Chinese Online Retailers Start Second Round of iPhone Discounts

[Dan Holmstock]

Not saying this with any hostility but the XR compared to a $300 phone? not sure thats Apples to Apples here, (I could be wrong) I have the XR now, I wanted the XS but price prohibits it. I will wait until the prices drop before I get one, I hate this model, while i miss my 8+ i cant go back to it because of T-Mo's joke of what has become JOD. Rather its not the LCD but rather the resolution. (particularly reading small fonts).

Edit for adding about fonts.

 

[nouveau_redneck]

Apple is in danger of totally losing the Chinese market. Samsung went from about 30% market share to less than 1% in a matter of 2 years. The same could happen to Apple and I think they're on thin ice there, which serves them right after jacking up the prices worldwide. Maybe other countries should boycott Apple the same, rather than going along with their bogus pricing scheme.

Beside that issue, who else is sick and tired of seeing companies give special treatment to China? There are so many companies that compromise everything so as to please their authoritarian leaders.

Perhaps the Chinese government lowers a citizens social rating if they buy a non-Chinese phone over Huawei, Xiaomi, etc. Buying a non-Chinese phone makes tracking more difficult, and I could see that upsetting them. I'm sure everyone is trying to keep their social rating high.

 

[atikalz]

What about UK?
Wait... we will keep buying regardless of the price!

Hurry up before end of march!

 

[9081094]

So what do yall think with the next gen 'iphone 11' there will be a price drop? $699 Xr $899 Xs $999 Xs MAX?

You should expect something like that and Apple will still make profits. Win win. But knowing Apple...

 

[BrooksA]

I doubt they would ever drop prices but I think they have to start offering more compelling products at more price points. Old phones aren't exciting to anyone unless they reject the new ones (which is happening) and that is a quite damning verdict on the latest offerings.

I'd buy AAPL but I don't think all the bad news is out yet. No chance I buy a current Apple product.

 

[Infinite Vortex]

It's odd isn't it, that people in the USA can't collectively realize that all they had to do was do not buy a new iPhone for 1 year and Apple would slash the prices.

That's all well and good in hindsight but what's happened with myself is that I didn't buy an iPhone in 2018, I bought something else, something else considerably cheaper and surprisingly more to my liking, and now here lies the problem… I'm not likely to buy an iPhone next year whether there's a 50% price cut or not.

 

[balaplus]

I doubt they would ever drop prices but I think they have to start offering more compelling products at more price points. Old phones aren't exciting to anyone unless they reject the new ones (which is happening) and that is a quite damning verdict on the latest offerings

They will only drop the price of Xr
They won’t offer anything compelling for 2019

 

[ZebraDude]

as I am in China at the moment, this seems like a good time to upgrade?
Does anyone know if there is a difference between European and Chinese models, hardware wise?

The Chinese models have 2 real SIM card slots not the e-SIM, SIM slot the rest have.

 

[zulkiflim]

as I am in China at the moment, this seems like a good time to upgrade?
Does anyone know if there is a difference between European and Chinese models, hardware wise?

No esim !
[doublepost=1551930394][/doublepost]

Yes, I will agree with you (it does get the most attention now.)

But this is not a one-off, transient, problem to Apple.

The problem, as I see it, is the combo in China of Huawei hardware coupled with WeChat's all-in-one app. That combo, which is particular to China, for now, makes Apple irrelevant there.

Lowering the price of iPhone in China only devalues its exclusivity and does nothing to defeat Huawei in that market. Neither iMessage, nor iCloud nor iTunes nor ApplePay, all rolled into one, have a fighting chance against WeChat in that market. This because WeChat does all, and more.

"WeChat is a Chinese multi-purpose messaging, social media and mobile payment app developed by Tencent. It was first released in 2011, and by 2018 it was one of the world's largest standalone mobile apps by monthly active users, with over 1 billion monthly active users." [Wikipedia]​

In China, Cook will have his Chinese goose cooked and turned to paté.

Just my view.

I agree, Apple does not understand how fast China is moving.
They are already rolling out 5G !

If given the price, if 5G is already available and telcos already support it, why would I buy a non 5G phone!
It would ridiculous.

