Apple Cuts iPhone 14 Pro Prices in China by Up to $118 in Rare Sales Push

[MacRumors]

Apple has cut the price of its latest high-end iPhones in China in an apparent attempt to offset dwindling demand in the country (via Bloomberg).

Apple merchant JD.com, China's second-largest e-commerce platform, is among the retailers that have taken 800 yuan ($118) off iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max models in the last few days. State carrier China Mobile has also slashed its prices for the phones.

Retailers in Shenzhen have also offered price cuts ranging from 600 to 800 yuan for the higher-end devices in the iPhone 14 series. Meanwhile, Apple's own local website continues to offer the devices at regular prices.

The discounts came around the end of the Lunar New Year season, when retailers typically expect an increase in footfall before schools reopen. Inventory for the iPhone 14 Pro models at some stores has reportedly sold out already.

As Bloomberg notes, the roughly 7% to 9% discounts on the iPhone 14 Pro range mirrored offers on lower-end models, which are typically the first to get cut, suggesting Apple is responding to weak demand in the world's largest smartphone market.

Apple on Thursday released its financial results for the quarter ending in December, reporting a roughly 5% decline in revenue compared to the year-ago quarter. Apple cited a "challenging environment" that included iPhone supply issues due to COVID lockdowns in China, which hampered its ability to ship devices to customers.

During his investors call, CEO Tim Cook pointed to a rebound in the China economy now that COVID restrictions have been relaxed, but suggested Apple's performance for the current quarter would mirror that of the December period, suggesting another 5% revenue decline year-on-year. iPhone revenue is expected to accelerate in the March quarter.

China's smartphone market finished 2022 with an annual shipment of 287 million units, a year-on-year decrease of 14% and the first time since 2013 that the country's market shipment has fallen below 300 million units, according to a report by Canalys. Apple reached an all-time-high market share of 18% for the year, despite growth for the fourth quarter dropping by 24% due to supply issues, said the report.

Article Link: Apple Cuts iPhone 14 Pro Prices in China by Up to $118 in Rare Sales Push

 

[RedTheReader]

Hell hath frozen over…

 

[sam_dean]

These are dual nanoSIM iPhones.

 

[dantracht]

Never thought I’d see the day.

 

[zombierunner]

First tesla now apple. china consumers happy days

 

[Pezimak]

So first we are told its down to supply shortages, but now they are reducing the price of iPhones in a select market? Hmm that would surely mean the low sales are actually due to the product being overpriced, and no one buying it at that price, plus the fact the iPhone's don’t really offer anything over the previous years models.

Consumer power, vote with your wallet.

 

[Schmitti81]

Please update your article.
Did Apple do discounts or is that resellers doing offers for customers?

Because that is a ver different story, if just resellers do offers.

 

[JosephAW]

Yes but they're running a special version of iOS that phones home to their government with the cloud.

 

[boak]

Please update your article.
Did Apple do discounts or is that resellers doing offers for customers?

Because that is a ver different story, if just resellers do offers.

Resellers coordinate with Apple on pricing in China, I believe. So Apple is indirectly doing the discount. Same thing happened in 2019, I think.

 

[CrapShack]

That's not GOOD news, but if they're cutting the prices of all brands of phones, then something is going on other than lack of demand for iPhones in particular.

 

[User 6502]

So it’s confirmed production issues had little to do with poor sales, and apple didn’t sell much because iphone 14 was underwhelming and overpriced. Good, there is hope that apple learned the lesson and will give us something more decent in September.

 

[Sciomar]

They're going to do whatever they can to push that inventory out. Once USB C iPhones hit the market I think it'll be game over on the older models.

 

[ian87w]

China e-commerce always have sales every month. 1-1, 2-2, and so on.

The official distributor in my country also are discounting the new iPhones, especially the regular iPhone 14 and 14 Plus, although just a paltry $60 discount.

 

[contacos]

That's not GOOD news, but if they're cutting the prices of all brands of phones, then something is going on other than lack of demand for iPhones in particular.

That is actually AMAZING news. Apple seems to have pushed it where they can go with pricing and people are answering with closed wallets

 

[ian87w]

So it’s confirmed production issues had little to do with poor sales, and apple didn’t sell much because iphone 14 was underwhelming and overpriced. Good, there is hope that apple learned the lesson and will give us something more decent in September.

Doubt that Apple would learn that way. And this issue are mostly in international markets where Apple prices are marked up 20-30% higher than US MSRP. US pricing imo doesn’t have any problems.

Apple’s answer is an even more expensive iPhone Ultra. Apple is insistent in their margins no matter what. If they ever reduce prices, it will be at a cost of something (M2 machines having half the NAND chips, new HomePod have less speakers and mics and still use wifi4, etc. If Apple would reduce iPhone prices, something will be cut. Apple already uses previous gen chips on the non Pro iPhones as a way to maintain margins.

 

[User 6502]

Doubt that Apple would learn that way. And this issue are mostly in international markets where Apple prices are marked up 20-30% higher than US MSRP. US pricing imo doesn’t have any problems.

