Apple Inc. AAPL is offering discounts of up to 500 yuan ($68.50) on its iPhone 16 models in China as it faces increasing competition from Huawei Technologies.
What Happened: Apple has launched a rare promotional event in China, set to run from Jan. 4 to Jan. 7, 2025, reported Reuters.
During this period, the tech giant will offer discounts on several iPhone 16 models, with the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max seeing reductions of up to 500 yuan, while the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus will drop by 400 yuan ($54.80).
See Also: Apple, Amazon, Samsung, And Nintendo: What Tech Marvels Are These Giants Cooking In 2025
The promotion also offers reductions ranging from 200 yuan ($27.40) to 300 yuan ($41.10) on older iPhone models, along with discounts on other products like MacBooks and iPads.
However, these discounts are conditional on using certain payment methods, such as WeChat Pay or Alipay.
Subscribe to the Benzinga Tech Trends newsletter to get all the latest tech developments delivered to your inbox.
Why It Matters: In October 2024, it was reported that Apple’s latest smartphone saw a 20% year-on-year increase in sales during its first three weeks, surpassing the performance of the previous iPhone model.
Moreover, the move towards premium models boosted sales of the high-end Pro and Pro Max versions by 44% compared to the previous year.
However, iPhones continue to face tough competition from China’s local brands, including Vivo’s X200 Pro flagship, Huawei’s next-gen Mate device, as well as upcoming models from Xiaomi and Oppo.
Later during the same month, Cupertino slashed iPhone 16 series prices by as much as 1,600 yuan ($225) on the Tmall store, owned by Alibaba Group Holding. This discount was to drive sales during Singles' Day, the largest shopping event globally.
Apple launched a 500-yuan discount voucher for all iPhone 16 models, while Tmall offered a trade-in subsidy of up to 1,100 yuan, enabling customers to save up to 1,600 yuan.
Last month, Huawei also launched significant New Year discounts on its premium models. The company offered up to 3,000 yuan ($411) off on its top-selling products, including smartphones, headphones, watches, and tablets.
Apple’s smartphone sales in China fell 0.3% year-on-year in the third quarter, leaving it with a 15.6% market share. In contrast, Huawei saw a 42% surge in market share, reaching 15.3%.
Price Action: In 2024, Apple’s stock rose 34.9%, outpacing the NASDAQ 100, which gained 27.01% during the same period, according to Benzinga Pro data.
Check out more of Benzinga's Consumer Tech coverage by following this link.
Read Next:
Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
Photo courtesy: Apple
© 2025 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.
Comments
Trade confidently with insights and alerts from analyst ratings, free reports and breaking news that affects the stocks you care about.
