For every four mobile phones sold, one is an iPhone. Why does Apple keep cutting prices?

Apple has once again reduced the prices of its products.

On December 8th, Apple launched an end - of - year price - cut promotion on the official flagship stores of Tmall and JD.com e - commerce platforms. A reporter from Times Weekly found that the prices of two high - end models, the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max, have been reduced again.

On the Tmall platform, Apple has issued exclusive coupons worth 300 yuan off for purchases over 2980 yuan, which are only applicable to the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max. After the price cut, the starting price of the 256GB iPhone 17 Pro has dropped from 8999 yuan to 8699 yuan, and the starting price of the iPhone 17 Pro Max with the same configuration has dropped from 9999 yuan to 9699 yuan. The event will last until December 14th, and Apple has stocked up approximately 58,000 units for this promotion. On the JD.com e - commerce platform, the prices of Apple products are consistent with those on Tmall.

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

Thanks to the price - cut strategy of the Pro series and the high cost - effectiveness of the standard iPhone 17, Apple's market share has been continuously increasing. According to the latest data released by market research firm Counterpoint Research, in October this year, Apple achieved an outstanding performance in the Chinese smartphone market. Driven by the strong sales of the iPhone 17 series, Apple's mobile phone sales in China increased by 37% year - on - year in that month, and its market share climbed to 25%. This is the first time since 2022 that Apple's monthly market share has exceeded the 25% mark.

While achieving such remarkable results, why Apple still frequently cuts prices has become the focus of market attention.

Trading price cuts for market share

Before the release of the iPhone 17 series, Apple was showing obvious signs of decline in the Chinese market.

On October 31st Beijing time, Apple released its financial reports for the fourth quarter and the full year of fiscal year 2025, ending on September 27th. The data shows that Apple's total revenue in the fourth fiscal quarter was 102.466 billion US dollars, a record high for the same period, representing an approximately 8% increase from 94.930 billion US dollars in the same period last year; the net profit reached 27.466 billion US dollars, a significant increase of approximately 86% from 14.736 billion US dollars in the same period last year.

However, in contrast to its overall outstanding performance, Apple's revenue in Greater China in the fourth fiscal quarter was 14.493 billion US dollars, a 3.6% decrease from 15.033 billion US dollars in the same period last year, making it the only market with a revenue decline among all regions globally.

This is not the first time that Apple's revenue in Greater China has declined. In recent years, domestic mobile phone brands have been continuously exerting efforts in the mid - to - low - end market with high - cost - effective products, constantly squeezing Apple's market share. Since the fourth fiscal quarter of fiscal year 2023, Apple's revenue in Greater China has been on a downward trend, with seven consecutive quarters of decline.

In the third fiscal quarter of fiscal year 2025, Apple briefly reversed the downward trend of its year - on - year revenue decline in Greater China through continuous price cuts. However, the sales volume brought about by the price cuts failed to maintain continuous growth, resulting in another decline in Apple's revenue in Greater China in the fourth fiscal quarter.

What really helped Apple turn the tables was the release of the new iPhone 17 series, especially the standard iPhone 17. Apple has rarely introduced the 120Hz adaptive high - refresh - rate technology to this basic model. Moreover, while keeping the starting price of the iPhone 17 at 5999 yuan, it has increased the starting storage capacity from 128GB to 256GB, thus winning the favor of many consumers.

According to Ivan Lam, a senior analyst at Counterpoint Research, during this year's Double 11 shopping festival, the sales volume of the standard iPhone 17 more than doubled year - on - year, and the sales volumes of the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max also achieved mid - to - high double - digit growth.

However, Ivan Lam also pointed out that while the iPhone 17 series is indeed an excellent product, Apple's success in China is also due to many external factors, including the fact that mobile phone users are entering a peak replacement cycle and the early start of this year's "Double 11" promotion. Except for 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 consumption environment and a lack of momentum at the beginning of the fourth quarter.

In addition, price cuts by competitors such as Huawei may also have a certain impact on Apple. On November 25th, Huawei launched its annual flagship Mate 80 series. The starting price of the standard version is 800 yuan cheaper than that of the previous generation, and the starting prices of the Pro and Pro Max models are also 500 yuan cheaper than those of the previous generation.

The downward pressure on the market and the fierce competition from domestic brands may be the main reasons for Apple's continued price cuts this time.

Apple's dilemma in the AI era

In fact, price cuts have been the main theme for Apple in the Greater China market in recent years.

Apple was once known for its stable prices, and official price cuts usually occurred when the next - generation product was about to be released or when the product was nearing the end of its life cycle. However, since the iPhone 14 series, Apple has advanced the time of price cuts from a few months before the release of new products to the beginning of the following year after the release, and the pace of price cuts has been accelerating ever since.

For example, the price cuts for the iPhone 15 series were advanced to around the Chinese Spring Festival of the following year, and achieved good results; the iPhone 16 series even set a precedent by cutting prices less than two months after its release. This strategy has also been adopted by the iPhone 17 series.

Continuous price cuts have indeed helped Apple increase its sales volume, but they have also raised concerns in the market. For example, Zhang Shule, an Internet industry analyst, told a reporter from Times Weekly that the sales volume gained through price cuts may not be sustainable.

"Currently, Apple does not have a fundamental advantage over the Android system, but its prices are still higher than those of similar models from competitors. Once the price cuts are cancelled, consumers may be back in the awkward situation of hesitating when choosing a phone. Unless there is a revolutionary experience like the iPhone 4 back then, it will be difficult to maintain the current sales performance," Zhang Shule said.

This is especially true in the new trend of AI - powered mobile phones. After the emergence of generative AI, the combination of AI and mobile phones is generally regarded as an important direction for future development, and many mobile phone manufacturers at home and abroad are actively investing in this area. However, as the industry leader, Apple has made slow progress in the field of AI: not only has the long - promised personalized Siri failed to materialize, but the progress of the Chinese - version Apple Intelligence has also been minimal. This puts Apple at a disadvantage in the fierce competition with domestic brands.

Meanwhile, there has been continuous upheaval within Apple. Recently, Apple announced three management personnel changes on its official website. In the past week, four core executives who reported directly to CEO Tim Cook have announced their departures, including John Giannandrea, the senior vice - president in charge of AI and machine - learning strategy, Alan Dye, the vice - president of user - interface design, Kate Adams, the general counsel, and Lisa Jackson, the vice - president of environment and policy.

This change is generally considered to expose Apple's strategic dilemma in the AI era. How to solve this problem has become a question that Apple must answer.

This article is from the WeChat public account "Times Weekly" (ID: timeweekly), written by Xie Silin, and is published by 36Kr with authorization.