Days after announcing its revenue had fallen for the first time in the quarter gone by, Apple slashed the prices of its iPhone 14 models by up to $125 in China.
Apple has taken the call to cut prices to drive the demand and resuscitate one of its most profitable markets. Business houses have reported a seven per cent drop in sales of Apple products in China due to the harsh COVID-19 regulations.
Moreover, China’s domestic smartphone sales plummeted below 300 million for the first time in a decade. The sales figure stood at 285.8 million at the end of 2022, which was a drop of 13.2 per cent compared to 2021.
According to a South China Morning Post (SCMP) report, online sellers on JD.com – China’s second largest e-commerce platform have shown a markdown of $117 (800 yuan) for the top-tier iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max models. An additional $7 (50 yuan) is being slashed if the buyer becomes a member of the online store.
As soon as the discounted iPhones went on sale, they were sold out in the Shenzhen outlets of Apple and its resellers.
Last week, Apple released its balance sheets where it reported $117 billion in revenue for the quarter ending December which was a five per cent drop from a year earlier. Meanwhile, the profits tumbled to $30 billion, down 13.4 per cent.
Apple CEO Tim Cook reflected on the drop in revenue and attributed it to the challenging environment posed by the pandemic.
“Covid-19 challenges significantly impacted the supply of iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max and lasted through most of December,” said Cook.
Taiwanese giant Foxconn, which runs the biggest iPhone factory in Zhengzhou had to endure a harrowing period in October last year when tens of thousands of workers left the factory following draconian COVID-19 policies of the administration.
The mass exodus halted the production supply and to this date, Apple has been attempting to bring the factory on par with the pre-exodus numbers.
(With inputs from agencies)
