iPhone Sales Growing Following Price Cuts in China

Apple is seeing improved iPhone sales in China following some recent price cuts on the ‌iPhone‌ XR, XS, XS Max, and older models that were introduced earlier in January, reports Chinese site Feng.

Apple dropped iPhone prices for third-party distributors in China on January 10, allowing vendors to purchase iPhones more cheaply and pass those savings on to customers. Apple cut prices on most ‌iPhone‌ models, but the XR saw the biggest discounts.

iphonexr
Shortly after Apple implemented the pricing cuts, vendors in China started offering discounts on various ‌iPhone‌ models. The XR, for example, was available from JD.com for 6099 yuan ($899), while Suning, an electronics store similar to Best Buy, started selling ‌iPhone‌ XR for 6199 yuan ($914).

Those prices are more affordable than the ‌iPhone‌ XR from Apple's own online store, where the device is priced starting at 6499 yuan ($958).

According to Feng, data sourced from Alibaba suggests that ‌iPhone‌ sales on the site have increased by 76 percent in China since January 13. Suning, meanwhile, saw Apple traffic and sales "explode" with the ‌iPhone‌ 8, 8 Plus, and XR in particular seeing purchase boosts. Apple sales from Suning have increased by 83 percent since January 11.

Apple launched the price cuts after seeing ‌iPhone‌ sales fall significantly in China during the holiday quarter of 2018, leading to lower ‌iPhone‌ revenue than expected. The Cupertino company is hoping sales will soar during Chinese New Year in February, improving overall performance in China.

Apple is also promoting older iPhone trade-ins and monthly pricing for iPhones in many countries around the world, including the United States, in an effort to boost ‌iPhone‌ upgrade numbers.

Earlier this week, Apple CEO Tim Cook said that Apple is reevaluating its pricing strategies in some international markets, returning to pricing that's "more commensurate" with what local prices were last year to boost its ‌iPhone‌ sales.

Cook also said that he does believe Apple's higher prices were a factor in the declining number of ‌iPhone‌ upgrades that led to a weaker holiday quarter. In some international markets, the strength of the U.S. dollar amplified pricing increases.

Apple is expecting revenue of $55 to $59 billion in the second fiscal quarter of 2019 (first calendar quarter), which is below the $61.1 billion in revenue Apple earned in the second fiscal quarter of 2018. It's not clear if the pricing changes in China and other international markets will be a big enough boost to pull Apple out of its slump going forward, but for the first part of the year, Apple is still expecting lower ‌iPhone‌ sales.

Tag: China
Related Forum: iPhone

Popular Stories

iOS 18

iOS 18.4 Coming Next Week With These New Features for Your iPhone

Friday February 14, 2025 6:18 am PST by
The first iOS 18.4 beta for iPhones should be just around the corner, and the update is expected to include many new features and changes. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman expects the iOS 18.4 beta to be released by next week. Below, we outline what to expect from iOS 18.4 so far. Apple Intelligence for Siri Siri is expected to get several enhancements powered by Apple Intelligence on iOS...
apple launch feb 2025 alt

What to Expect From the 'Apple Launch' Next Week

Thursday February 13, 2025 11:48 am PST by
Apple has yet to announce any new devices this year, but that could change starting next week. Apple CEO Tim Cook today said to "get ready" for a "launch" on Wednesday, February 19. "Get ready to meet the newest member of the family," said Cook, in a social media post. The post includes an #AppleLaunch hashtag, along with a short video featuring an animated Apple logo inside of a circle....
iPhone 17 Pro Render Front Page Tech

iPhone 17 Pro With All-New Camera Bar Design Allegedly Revealed

Thursday February 13, 2025 5:49 pm PST by
Apple's next-generation iPhone 17 Pro will feature three rear cameras arranged in a familiar triangular layout, but the cameras will be housed in an all-new rectangular camera bar with rounded corners, according to YouTube channel Front Page Tech. iPhone 17 Pro camera design render created by Asher for Front Page Tech In a video uploaded today, Front Page Tech host Jon Prosser said the camera ...
Apple Maps 2024