Plus Huawei Mate X ....nuff said
[doublepost=1551930980][/doublepost]

I think "irrelevant" is a little over the top for a market that just did $52 BILLION in sales in 2018. WeChat is on iOS and Apple understand how big WeChat is in China. You think they are unaware?

Irrelevant is an apt word for this case.
China is already rolling out 5G, why would the Data/ speed hungry Chinese want to do with 4G phones?

And you can bet with Apple losing China / India / Indonesia sales in this year will have a huge impact in sales.

And to maintain revenue , Apple will markup the price of 2019 iPhones, ICloud price will increase too.
Services is huge business.
[doublepost=1551931179][/doublepost]

We needs to collectively slow down the purchase of iPhones here (in North Ameirca) too. It's not like Apple isn't profitable and struggling to stay afloat.

Stockholders beg to differ....greed eh ..

So what do yall think with the next gen 'iphone 11' there will be a price drop? $699 Xr $899 Xs $999 Xs MAX?

I expect to maintain profit, phones price will much higher
[doublepost=1551931584][/doublepost]

Perhaps the Chinese government lowers a citizens social rating if they buy a non-Chinese phone over Huawei, Xiaomi, etc. Buying a non-Chinese phone makes tracking more difficult, and I could see that upsetting them. I'm sure everyone is trying to keep their social rating high.

Actually you realize Apple too have to comply with China laws ?

Apple NEEDS China burgeoning middle class to increase profits.

https://techcrunch.com/2018/07/17/a...now-handled-by-a-state-owned-mobile-operator/

Right now Huawei technology as seen from the Huawei Mate X , a foldable 5G enabled device, is at the top !

Apple really need to wow the eastern world if it want the market share.
2019 phone must have at the minimum 5G .

 

[pankajdoharey]

Tim you gotta cut prices everywhere! This is unfair to the rest of the Apple community.

 

[ROGmaster]

Because Apple set revenue records in the US, Canada, much of Europe, etc.

China was weak so they get the most attention.

Much of Europe?
Apple overall sold less phones in Europe at the end of 2018 than the did in the same period an year earlier.
Apple's market share in Europe is declining. Insisting on quoting that Apple set records in Europe is deceiving.

 

[Wowereit]

I didn't upgrade from my iPhone X because the iPhone XS had no significant improvements. I might have been tempted had the XS been $150 less

But why would you?

I'm still using my X, my friend upgraded to XS. We couldn't spot a real difference besides a slight camera improvement.
If you read the spec sheet, okay, 1 GB of RAM and a faster SoC, but you won't notice it, the difference is too small.

If you want the XS Max's larger screen that's one thing, but going from X to XS might be the least interesting upgrade Apple has ever offered.

 

[PowerMacBook]

It’s new to Apple. Let’s call it an innovative move by Apple and hope this will get introduced worldwide soon.
Come on Timmy, you can do it and can still counting beans.
[doublepost=1551887862][/doublepost]
Sorry I don’t. But if the Chinese model does work in Europe, can you pick me a XS too

for another Dutch? yes I can ;-)
[doublepost=1551943544][/doublepost]

Don’t do it. I am in China (mainland), too, and I had a friend buy it for me in Hong Kong. Mainland Chinese version is crippled - it can’t do FaceTime audio. Another difference is the low battery charge notification - “20% charge left”, “10% charge left” - produces audible sound even when the screen is off. HK version, on the other hand, is 1000RMB cheaper, has no quirks and limitations and comes with dual SIM capability.

Edit:
Also, something I noticed by studying the specs. I have an HK iPhone XR and it doesn’t support LTE band 28 which is apparently used in France (also Japan) - same goes for the China (mainland) version. On the other hand it does support some more obscure American bands while the European version doesn’t.

Edit 2:
Just checked Wikipedia and it says Band 28 is in use in several other European countries: Finland, Germany, Sweden... So I would definitely prefer a European version if I planned on staying in Europe for the next several years, as other EU countries might follow with adopting that frequency.

Thank you Uncle Max!
I was pretty sure there are some differences, just as buying en iPhone in the USA for Europeans: you normally want to have the T-Mobile one.
Guess I better go to Hong Kong then! I'm in guangzhou now, so not that far, and haven't been in Hong Kong itself since 2001 I believe, when we were building DisneyLand Hong Kong.

