Apple slashes the cost of iPhones in China as part of giant sales festival

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iPhone sales are finally rebounding in China
Apple is trying to continue building momentum in China.
Photo: Tim Cook/Weibo

Apple has slashed prices on the iPhone in China ahead of the country’s 6.18 shopping festival, which kicks off this month.

On Apple’s official online store on the Alibaba-owned online retailer Tmall, the iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro Max, and 2020 iPhone SE all have big price reductions. Official Apple resellers like JD.com are also getting aggressive with their own price cuts — with steeper discounts than even Tmall in some cases.

CNBC notes that:

“On Tmall, users can buy an iPhone 11 64GB model for 4,779 yuan ($669.59), down around 13% from its original 5,499 yuan selling price. The iPhone 11 Pro starts at 7,579 yuan down from 8,699 yuan, while the iPhone Pro Max is listed for 8,359 yuan versus the original price of 9,599 yuan. The recently-released iPhone SE, the cheapest in Apple’s range, is priced at 3,099 yuan, down from 3,299 yuan.”

Meanwhile, JD.com is offering discounts of more than 21% for certain models such as the iPhone 11 Pro Max. A JD spokesperson told CNBC that they sold 3x the volume of Apple products during the first hour of sales when compared to last year. (They didn’t provide exact numbers, though.) Other third-party sellers are getting in on the action, too.

China’s 6.18 shopping festival could boost iPhone sales

Alibaba’s 6.18 shopping holiday is a mid-year shopping festival a bit like Amazon Prime Day, although spread out over 18 days. Each year, tens of thousands of brands take part.

Interestingly, CNBC notes that this is only the second time Apple has taken part in the 6.18 event. Its decision to participate this year is not due to lack of demand. Instead, Apple is seemingly keen to continue growing demand as the Chinese economy continues to reopen after the coronavirus pandemic. Now that things are beginning to pick up again, it appears that Apple is keen to make up for lost time.

This isn’t the first discount Apple has offered in China this year. In early April, Apple made price cuts on iPhones including the iPhone XR, iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max in China. Other third-party retailers have also previously joined in with their own price cuts. This latest one appears to be the biggest price cut so far, though. Especially if you want the latest iPhones.

Via: CNBC

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