Apple Maps Might Start Showing Ads

Sunday February 16, 2025 7:22 am PST by
Apple is "exploring" the idea of showing search ads in the Apple Maps app, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Back in 2022, Gurman said software engineering was "already underway" to display ads in the Apple Maps app, but Apple did not move forward with the idea at the time. Today, he said Apple is "giving this notion more thought" again. This time around, he said Apple has yet to...
iphone air concept weis

iPhone 17 Air Could Look Like This in Real Life

Friday February 14, 2025 3:41 am PST by
There have been several alleged leaked details of the iPhone 17 Air, Apple's rumored new slim iPhone, but images have been limited to grainy shots taken in component factories. However, this hyper-realistic concept created by WEIS Studio gives us the best idea yet of what Apple's thin device might actually look like. The concept design is inspired by recent leaks indicating that the device...
m2 pro mac mini

Apple is Now Selling a Refurbished Mac Mini for Just $319 (!)

Saturday February 15, 2025 9:58 am PST by
A few days ago, we reported that Apple's refurbished Mac mini pricing had a problem, and it appears that Apple has taken note. Apple was offering a refurbished Mac mini with the M2 chip, 16GB of RAM, and 256GB of storage for $559, which was $50 more than a refurbished Mac mini with the M4 chip, 16GB of RAM, and 256GB of storage. All other key specifications were equal. That's no longer...
apple launch feb 2025

Tim Cook Teases an 'Apple Launch' Next Wednesday

Thursday February 13, 2025 8:07 am PST by
In a social media post today, Apple CEO Tim Cook teased an upcoming "launch" of some kind scheduled for Wednesday, February 19. "Get ready to meet the newest member of the family," he said, with an #AppleLaunch hashtag. The post includes a short video with an animated Apple logo inside a circle. Cook did not provide an exact time for the launch, or share any other specific details, so...
Tim Cook Apple Park

10+ Announcements Apple Could Have Rolled Into a February Event

Saturday February 15, 2025 8:00 am PST by
Apple appears to have enough upcoming product announcements to justify a full event this month, yet all signs indicate these reveals will be handled through a series of press releases instead. There are a multitude of rumors from reliable sources about specific announcements in the coming weeks, so here's everything that Apple could have feasibly included in a hypothetical February event: ...

Top Rated Comments

AngerDanger Avatar
79 months ago
Apple is seeing improved iPhone sales in China following some recent price cuts on the iPhone XR, XS, XS Max, and older models
I just… can't imagine why that would work…

Maybe they actually raised the prices, and that's why sales are improving.

Why would people would be more likely to buy a phone selling for less?

I just can't wrap my mind around this…

Attachment Image
Score: 51 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Shalev Lazarof Avatar
79 months ago
apple need to bring back the 649 starting price of the iPhone
Score: 25 Votes (Like | Disagree)
keysofanxiety Avatar
79 months ago
I just… can't imagine why that would work…
Don’t be sarcastic AD, Tim might read your post and think the sales are due to the alignment of Jupiter and Saturn instead. :eek:

It’s the cost, Tim! It’s the cost!
Score: 15 Votes (Like | Disagree)
seatton Avatar
79 months ago
I don't think Tim will learn from this. The new iPhone XI with 3 back cameras will start at 999 for 16GB and 256 GB for 1199.... since nobody wants the 16GB they have to get the more expensive one....
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Soccertess Avatar
79 months ago
To all you Tim lovers who believe the man is infallible, this is a pretty obvious mistake.

I agree that hindsite is 20/20, but this isn’t exactly rocket science. It’s pretty obvious to most long time Apple consumers who were used to the Apple premium that the value was not there anymore. Just think how much revenue he lost Apple. Do Angela and Tim still deserve their bonuses?


All I needed to do was look at the price vs the product to make that determination. No trends, no graph, just common sense.
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
cardfan Avatar
79 months ago
Hopefully apple can raise prices a bit more in the US to offset it.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)