 

[DeltaSVO]

as I am in China at the moment, this seems like a good time to upgrade?
Does anyone know if there is a difference between European and Chinese models, hardware wise?

Hardware-wise, dual physical SIM card, a plus in my book. But software-wise, FaceTime Audio is permanently disabled in the Chinese model iPhones (FaceTime Video is unaffected). I strongly warn you against buying a Chinese model if you rely on FaceTime Audio. I made this mistake in November, and it's taken me dozens of phone calls and many months of trying to find a resolution with Apple Support. Lesson learned.

 

[Baymowe335]

Much of Europe?
Apple overall sold less phones in Europe at the end of 2018 than the did in the same period an year earlier.
Apple's market share in Europe is declining. Insisting on quoting that Apple set records in Europe is deceiving.

They set revenue records in Germany, Italy, Spain, and the Netherlands.

Huawei doesn't compete with iOS as much as they do other Android manufacturers...see "others."

Also, even your chart shows relatively flat sales and these guys are guessing. They don't have data from Apple on these numbers.

 

[cinq2]

as I am in China at the moment, this seems like a good time to upgrade?
Does anyone know if there is a difference between European and Chinese models, hardware wise?

There are differences. The only one that will really affect you is the warranty. It will be eligible for repair only in China or greater China only. I read somewhere that you won't be able to use FaceTime, this is not true for China.
Provided you have an Apple id from another country the only thing you may notice is some Chinese when you use Google (it sets Google Hong Kong by default and there's no way to get rid of it) from Safari bar.

 

[unclemax]

There are differences. The only one that will really affect you is the warranty. It will be eligible for repair only in China or greater China only. I read somewhere that you won't be able to use FaceTime, this is not true for China.
Provided you have an Apple id from another country the only thing you may notice is some Chinese when you use Google (it sets Google Hong Kong by default and there's no way to get rid of it) from Safari bar.

I am sorry but I insist: FaceTime Audio is and has always been permanently blocked on all iPhones intended for mainland Chinese market. It even clearly states so on the Apple website: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT203982

 

[cinq2]

I am sorry but I insist: FaceTime Audio is and has always been permanently blocked on all iPhones intended for mainland Chinese market. It even clearly states so on the Apple website: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT203982

You're right and so am I since I mentioned Face Time, not Face Time Audio

Seriously now, there's nothing except the warranty that should stop anyone from buying a Chinese iPhone.
Face Time Audio? There's WhatsApp, Viber and more for calling from outside China. And for China WeChat Audio will do just fine!

 

[ROGmaster]

They set revenue records in Germany, Italy, Spain, and the Netherlands.

Revenue records? What revenue records exactly?

Huawei doesn't compete with iOS as much as they do other Android manufacturers...see "others."

It competes with iOS just fine in Europe almost matching Apple's best quarter of the entire year. That's quite an achievement, It could even be considered a record

Also, even your chart shows relatively flat sales and these guys are guessing. They don't have data from Apple on these numbers.

This will be the classical excuse, Apple knows very well why it stopped reporting numbers.
Anyway things are not looking good for them in Europe, that's my point, well it's a fact actually.

 

[Baymowe335]

Revenue records? What revenue records exactly?



It competes with iOS just fine in Europe almost matching Apple's best quarter of the entire year. That's quite an achievement, It could even be considered a record


This will be the classical excuse, Apple knows very well why it stopped reporting numbers.
Anyway things are not looking good for them in Europe, that's my point, well it's a fact actually.

Revenue records as in most money ever from those countries.

Post what you're talking about in Europe.

Apple did $20.4B in sales in Europe in 90 days and $62.4B in Europe alone in FY 2018. If you're talking about unit sales, no one cares because Apple sells over 200M iPhones at an ASP of $765 and doesn't sell sub $200 phones.

Just the iPhone had $166B in revenue in 2018 or 60% more than Huawei's entire company Source: 10k.

Find me Huawei's ASP so I can laugh at it.

