface News noticed that currently, the starting price of iPhone 15 in the official flagship store of Apple and Tmall remains the same as on the official website, at 5999 yuan; The starting price of JD's self operated flagship store has been reduced to 5199 yuan. The operating rules of Apple stores on JD.com and Tmall are not completely consistent. The former is shipped from JD.com warehouses, while the latter is operated by Apple itself.
Since the release of the iPhone 15 series, Apple has implemented price reduction promotions in multiple channels, demonstrating the company's importance and concern for sales in the Chinese market.
Counterpoint analyst Ivan Lam said that the significant pressure Apple faced in the Chinese market last year mainly came from domestic mobile phone brands such as Huawei, Xiaomi, Honor, OnePlus, OPPO, vivo, etc. They have all had good product and sales performance in the past year.
Among them, the Huawei Mate60 series, which can directly compete with the iPhone 15, may have its production capacity issues alleviated and more products will be launched for sale. The flagship new phones from other manufacturers mainly come in the price range of 3999 yuan to 4500 yuan. With almost superior basic performance such as chips, memory, cache, and imaging capabilities, they can provide consumers with more cost-effective products.
Compared to the iPhone 15, older models such as the iPhone 14 series are actually facing greater sales pressure. Ivan Lam believes that in the past, some consumers chose to purchase a series of products after the release of Apple's new phones, but over the past year, domestic brands have been able to offer better performing products at the same or even lower price points.
Based on this situation, Apple's market situation in China this year will not be too optimistic. Previously, a report by US investment bank Jeffrey predicted a double-digit decline in Apple's sales in China in 2024. But Ivan Lam also pointed out that in multiple emerging markets around the world, including countries and regions such as India, Latin America, and Southeast Asia, Apple may reap certain incremental gains.