Apple launches year-end promotions for the iPhone 17 Pro series, with an additional price cut of 300 yuan.

Image source: Apple's official website

On December 8th, Jiemian News learned that Apple has launched an end - of - year promotion campaign in its official flagship stores on e - commerce platforms. The prices of two high - end models, the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max, have been reduced. After using the coupons, the price reduction reaches 300 yuan. With the national subsidies in some regions, users' actual purchase costs can be further reduced. This promotion comes just over two months after the release of the iPhone 17 Pro series.

On the Tmall platform, consumers can receive an exclusive coupon worth 300 yuan off when the purchase amount reaches 2980 yuan, but it is only applicable to the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max. After the price cut, the starting price of the 256GB version of the iPhone 17 Pro drops to 8699 yuan, and the starting price of the iPhone 17 Pro Max with the same configuration is 9699 yuan. The event will last until December 14th, and Apple has stocked about 58,000 units for this promotion. On JD.com, products can be purchased directly at the post - coupon price, which is similar to that on Tmall.

Left is the Tmall platform, right is the JD.com platform

It's worth noting that there is currently no such promotion on Apple's official website, and the starting prices of the two models in the iPhone 17 Pro series remain at 8999 yuan and 9999 yuan.

In September this year, Apple released the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max, which are claimed to be the most powerful Pro models in its history. This series of models is powered by the A19 Pro chip, with a 15% increase in transistor density and a 6 - core GPU. It is equipped with three 48 - megapixel fusion cameras, namely the main camera, ultra - wide - angle camera, and telephoto camera, with functions equivalent to 8 lenses. Both models use an ultra - ceramic crystal panel, and this is also the first time Apple has used this material on the back of an iPhone.

Compared with Apple's recent promotion strategies, the price cut of the iPhone 17 Pro series this time is relatively moderate. In 2024, the price of the iPhone 15 Pro Max dropped by up to 1300 yuan during the Double 11 period; in May this year, the maximum price cut of the iPhone 16 Pro series reached 2500 yuan, and after adding subsidies, the price cut of some models reached 31%.

During this year's Double 11 period, the official flagship store of Apple Store on Tmall also had a price - cut promotion for the iPhone 17 Pro series. Among them, the iPhone 17 Pro series had a direct price cut of 300 yuan, with the post - coupon price starting from 8699 yuan; the post - coupon price of the iPhone 17 Pro Max started from 9699 yuan, and both supported up to 12 - month interest - free installment payment. The standard version of the iPhone 17 did not participate in the price cut.

Some analysts believe that the latest small - scale price cut is more of a regular end - of - year promotion rather than an emergency measure due to sales pressure, which echoes the strong market performance of the iPhone 17 series.

According to data from market research firm Counterpoint, driven by Apple's iPhone 17 series, the sales volume of smartphones in China during the Double 11 period increased by 3% year - on - year.

Ivan Lam, a senior analyst at Counterpoint, said: "The iPhone 17 series has performed very well, especially the base version of the iPhone 17. It has been upgraded in terms of storage capacity, optical system, and sensors, but the selling price remains the same as last year's iPhone 16. The sales volume of the base version has more than doubled year - on - year, and the sales of the Pro and Pro Max have also achieved mid - to - high double - digit growth. These two models also enjoyed a 300 - yuan discount during the Double 11 period."

In addition to Apple, the overall sales volume of the domestic mobile phone market during the Double 11 period decreased by 5% year - on - year, reflecting a more cautious consumer environment and insufficient momentum at the beginning of the fourth quarter. Counterpoint believes that many consumers purchased mobile phones in advance at the beginning of the year with the help of subsidies. In addition, the strategic focus of major smartphone brands has shifted to newly launched high - end devices, which may have increased the average selling price (ASP) but had the opposite effect on sales volume.

With the intensive release of domestic flagship models at the end of the year, Apple's intention to maintain its competitiveness in the high - end market through small - scale price cuts is obvious, and its multi - channel coordinated promotion strategy will further drive the growth of its fourth - quarter performance.

This article is from the WeChat public account "Jiemian News", author: Song Jianan. It is published by 36Kr with authorization.