Apple is ramping up promotions in mainland China ahead of Lunar New Year, offering discounts of up to 1,000 yuan (about US$144) on select products including iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus models, as well as certain MacBook, iPad, Apple Watch, and AirPods items. The limited-time offer runs from January 24 to 27 via Apple’s China website and official stores—marking the company’s second major discount push in under a month.
The move comes amid intensifying competition from local rivals like Huawei, Oppo, Vivo, and Xiaomi, despite Apple holding a leading 22% smartphone market share in Q4 2025. Analysts note recent month-on-month sales declines in China, even with strong demand for newer iPhone models, prompting Apple to leverage the holiday shopping surge to boost momentum.
Ben Jiang for South China Morning Post:
It is Apple’s second major promotion in less than a month, following discounts of up to 800 yuan on selected products from January 4 to 7.
Apple rolled out the promotions to counter declining monthly sales by capitalising on the Lunar New Year shopping period, according to Ivan Lam, senior analyst at consultancy Counterpoint.
China’s smartphone market shrank 1.6 per cent year on year in the fourth quarter, mainly due to weak demand amid rising prices and global memory shortages, according to Counterpoint. Full-year shipments declined 0.6 per cent.
While the decline reflected the broader market, Lam said, other brands benefited more from China’s national subsidy programme, which Apple partly missed because its Pro models were not eligible.
“[Apple’s] price cuts at this stage are a way to ride on holiday sales and maintain its market share,” Lam said.
MacDailyNews Take: Happy Lunar New Year shopping, China!
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