On October 23, #iPhone15 Whole Series Prices Dropped# topped the list of hot searches, which made “fruit fans” who bought Apple’s new phones in advance feel uncomfortable. According to a report by the Securities Times on October 23, the Double Eleven promotion is about to begin, and many manufacturers have already launched major price cuts on their models, which is likely to start the Double Eleven event in advance. At the same time, Apple’s iPhone 15 series models, which have just been released about a month ago, have also experienced great price fluctuations.
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Apple Online Store (China)
There is no premium for almost all storage versions of Apple’s four iPhone 15 series models. Even the more popular iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max have been reduced in price by nearly a thousand yuan.
Currently, on an e-commerce platform, iPhone 15 128GB is 5198 yuan, 256GB is 6098 yuan, the official prices are 5999 yuan and 6999 yuan respectively; iPhone 15 Plus 128GB is 6148 yuan, 256GB is 7048 yuan, the official prices are 6999 yuan and 7999 respectively. yuan; the iPhone 15 Pro 128GB version is 7,498 yuan, and the 256GB version is 8,048 yuan; the official prices are 7,999 yuan and 8,999 yuan respectively; the iPhone 15 Pro Max 256GB version is 9,098 yuan, the 512GB version is 10,798 yuan, and the 1TB version is 13,398 yuan. The official prices are 9,999 yuan, 11,999 yuan and 13,999 yuan respectively.
According to Bloomberg analysts, sales of Apple’s latest iPhone 15 series mobile phones are not ideal in China. Data from market research institutions show that sales of the iPhone 15 series dropped 4.5% in the first 17 days after its launch in China compared with the previous generation.
According to Counterpoint data, Apple mobile phone sales fell 9% year-on-year in the third quarter of 2023, with a market share of 16%, compared with 17% in the same period last year. Honor, Huawei and Transsion were among the few brands that experienced year-on-year growth in the third quarter. Huawei's growth benefited from the launch of the Mate60 series in China, while Honor's growth benefited from strong overseas performance. The Transsion brand continues to expand while also benefiting from the recovery in markets in the Middle East and Africa.
On the one hand, the domestic sales of the iPhone 15 have languished and Huawei has overtaken it. On the other hand, Cook’s "non-stop" visit to China for the second time this year has been overwhelming.
On October 18, Apple CEO Cook’s personal Weibo account posted a video in which Cook visited the Apple Watch production line accompanied by Luxshare Precision Chairman Wang Laichun.
On the previous 16th, Cook appeared at Apple's Chengdu Taikoo Li and watched an Honor of Kings exhibition game; on the 17th, he visited Ya'an and announced that Apple would donate 25 million yuan to the China Rural Development Foundation to support farmers, empower students, and revitalize communities.
According to Xinhua News Agency, officials such as Minister of Commerce Wang Wentao met with Cook one after another.
Some analysts believe that Cook's intensive visit to China shows the importance of China as Apple's key market and sends a good signal.
Cook's frequent "check-ins" in China show the Chinese market's pivotal position for Apple. Data shows that when Cook took office, the Chinese market accounted for only 2% of Apple's total revenue. Currently, the Chinese market accounts for more than 20% of Apple's total revenue. In addition, China’s share of Apple’s supply chain is as high as 48%.
Ping An Securities stated in a research report in June this year that the recent intensive visits to China by technology giants such as Cook can be seen that in the context of increasingly intensified international geopolitical risks, the demands of the US high-tech industry for China's entire supply chain and huge market, as well as the indispensable position of the Chinese market, have become more prominent. In the short term, this may bring opportunities for a period of relaxation in Sino-US relations.
It is worth noting that this year marks the first time in four years that Cook has come to China again. However, it was the China Development Forum that kicked off Cook’s 2023 trip to China that started in March this year. On March 25, at the China Development Forum 2023 Annual Meeting Forum, Cook said, "This year is Apple's 30th year in China. I am very happy to be able to come to China at this time."
When he started a dialogue with Lu Mai, consultant of the China Development Forum and former vice chairman of the China Development Research Foundation, during the CDFTalk (China Development Forum Innovation Speech) session, he said, "We have a huge supplier system in China and have our own flagship store. We are very happy to see Apple's development in China over the past 30 years and are honored to cooperate with China to serve our customers and consumers. We have grown together with China, and this is a symbolic and friendly relationship."
Cook also said, "China's innovation is developing very fast, and I think it will continue to accelerate in the future. Looking at innovation around the world, technologies such as artificial intelligence and augmented reality are developing very rapidly, which will have a major impact on mankind. So as the inventors of technology, we must ensure that the way we use these technologies is correct."
On September 13, Apple launched the new iPhone 15 series and officially went on sale on September 22. However, since its launch, there have been constant negative voices about the iPhone 15 series in the domestic market. The prices of iPhone 15 and 15 Plus were “broken” when they were released. The rush for iPhone 15 Pro was not as good as that of the previous generation. The iPhone 15 Pro Max suffered from screen burn-in...
Well-known analyst Ming-Chi Kuo recently wrote that based on supply chain shipments, Apple's MacBook shipments are expected to fall by 25-35% year-on-year in the fourth quarter of this year, while full-year shipments this year will fall by about 30% year-on-year to about 17 million units. He said that since there are no new products in the fourth quarter of this year, MacBook shipment momentum will be significantly lower than in past peak seasons. The key to Apple not launching new products is that Apple needs to clear inventory and reformulate new products and marketing strategies for 2024.
The most discussion still focuses on the sales comparison between Apple and Huawei. Before the release of Apple's new phone, Huawei's new phone was airborne, randomly triggering a rush to buy the phone. "Far ahead" became a hot topic on the Internet.
Judging from the feedback from C-end consumers, many former Apple users have switched to Huawei. Some consumers once told reporters that they originally planned to wait for the iPhone 15 Pro to be released, but after the Huawei Mate 60 Pro came out, they immediately snapped up one. The feedback from offline dealers is also the same. The price of the iPhone 15 series has broken, the sales performance of the Pro version is not as optimistic as expected, and Huawei's problem is that it is "out of stock."
In contrast, Huawei's rapid growth momentum. A recent research report from CITIC Construction Investment pointed out that Huawei has been the manufacturer with the strongest growth momentum since September. After the "Pioneer Project" released the new Mate60 series of phones on August 29, Huawei's mobile phone sales have experienced rapid growth. The year-on-year growth rates in the past four weeks (W37-W40) have reached 91%, 46%, 83% and 95% respectively. Huawei's mobile phone sales share has also increased from about 10% before the release of the Mate60 series to 19.4% of the W40, ranking first in the market.
Tianfeng International analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said on social platforms that Huawei's Mate60Pro shipment plan for the second half of the year has increased by about 20% to 5.5 million-6 million units, and cumulative shipments 12 months after its release will reach at least 12 million units.
According to a report by the Securities Times on the 18th, Wang Peng, an associate researcher at the Beijing Academy of Social Sciences, said in an interview with reporters: "The recovery in mobile phone consumption during the National Day holiday was largely driven by the return of Huawei. Huawei has suffered from constraints in the past year, but this year it re-launched new products and adopted promotional methods, attracting consumers' attention and desire to buy."