Apple iPhone 16 Discounts Roll Out on Alibaba's Tmall, AI Delays and Domestic Competitors Fuel Aggressive Pricing

Apple Inc AAPL has reduced iPhone 16 prices by up to 1,600 yuan ($225) on its Alibaba Group Holding’s BABA Tmall store to boost sales during Singles’ Day, the world’s largest shopping festival.

Beginning Monday evening, Apple offered a 500-yuan voucher for all iPhone 16 models, with the base iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Pro Max starting at 5,499 yuan and 9,499 yuan, respectively, SCMP reports.

These price cuts come as Apple aims to counter the lukewarm initial response to the iPhone 16 on Chinese social media.

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The discounting is partly due to Apple Intelligence’s on-device AI system not supporting Chinese until next year.

Tmall has also introduced a trade-in subsidy of up to 1,100 yuan, allowing customers to save as much as 1,600 yuan on iPhone 16 purchases. JD.com Inc JD announced a similar discount, offering a free AppleCare+ subscription for the iPhone 16’s base and Plus models. PDD Holdings Inc PDD Pinduoduo further slashed prices, with the 256GB iPhone 16 Pro Max now priced at 9,199 yuan.

Riding the success of its 5G comeback, Huawei Technologies Co outpaced Apple in mainland smartphone sales in August for the first time in 46 months, SCMP cites CINNO Research.

Prior reports indicated that Pinduoduo and Taobao were slashing the prices of the iPhone 16 series before its official release due to its lack of AI features.

Pinduoduo started selling the iPhone 16 Plus with 512 gigabytes of storage at a 10% discount and the 128GB iPhone 16 at an 11% discount. Both Pinduoduo and Taobao marketplace have slapped a 4% discount on the 256GB version of the high-end iPhone 16 Pro Max.

Needham analyst Laura Martin expects the iPhone to constitute 89%- 96% of Apple’s fiscal 2025 revenue.

Apple stock gained 37% in the last 12 months. Investors can gain exposure to the stock through Vanguard Information Tech ETF VGT and iShares Russell 1000 Growth ETF IWF.

Price Action: AAPL stock is down 0.99% at $234.13 at the last check on Tuesday.

Also Read:

• Alibaba Eyes Double-Digit Growth for Singles’ Day in Hong Kong, Waives Delivery Fees

Photo courtesy: Apple