Apple retailers in China are offering significant iPhone discounts in order to spur demand amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Apple iPhone buyers China can now pick up an iPhone for just US$700 on some e-commerce sites. That’s on par with the starting price in the U.S., but it’s a huge discount for China.
On JD.com, Apple’s iPhone 11 (64GB) now costs 4,999 yuan (US$708), 500 yuan (US$70) cheaper than the original price. The iPhone 11 Pro has an even steeper price cut of 1,200 yuan (US$170) off. The flagship iPhone 11 Pro Max is now selling for 1,600 yuan (US$227) off.
JD.com isn’t alone. The same price cuts can be found on electronics retailers Suning and Guomei. But Apple’s official website in China hasn’t cut the price. Chinese media outlet National Business Daily reported that Apple had no comment when asked whether the price cuts were authorized by the company.
According to a new report by Strategy Analytics, 37% of 1,300 Chinese consumers surveyed between March 21 and March 25 have delayed buying a new smartphone. New 5G phones were expected to help boost the smartphone market this year, but 32% of consumers also said they delayed 5G adoption… Strategy Analytics also found that China’s Apple users are optimistic about new purchases compared with users of other brands. The firm’s director of smartphone research Linda Sui said this is because Apple users tend to be younger people who are more ambitious and tech savvy.
MacDailyNews Take: This is a smart move to offer iPhone discounts in China to boost iPhone demand, especially ahead of the 5G iPhone super cycle, plus, as a bonus, this also hurts those who peddle iPhone knockoffs because Android makers operate on slim or no margins and cannot cut prices dramatically without losing money. 🙂
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Fred Mertz” for the heads up.]
MDN. Will you please stop referring to the 5G iPhone super cycle. There’s absolutely no evidence this will happen in the current virus situation. You should now refer to it as being on your wish list rather than an assumed guarantee.
You tell ’em. I don’t know why they keep using this term every single year and it never, ever takes place. It’s like crying “wolf.” After a while, no one is going to pay attention.
Consumers are reluctant to buy iPhones, but supposedly many consumers are buying Teslas without even blinking. Elon Musk must have cast a spell over his followers and Tesla’s share price is rising accordingly. How can people afford to buy Teslas but not iPhones? I guess it’s strictly a matter of what is in demand. No one is slashing prices on Teslas to move them. Wall Street keeps saying everyone is soon going to be buying Teslas but considering the number of people who are losing their jobs, I doubt that is going to happen. I feel certain in this current economic situation, most consumers would be much better off with buying an iPhone than a Tesla.
Anyway, it’s nice to hear some places are cutting prices to get rid of older iPhone inventory. I sure hope it helps. It’s likely Apple is going to fall short of revenue this quarter by a huge amount. Ugh. It’s a darn shame. This CoViD-19 crisis sucks.