The iPhone 8 and 8 Plus arrived last month, but Chinese buyers don’t seem too interested.
James Martin/CNETChina is one of Apple’s biggest markets, but it seems the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus aren’t doing too well.
As the launch of Apple’s anniversary phone looms, Chinese e-commerce sites are offering discounts on the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus in hopes of spurring sales, South China Morning Post reports. The cheapest 64GB iPhone 8 model, which is priced at 5,888 yuan (about $885, £670 or AU$1,155) on Apple’s official site in China, will cost 4,788 yuan (about $720, £545 or AU$940) after the discount on Suning.com, putting it at nearly 20 percent lower than Apple’s official price.
How the move will play out remains to be seen. The iPhone has been losing its lustre in China, where Apple has been overtaken by local brands such as Huawei, Oppo and Vivo. The company is doing what it can to become more involved in the world’s biggest phone market though, appointing its first managing director in the People’s Republic to care for the region.
This development by Chinese e-commerce platforms comes after a lack of crowd was observed at the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus launch event across China last month. Chinese internet users and local media have suggested it was likely because more people are taking the more convenient option of buying the phones online.
There are also others who have speculated that people are holding out for the iPhone X, which is set to arrive two months after the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus. Apple has high expectations for its upcoming anniversary phone, putting out a press release last week to encourage buyers to start queuing for the phone early. Research analysts also expect the iPhone X to bump up phone sales globally next year.
A senior analyst in China told SCMP discounts like that are unprecedented, suggesting the iPhone 8 could be the “most poorly sold flagship iPhone model” in the mainland. Recalling the iPhone 7 launch in 2016, the analyst said the models remained hard to locate in the market even a month after the phone was released, prompting buyers to compete online for one.
CNET has reached out to Apple for a comment.
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