Total, Apple did $266B in sales in FY 2018 to Huawei's $100B. Source:10K

Bottom line, Huawei did a little over $100B in total sales in 2018, or not even 40% of what Apple did.

 

[unclemax]

You're right and so am I since I mentioned Face Time, not Face Time Audio

Seriously now, there's nothing except the warranty that should stop anyone from buying a Chinese iPhone.
Face Time Audio? There's WhatsApp, Viber and more for calling from outside China. And for China WeChat Audio will do just fine!

True, you only explicitly mentioned FaceTime and it works just fine in China, so yes. Also the warranty issue that you mentioned is probably paramount when buying iPhones in a different locality than you intend to live in. Especially true for China where even Apple store employees can get much less flexible than in Europe or US: basically they are not going to go out of their way to be nice to you because they're suspicious of various scams / afraid to take responsibility and then get scolded by their superiors.

But talking from my own experience: I used to use FaceTime Audio to call my family sometimes, then had my previous iPhone repaired in China (had its logic board replaced), and boom! – no more FaceTime Audio. While not a huge deal, it felt like a downgrade. Also, I don't get why I should pay so much money for a new iPhone and get a limited experience by buying in the mainland version when I have a friend regularly visiting from HK - seemed like a no-brainer, even more so before Apple introduced discounts.

Finally, out of all the messaging apps that I know of, only iMessages, FaceTime, WeChat and Skype are not blocked. Specifically the ones that you explicitly mentioned, WhatsApp and Viber, are blocked.

 

[mana1000]

You're correct as am I since I referenced Face Time, not Face Time Audio

Truly now, there's nothing with the exception of the guarantee that should prevent anybody from purchasing a Chinese iPhone.

Exposure Audio? There's WhatsApp, Viber and more to call from outside China. Also, for China WeChat Audio will do fine and dandy!

 

[bluetdi]

There are differences. The only one that will really affect you is the warranty. It will be eligible for repair only in China or greater China only. I read somewhere that you won't be able to use FaceTime

Seriously now, there's nothing except the warranty that should stop anyone from buying a Chinese iPhone.
Face Time Audio? There's WhatsApp, Viber and more for calling from outside China. And for China WeChat Audio will do just fine!

If you are concerned about warranty you can buy AC+. Dont do it in China - it would only be valid for China - but when you come back to your home country. If your phone breaks, Apple will repair the chinese iPhone or exchange it for a new one - at least in Europe. May take some days, but you get a replacement iPhone in the meantime.
So with the Max you have 2 years of worry free phone experience with 2 Sim Slots. And afterwards you will buy a new phone anyway.

 

[Precursor]

6999 Yuan (after discounts) is about $1,050 and that is still too much for a 64GB iPhone. They make the phone in China too.

 

[cinq2]

But talking from my own experience: I used to use FaceTime Audio to call my family sometimes, then had my previous iPhone repaired in China (had its logic board replaced), and boom! – no more FaceTime Audio. While not a huge deal, it felt like a downgrade. Also, I don't get why I should pay so much money for a new iPhone and get a limited experience by buying in the mainland version when I have a friend regularly visiting from HK - seemed like a no-brainer, even more so before Apple introduced discounts.

Agreed, it feels like a downgrade. When I was living in Dubai where FaceTime was totally blocked, I didn't bother with local phones. In China I didn't even notice! Used the VOIP solutions for a time, then Skype with some credit.

Speaking of HK, if I were you I'd use my friend for a maxed 15" MacBook Pro

Finally, out of all the messaging apps that I know of, only iMessages, FaceTime, WeChat and Skype are not blocked. Specifically the ones that you explicitly mentioned, WhatsApp and Viber, are blocked.

But if you check better you'll see that I mention the last two for calling from outside China!

If you are concerned about warranty you can buy AC+. Dont do it in China - it would only be valid for China - but when you come back to your home country. If your phone breaks, Apple will repair the chinese iPhone or exchange it for a new one - at least in Europe. May take some days, but you get a replacement iPhone in the meantime.
So with the Max you have 2 years of worry free phone experience with 2 Sim Slots. And afterwards you will buy a new phone anyway.

If what you say is valid, that's a huge tip! I'll check that out, thanks