Apple’s answer is an even more expensive iPhone Ultra. Apple is insistent in their margins no matter what. If they ever reduce prices, it will be at a cost of something (M2 machines having half the NAND chips, new HomePod have less speakers and mics and still use wifi4, etc. If Apple would reduce iPhone prices, something will be cut. Apple already uses previous gen chips on the non Pro iPhones as a way to maintain margins.

As you said apple is already using old gen chips on the standard iPhone. How did that go? People are not stupid, apple can certainly try and release another iPhone without upgrades… or perhaps do like they did with HomePod and actually DOWN grade it and introduce iPhone 15 with 8 megapixel camera, 4G antenna and low res display but at increased or similar price. I’d like to seek them try, let’s see how many they sell 😉

 

[Stormz]

Yes but they're running a special version of iOS that phones home to their government with the cloud.

or hovering close to other people's clouds.

 

[ian87w]

As you said apple is already using old gen chips on the standard iPhone. How did that go? People are not stupid, apple can certainly try and release another iPhone without upgrades… or perhaps do like they did with HomePod and actually DOWN grade it and introduce iPhone 15 with 8 megapixel camera, 4G antenna and low res display but at increased or similar price. I’d like to seek them try, let’s see how many they sell 😉

No you’re mistaken. The fact is demand for the Pro models is strong. If people decided to just get the Pro model instead of the regular one, Apple is happier. More money for them. The slight discounts are just commemorative (in this article’s case, for Chinese New Year), not actual price cut. And it worked as the 14 Pro models keep selling out.

Want to see how Apple would work on a cheaper iPhone? Look at what Apple do for the SE, ie nothing. Old design, old hardware, only put a new chip in. That’s how the new Apple works. Apple has a fixed requirement for their margins. 😂

 

[User 6502]

No you’re mistaken. The fact is demand for the Pro models is strong. If people decided to just get the Pro model instead of the regular one, Apple is happier. More money for them. The slight discounts are just commemorative (in this article’s case, for Chinese New Year), not actual price cut. And it worked as the 14 Pro models keep selling out.

Want to see how Apple would work on a cheaper iPhone? Look at what Apple do for the SE, ie nothing. Old design, old hardware, only put a new chip in. That’s how the new Apple works. Apple has a fixed requirement for their margins. 😂

If apple lowers prices in one of the biggest markets clearly the increased pro sales did not compensate the lack of sales of the other versions. In fact, all four models are selling less, so there is no increased sale for the pro line. anyway, even if the iPhone 14 is by far the worst model in the lineup (even considering a slightly cheaper price), also the pro/Max models this year were quite underwhelming.

 

[ian87w]

If apple lowers prices in one of the biggest markets clearly the increased pro sales did not compensate the lack of sales of the other versions. In fact, all four models are selling less, so there is no increased sale for the pro line. anyway, even if the iPhone 14 is by far the worst model in the lineup (even considering a slightly cheaper price), also the pro/Max models this year were quite underwhelming.

Are we reading the same article? These sales are only on resellers, and for Chinese New Year. Apple keeps the same price. Also, they’re reporting that the 14 Pro models are already selling out. Sounds like the sales are quite brisk.

Chinese e-commerce frequently do discounts and sales, a lot more often than western e-commerce. These things shouldn’t be used as concrete proof of what you claimed. To me, these are simply CNY promos, and they happened to discount iPhones.

 

[MacWiz_007]

When you essentially make the same phone six years in a row, these things are bound to happen.

 

[DEMinSoCAL]

So it’s confirmed production issues had little to do with poor sales, and apple didn’t sell much because iphone 14 was underwhelming and overpriced. Good, there is hope that apple learned the lesson and will give us something more decent in September.

That right there is the problem. It is expected that Apple will just pull some miraculous device out of a hat every September. And when they don't, financial Armageddon ensues. Maybe Apple should release a new phone when they have something to put in it other than a faster chip (it's already fast enough), or more pixels in the camera (we have enough). This annual cycle is going to catch up with Apple when it can't "innovate" fast enough.

 

[Skyscraperfan]

The sad thing in emerging economies like China is that especially young people there spend way too much money on things to impress others. The social pressure there is very high. You get bullied if you do not buy expensive brands. I am glad that we in the west are more or less over that and nobody here cares if you wear are $3 shirt.

The irony is that people in China know more than anybody else how cheap it is to produce electronics in China. Yet they still spend such a lot of money on an iPhone.

 

[coso]

Now do Europe

 

[User 6502]

That right there is the problem. It is expected that Apple will just pull some miraculous device out of a hat every September. And when they don't, financial Armageddon ensues. Maybe Apple should release a new phone when they have something to put in it other than a faster chip (it's already fast enough), or more pixels in the camera (we have enough). This annual cycle is going to catch up with Apple when it can't "innovate" fast enough.

Other companies are managing fine to release decent upgrades yearly. Apple could do that too if it was less greedy.