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American smartphone maker Apple is offering special trade-in discounts on its latest handsets in China as it looks to compete harder against rising domestic brands.
Customers can now pick up the iPhone XR from CNY4,399 (USD637) or XS from CNY6,599 when trading in an older handset, giving a maximum discount of CNY2,100 from standard prices, state-backed China News Service reported after visiting a Beijing store on Dec. 23.
The offer extends to all older iPhone models, one of the clerks said, recommending that the trade-in handset be an iPhone 6 or newer version in order to get a larger discount. “In similar events run previously, the trade-in value of the iPhone 6 was just CNY600, but it’s CNY1,200 this time,” she said.
The aim of the game is to prevent the loss of old iPhone users and encourage them to upgrade for newer handsets, said Fu Liang, a tech sector analyst. The models being discounted went on sale in China just over three months ago.
“Apple is facing fierce competition around the world,” Fu said. “The company noticed sales falling over the past two years so increased prices, but with the growth of Chinese brands, sales have declined further and Apple can’t sustain its profit levels with high prices.”
China is not the only place where Apple has been having to discount its products in a bid to increase sales. The firm has been running similar trade-in schemes in the US as it looks to shift more of its latest models, and offered discounts to Japanese telecom operators to encourage them to heavily discount the price of the iPhone XR.
The China promotion is only available at brick-and-mortar outlets and is set to end on Jan. 31, the report added, noting that some stores may offer different amounts for the trade-in value of older models.
Source: yicaiglobal.com
