Apple resellers in China are offering discounts on new iPhone 15 models by as much as $180, as retailers fight a drop in demand for the handset in the country, reports Bloomberg.
The publication reports that Alibaba’s Tmall is trying to drive sales of the devices by offering them at a heavy discount. Apple had offered a $120 discount ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday in February. Apple is once more selling its iPhone 15 lineup at original prices.
The promotions come as Apple’s iPhone 15 lineup is struggling to achieve the same popularity as previous models in the Chinese market. Apple sales in China dropped 13% to $20.8 billion in the quarter ended December, falling short of the $23.5 billion expected by analysts.
Chinese consumers are gravitating towards Android smartphones boasting generative AI features and the trend is expected to continue throughout 2024. The pressure was mainly coming from other Android vendors as we saw Apple decline by around 10% year-on-year in the month while Huawei grew triple-digits over the same period, IDC analyst Will Wong told Bloomberg.
Apple is expected to debut several new AI features in iOS 18, which will likely be released to the public alongside the iPhone 16 in September. Some of the AI features in iOS 18 are expected to be exclusive to the upcoming iPhone 16. Only time will tell if the new AI features will be game-changing enough to resolve the slump in iPhone sales in China.
(Via MacRumors)