Apple may be under more pressure in the weakening China business. Several major electronics retailers in the People’s Republic lowered their prices for the new iPhone models later this week. There were discounts of up to 118 dollars (102 euros) for the new 64-gigabyte version of the iPhone XR. Also over the weekend there should be offers, it was said today in shops.
Such price reductions are uncommon outside of major sales days such as the now-popular „Black Friday“ and the Chinese „Singles Day“. They are therefore further evidence that the iPhone demand slowdown in China continues at the beginning of the year. Apple initially did not comment. The prices in the Apple online shop remained unchanged.
Apple in China behind Huawei
Behind the price reductions, industry expert Mo Jia from analyst Canalys could put several options. Apple may have lowered retailers‘ purchase prices to test out the market for cheaper iPhones, he suggests. „Or Apple may be under pressure to vacate its iPhone warehouses.“ Apple has fallen behind domestic rivals like Huawei in China, offering cheaper cell phones.
Apple had last missed its sales forecast for the first time since the introduction of the iPhone more than ten years ago. Commenting on the issues in the past quarter, the Group pointed to weak business in China last week. The downwards trend in the wake of the economic slowdown had been aggravated by the trade dispute with the USA.
Some experts consider Apple’s problems because of the high-price strategy, but partly also for homemade. The technology giant is also planning three new models this year, including a new version of the weakening XR, according to the Wall Street Journal.
