People walk past an advertisement for the iPhone 16 Pro at an Apple store during the National Day holiday on October 3, 2024 in Chongqing, China.
Cheng Shen | Getty Images News | Getty Images
apple Samsung is offering discounts on high-end iPhones and other products in China for the upcoming Chinese New Year, as the US tech giant faces increasing competition in one of its most important markets.
The Cupertino giant is giving customers a discount of CNY 500 ($68.50) on the iPhone 16 Pro or iPhone 16 Pro Max, and CNY 400 on the iPhone 16 or iPhone 16 Plus. The offers also include discounts on iPhone 14 and iPhone 15 devices.
Apple has long resisted offering discounts through its retail channels. Alternatively, third-party retailers will offer offers at certain times of the year. However, as competition has intensified, Apple has become more inclined in the past year to post seasonal deals.
apple It offered a similar deal for Chinese New Year last year And in May the company Big discounts offered As part of the 618 Shopping Festival in China.
The latest challenge the company faces comes from Huawei and other local brands. Apple's smartphone shipments fell 6% year over year in mainland China in the third quarter of 2024, according to Canalys. The company's market share also fell to 14% from 16% a year ago.
Meanwhile, Huawei saw shipments rise 24% year-on-year, according to Canalys data, while the company's market share reached 16% from 13% a year earlier.
Huawei, which was once the number one smartphone company in the world before US sanctions crippled its mobile phone business, has succeeded. It has launched new devices aggressively since the latter half of 2023. These devices It contains chips that many thought would be difficult to produce Due to US restrictions on Huawei.
Last year, the Chinese technology company launched The first tri-fold phone of its kind In an attempt to demonstrate its technological capabilities.
