Apple reduces prices of iPhone 15 models in China to new lows due to fierce competition

Apple rolls out aggressive price drops on iPhone 15 models for consumers in China, with online retail platforms slashing prices to new lows as the US tech giant attempts to boost sales slow in the world's largest smartphone market.

The highest discount in the February campaign was 1,150 yuan, and this time the discount was up to 2,300 yuan. The deepest discount applies to the iPhone 15 Pro Max 1TB version, while other versions are also significantly discounted.

For example, the iPhone 15 Pro Max 256 GB version on May 20 was sold for 7,949 yuan (1,100 USD) at Apple's official online store on JD.com and Alibaba's Tmall, a discount of 2,050 yuan or 20%. compared to 9,999 yuan when it started selling in September 2023.

Meanwhile, the iPhone 15 128GB version is currently priced at 4,599 yuan, 23% lower than the previous price of 5,999 yuan, on both JD.com and Tmall. The sale takes place from May 20 to 28, according to two platforms.

However, the online Apple Store in China kept the recent prices of iPhone 15 models unchanged. Apple did not immediately respond when asked for comment.

The steep price cuts of iPhone 15 models on two major online platforms show Apple's efforts to revive demand in China for the flagship product, more than a month after iPhone sales in the Greater China region ( including mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan) decreased by 8% to 16.4 billion USD in the first quarter of 2024.

Apple's unusual iPhone discounts on Chinese e-commerce platforms began in January, following online and offline campaigns from Chinese smartphone companies, including Xiaomi and Honor, that saw prices slashed significantly. different Android device models.

In the same January, Apple offered discounts of up to 800 yuan on iPhones, iPads, MacBook laptops, AirPods, and Apple Watches on its online store in China.

According to a report from market research firm Counterpoint, Apple's iPhone market share in China in the first quarter of 2024 has decreased to 15.7%, from 20.2% in the same period last year, in the context of fierce competition. harshly. Vivo and Honor surpassed Apple in China in the first quarter of 2024 with smartphone market shares of 17.4% and 16.1%, respectively.

On track to return to success thanks to the 5G-enabled Mate 60 smartphone line, Huawei ranked 4th in the first quarter of 2024 in China with 15.5% market share.

The recent iPhone price cuts seem to have helped Apple. According to data released by the China Institute of Information and Communications Technology in early May, sales of foreign-branded smartphones in March increased by 12% over the same period last year. This Chinese state-owned research institute does not disclose the brand, but the majority of foreign smartphones sold in China are from Apple.

Competitive pressure is increasing on Apple after Huawei in April sold a new high-end smartphone series Pura 70, after launching the Mate 60 series last year.

According to Bloomberg news agency, Apple has almost reached an agreement with OpenAI to use ChatGPT and other technology of this startup on iPhone, specifically the upcoming iPhone 16 series. This is part of a broader effort to bring artificial intelligence (AI) features to Apple devices.

The two sides are finalizing terms for an agreement to use ChatGPT features in iOS 18, the new version of the operating system for iPhone. According to Bloomberg, the two companies are set to make a big announcement about their partnership at the 2024 worldwide developer conference (WWDC) on June 10, with OpenAI led by Sam Altman racing to take over. Guaranteed to be able to support a huge number of users by the end of this year.

Apple also held discussions with Google about licensing the company's Gemini chatbot. That negotiation has not yet reached an agreement but is still continuing.

This past week, both OpenAI and Google launched the next phase of their AI efforts. OpenAI's GPT-4o AI model can carry out lifelike conversations, prepare users for a job interview, express sarcasm, and even act as a customer service agent . It's all incredibly impressive and scary to some degree. For its part, Google is deeply integrating AI into search.

The deal with OpenAI will see Apple offer the world's most popular chatbot as part of a series of new generative AI features it plans to announce at WWDC. According to Bloomberg, Apple is ready to make some bold changes.

While it will still rely on data processing and operating AI features directly on the iPhone with the support of its own large language model, Apple also plans to provide the service through the cloud. According to Bloomberg news agency, Apple is putting high-end private chips into its data centers to handle online AI features.

This move shows that Apple has recognized the need for change to develop. As part of the changes, the company will improve Siri's voice capabilities, giving it a more conversational feel and adding features to assist users in their daily lives. This is the approach Apple calls 'active intelligence'. That includes services like automatically summarizing notifications from iPhone, providing quick summaries of news articles, converting voice notes to text, improving existing features to auto-fill events into the user's schedule, recommending applications that suit the user's needs.

Additionally, Apple will also have some improvements to photos in the form of AI-based editing, but none of those features will impress anyone who has used AI in Adobe's apps over the past few months.

Last year, Apple CEO Tim Cook said he personally uses ChatGPT but added that there are 'some problems that OpenAI needs to solve'. He promised that new AI features will come to Apple products on a 'very thoughtful basis'.

According to the New York Times, Apple plans to integrate generative AI into its virtual assistant Siri after two Apple directors tested ChatGPT for weeks and the company realized Siri could not compare.

The change would mark a much-needed overhaul for Siri on the iPhone, which has been criticized in recent years for feeling stagnant and frequently misunderstanding voice questions or simply providing feedback. provides Safari web pages with relevant information.

With improvements made possible by generative AI technology, Apple hopes Siri will get better at completing existing tasks and perform new capabilities like summarizing text messages and chatting, rather than answering individual questions. individually as at present.

Apple is lagging behind its competitors in AI. The company has yet to make any announcements about generative AI, while competitors like Google, Microsoft and Meta Platforms have launched their own interesting AI virtual assistants and chatbots.

A major AI announcement could be welcome news for Apple in what has been a difficult year so far. Apple saw dismal iPhone sales in China in early 2024, was fined about $1.95 billion by the European Commission for allegedly abusing its dominant market position, and is the subject of an antitrust lawsuit. rights issued by the US Department of Justice. Apple denies the US Department of Justice's accusations and plans to appeal the EU's ruling.

Not long ago, Apple added to its worries when its 2024 iPad Pro ad was fiercely criticized for showing a hydraulic press crushing traditional creative items. Apple later apologized, saying it was "off target" and said the ad would not be shown on television.

Samuel Daniel

Update 20 May 2024