iPhone 15 Sales in China Increasingly Dependent on Promotions
Apple resellers in China are offering discounts on iPhone 15 models by as much as $180, indicating an unusually lengthy drop in demand, reports Bloomberg.
According to the media outlet, Alibaba's Tmall is trying to drive sales of the premium handsets by offering them at less than the roughly $120 discount Apple offered around the same time last year.
The discounts follow Apple's own rare price reductions on its website ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday in February. Apple has since returned to selling its iPhone 15 lineup at original prices.
The promotions indicate Apple's latest iPhone generation is struggling to achieve the same popularity of previous models in China. Apple sales in China dropped 13% to $20.8 billion in the quarter ended December, falling short of the $23.5 billion predicted by analysts.
Strong interest in Android phones with generative AI features are believed to be fueling the trend, which is expected to deepen 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's next major software update, iOS 18, is expected to include a slew of new AI features, while some AI capabilities are rumored to be exclusive to upcoming iPhone 16 models. But it's unclear how game-changing the features will prove to be, and whether they will arrive in time to revive the slump in iPhone sales.
Popular Stories
iOS 18 will give iPhone users greater control over Home Screen app icon arrangement, according to sources familiar with the matter. While app icons will likely remain locked to an invisible grid system on the Home Screen, to ensure there is some uniformity, our sources say that users will be able to arrange icons more freely on iOS 18. For example, we expect that the update will introduce...
The next-generation iPad Pro will feature a landscape-oriented front-facing camera for the first time, according to the Apple leaker known as "Instant Digital." Instant Digital reiterated the design change earlier today on Weibo with a simple accompanying 2D image. The post reveals that the entire TrueDepth camera array will move to the right side of the device, while the microphone will...
Apple today released macOS Sonoma 14.4.1, a minor update for the macOS Sonoma operating system that launched last September. macOS Sonoma 14.4.1 comes three weeks after macOS Sonoma 14.4. The macOS Sonoma 14.4.1 update can be downloaded for free on all eligible Macs using the Software Update section of System Settings. There's also a macOS 13.6.6 release for those who...
Apple has previously announced three new iOS features that it said are coming to the iPhone later this year, as outlined below. The new features include the ability to install iPhone apps on the web in the EU, RCS support in the Messages app, and next-generation CarPlay. Web Distribution Apple recently announced that eligible developers will soon be able to distribute their iOS apps to ...
Apple's iPhone development roadmap runs several years into the future and the company is continually working with suppliers on several successive iPhone models concurrently, which is why we sometimes get rumored feature leaks so far ahead of launch. The iPhone 17 series is no different, and already we have some idea of what to expect from Apple's 2025 smartphone lineup. If you plan to skip...
iOS 18 will feature a revamped Home Screen that is "more customizable," according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. He revealed this information in his Power On newsletter today, but he did not provide any specific details. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. Apple will announce iOS 18 at its annual developers conference WWDC in June. Other features and changes rumored for...
We're getting closer to the launch of new iPad Pro and iPad Air models, while rumors about iOS 18 are continuing to ramp up with this week's surprise revelation that Apple has been talking to Google and others about potentially helping power the generative AI features expected to be a major part of this year's update. Other news this week saw the release of iOS 17.4.1 and iPadOS 17.4.1...
Top Rated Comments
...nah, that's crazy talk. ?
The globe is going through a cost of living crisis, Chinese regulators are clamping down on Apple… and the hardware is barely changed from last year.