外刊阅读 CNN: Apple is offering rare iPhone discounts in China

Apple is offering rare iPhone discounts in China

By Catherine Thorbecke, CNN

Published 4:59 PM EST, Mon January 15, 2024

Customers experience the iPhone15 series at Apple's flagship store in Hangzhou, East China's Zhejiang province.

New YorkCNN —

Apple is offering temporary discounts on its iPhones and other products in China, in an extremely rare move for Apple that comes as competition within Asia’s smartphone market grows more intense.

As part of a sale pegged to the Lunar New Year event, Apple’s official Chinese website is listing discounts of up to 500 RMB ($70) on the latest iPhone lineup. Other flagship Apple products, including the Mac and iPad, are also going to be discounted up to 800 RMB ($112) and 400 RMB ($56), respectively, as part of the promotion, which runs from January 18 through January 21.

Although third-party sellers at times discount Apple products, Apple itself very rarely offers deals or sales, part of its effort to maintain a premium brand image – something that has been particularly important as Apple seeks to attract high-end buyers in China.

The move to slash prices on the iPhone comes just over five months after Chinese tech giant Huawei released its latest smartphone, the Mate 60 Pro. The Huawei smartphone has been eagerly embraced by Chinese consumers – so much that its use of an advanced chip has come under scrutiny from US officials.

Around the same time that Huawei’s marquis smartphone was released, the Wall Street Journal reported that China had banned the use of iPhones by central government officials, citing unnamed people familiar with the matter. A Chinese government spokesperson, however, later denied that China had issued any laws or rules to ban the use of iPhones.

The new discounts on the iPhone in China are raising fresh questions about how demand for Apple products is faring recently in the world’s second-largest economy. China has long been a key market for the iPhone maker, with roughly one-fifth of Apple’s overall sales last year coming from China.

Sales for the iPhone 15 were down 4.5% in China compared to iPhone 14 sales in the first two weeks after its launch in September, according to Counterpoint Research. And last week, Jefferies Research in a note to clients said iPhone sales had tumbled 30% in the first week of the year, Reuters reported.

China is one of Apple’s most important markets. It is second-largest in sales, behind only the North American market. But China’s economy has been struggling over the past year, hurting Apple’s overall growth. Last week, Apple lost its status as the stock market’s most valuable company, taking a back seat to Microsoft.

Apple is offering rare iPhone discounts in China

苹果公司在中国罕见的给iPhone打折

Apple is offering temporary discounts on its iPhones and other products in China, in an extremely rare move for Apple that comes as competition within Asia’s smartphone market grows more intense.

苹果在中国对其iPhone和其他产品进行打折，这对苹果公司来说是极其罕见的，其原因是亚洲智能手机的市场竞争越来越激烈。

As part of a sale pegged to the Lunar New Year event, Apple’s official Chinese website is listing discounts of up to 500 RMB ($70) on the latest iPhone lineup. Other flagship Apple products, including the Mac and iPad, are also going to be discounted up to 800 RMB ($112) and 400 RMB ($56), respectively, as part of the promotion, which runs from January 18 through January 21.

作为与农历新年相关的销售活动的一部分，苹果公司的中文官网列出了最新iPhone系列最高500元人民币（70美元）的折扣。作为促销活动的一部分，包括Mac和iPad在内的其他苹果旗舰产品也将分别折扣800元人民币（112美元）和400元人民币（56美元），促销时间从1月18日到1月21日。

Although third-party sellers at times discount Apple products, Apple itself very rarely offers deals or sales, part of its effort to maintain a premium brand image – something that has been particularly important as Apple seeks to attract high-end buyers in China.

虽然第三方卖家有时会对苹果产品进行打折，但苹果公司自己很少提供打折或促销，这是其保持高端品牌形象策略的一部分——在苹果寻求吸引中国高端买家时，这一点尤为重要。

The move to slash prices on the iPhone comes just over five months after Chinese tech giant Huawei released its latest smartphone, the Mate 60 Pro. The Huawei smartphone has been eagerly embraced by Chinese consumers – so much that its use of an advanced chip has come under scrutiny from US officials.

对iPhone进行大幅降价是在中国的科技巨头华为发布其最新的智能手机Mate 60 Pro仅仅五个月之后。华为手机受到了中国消费者的热烈欢迎，以至于其使用的高端芯片受到了美国官员的审查。

Around the same time that Huawei’s marquis smartphone was released, the Wall Street Journal reported that China had banned the use of iPhones by central government officials, citing unnamed people familiar with the matter. A Chinese government spokesperson, however, later denied that China had issued any laws or rules to ban the use of iPhones.

在华为贵族智能手机发布的同时，《华尔街日报》援引没有披露姓名的知情人士的话报道称，中国已禁止central government官员使用iPhone。然而，中国government发言人后来否认发布了任何禁止使用iPhone的法律或规定。

The new discounts on the iPhone in China are raising fresh questions about how demand for Apple products is faring recently in the world’s second-largest economy. China has long been a key market for the iPhone maker, with roughly one-fifth of Apple’s overall sales last year coming from China.

iPhone在中国的这一新的折扣引发了新的疑问：这个世界上第二大的经济体对苹果产品的需求量怎么样。长期以来中国一直是iPhone制造商的关键市场，苹果去年的总销售额越有五分之一来自中国。

Sales for the iPhone 15 were down 4.5% in China compared to iPhone 14 sales in the first two weeks after its launch in September, according to Counterpoint Research. And last week, Jefferies Research in a note to clients said iPhone sales had tumbled 30% in the first week of the year, Reuters reported.

Counterpoint Research的数据显示，iPhone 15在九月发布后的前两周里，相比iPhone 14，在中国的销量下降了4.5%。据路透社报道，上周，Jefferies研究公司在给客户的一份报告中表示，今年第一周iPhone销量下降了30%。

China is one of Apple’s most important markets. It is second-largest in sales, behind only the North American market. But China’s economy has been struggling over the past year, hurting Apple’s overall growth. Last week, Apple lost its status as the stock market’s most valuable company, taking a back seat to Microsoft.

中国是苹果最重要的市场之一，中国的销售额位居第二，仅次于北美市场。但中国经济在过去一年一直比较挣扎，影响了苹果公司的整体增长。上周，苹果失去了股市最有价值公司的地位，退居微软之后。