- Apple and Huawei both slash premium smartphone prices by $148 to spur sales in the Chinese market.
- China's smartphone shipments drop 7.1% in March, signaling persistently weak consumer demand in the world's largest market.
Apple has cut the price of its flagship iPhone 17 Pro in China by 1,000 yuan ($148), an aggressive price reduction that aims to boost sales in the world's largest smartphone market.
The starting price for the model on major e-commerce platforms like JD.com and Tmall has now officially dropped to 7,999 yuan.
This substantial promotional discount also covers several other models within the iPhone 17 lineup.
Final prices for the standard iPhone 17 and the entry-level iPhone 17e have plunged to 5,299 yuan and 3,999 yuan, respectively.
Additionally, JD.com is offering extra purchasing incentives through a dual-subsidy mechanism that includes trade-in programs.
Apple's latest pricing strategy coincides with a similar move by its primary local rival, Huawei.
Huawei lowered the price of its premium Mate X7 foldable smartphone series by 1,000 yuan to start at 11,999 yuan on the same day.
These price cuts highlight the increasingly fierce market competition amid a prolonged slump in Chinese consumer spending.
Data released last month by the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology (CAICT) further corroborates the shrinking trend across the smartphone market.
China's total domestic mobile phone shipments fell 7.1% year-on-year to 21.15 million units in March, according to the CAICT.
However, this decline has narrowed compared to the severe double-digit drops seen in the first two months of the year.
With consumers broadly delaying hardware upgrades and demand remaining weak, total mobile phone shipments in the Chinese market dropped significantly by 12.7% in the first quarter.
Meanwhile, major handset makers are facing intense pressure from surging component costs, such as memory, making them more cautious and conservative in launching new models.
The number of new smartphone models released in China during March plummeted 70.3% from a year earlier, the CAICT said.
($1 = 6.7921 yuan)
