The prices for the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max have been drastically cut by Apple's distributors in China. This discount is spread in the midst of sluggish demand for cell phones in the Bamboo Curtain country.
The e-commerce platform JD.com, one of Apple's official distributors, provided an 800 yuan discount for the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max. The price for the new iPhone 14 Pro is 7,199 yuan and the iPhone 14 Pro Max 8,199 yuan .
Suning, another major distributor, is also selling the iPhone 14 Pro for 7,199 yuan and the iPhone 14 Pro Max for 8,199 yuan after discount. A distributor in Shenzhen City also started slashing the price of the same product by 700 yuan.
Even so, Apple's official site in China still puts the normal price. The iPhone 14 Pro is sold at prices starting at 7,999 yuan and the iPhone 14 Pro Max starting at 8,999 yuan, as quoted by CNBC, Wednesday (8/2/2023).
Apple has always controlled the prices of its products in China very tightly, and such deep discounts are rare. The Cupertino-based company last allowed its Chinese distributors to slash iPhone prices in June 2020, as China was starting to open up its economy after the first COVID-19 lockdown.
This discount is made towards the end of the Chinese New Year holiday, where retailers start preparing to face the shopping season before the new school year starts. It is not known how long this discount will be valid.
This price cut was also offered after weak mobile phone sales in China in 2022. China's mobile phone shipments reached 285.8 million units in 2022, down 13.2% year-on-year, and the first time they fell below 300 million units in the past 10 years, according to IDC data.
IDC also reports iPhone shipments in China fell by 4% in 2022. In its financial report for Q1 2023, Apple reported iPhone sales fell by around 5% compared to the previous year.
Apple did have difficulty meeting the high demand for the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max. This most expensive variant of the iPhone 14 had become a rarity after production at the Foxconn factory was disrupted due to a spike in COVID-19 cases and employee protests.
