Get an instant discount of 300 yuan, the iPhone 18 series will kick off the Double 11 promotion, and Apple Intelligence will also enter the Chinese market.

When the new iPhone ushers in its first major promotion after launch, Apple Intelligence is about to land in China, which will add new variables to this consumption carnival.

On October 15, Jiemian News learned from three major e-commerce platforms including Tmall, JD and Douyin that the Double 11 activities of Apple's official flagship stores are about to start, generally starting at 8 p.m. on October 20 and lasting until November 11 or 13, with slight differences in the deadline of activities on different platforms. This time, hardware products such as iPhone 18 Pro, iPhone 18 Pro Max, iPhone 17, a variety of iPads, Apple Watch, and AirPods are all included in the promotion list, covering multiple product lines including mobile phones, tablets and headphones.

The customer service of Tmall Apple Store Official Flagship Store told the reporter of Jiemian News that the preferential plans for iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max have been confirmed. Users can receive a 300-yuan Tmall coupon, support 12-month interest-free installment, and can also superimpose a 500-yuan government subsidy from the trade-in channel. After the two discounts are superimposed, the maximum discount per unit can reach 800 yuan. The iPhone 17 series adopts the store direct reduction mode, with a direct reduction of 1000 yuan and 3-month interest-free, but only the 256GB version is eligible to apply for the national subsidy.

Double 11 Promotion Plan of Tmall Apple Store Official Flagship Store

iPad Air 11-inch, iPad Air 13-inch, Apple Watch SE 3 and AirPods Pro 3 will also participate in Tmall Double 11 activities, but the specific discount range has not yet been announced.

The customer service of JD self-operated Apple Flagship Store did not clearly inform the specific start time of Double 11, but the store has released relevant promotional posters. The poster shows that iPhone 18 Pro saves 300 yuan directly, superimposed with a 500-yuan trade-in subsidy; iPad has a limited-time direct reduction of 500 yuan, and can enjoy a trade-in subsidy of up to 500 yuan at the same time; AirPods series can enjoy 15% national subsidies in 8 regions including Guangdong, Jiangsu and Beijing. Platform PLUS coupons can be received on the evening of October 20, and the maximum trade-in subsidy is 340 yuan.

Promotional Poster of Apple Flagship Store on JD Platform

The activity product pool of Douyin Apple Store Official Flagship Store is generally consistent with that of Tmall, but the discount rules are simplified. iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max do not set product coupons and Douyin coupons, and directly provide 12-month interest-free Douyin monthly payment, which can be superimposed with trade-in subsidies. iPhone 17 can receive a 1000-yuan product coupon on the Douyin channel, support 3-month interest-free, and only the 256GB version is eligible for national subsidies. iPad, Apple Watch SE3, AirPods 5 series, and AirPods Pro3 also participate in this Douyin Double 11 activity simultaneously.

Double 11 Promotion Plan of Douyin Apple Store Official Flagship Store

From the perspective of overall strength, in this year's official Apple Double 11 promotion, the new Pro series no longer adheres to the strategy of "no price reduction at the first release", and opens official platform subsidies shortly after launch. As the previous generation model, iPhone 17 offers a thousand-yuan level of direct store reduction, with greater preferential strength.

Comparing with Apple's Double 11 market strategy last year, obvious changes can be seen. During the 2025 Double 11, the official channel discounts for the iPhone 16 Pro series were relatively conservative, mainly relying on third-party stores to reduce prices, and the official Apple flagship stores had limited discounts, focusing more on trade-in subsidies. This year, Apple's official flagship stores took the initiative to release direct reduction coupons on Tmall, Douyin and JD at the same time. The new Pro models directly participate in platform profit concessions, and the price reduction threshold of official channels is lower. The thousand-yuan level direct reduction of the previous generation models also continues the idea of clearing inventory and driving sales in previous years. The subsidy scope for tablets and headphone categories has been further expanded, with the addition of national subsidy support in more regions, no longer limited to single mobile phone products.

On the same day when e-commerce platforms announced the Double 11 discounts, Tim Cook, Apple's Executive Chairman, brought the latest news about the Chinese version of Apple Intelligence.

Today, Cook visited Shanghai and was interviewed by media including Jiemian News. When talking about issues related to Apple Intelligence, Cook said that Apple Intelligence and the related Alibaba Tongyi large model have indeed been approved, and the test version will be released later in October, including the first batch of Apple Intelligence functions such as real-time translation, writing tools, and photo erasure tools, but Siri AI is not included this time.

"We are very happy that the first batch of core Apple Intelligence functions can be launched gradually," Cook said.

On October 14, according to the information of the Telecommunication Equipment Network Access License of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the domestic version of Apple's iPhone Duo foldable phone (model A3721) obtained the trial approval license on September 2 this year, and completed the license replacement on September 29, adding the filing number of the large model it carries.

The filing numbers of the large models carried by this device are: Shanghai-AppleZhiNeng-202506160057, Shanghai-TongYiWanXiang-202410090024, ZheJiang-TongYiQianWen-20230901, corresponding to Apple Intelligence, Tongyi Wanxiang and Tongyi Qianwen respectively.

The landing of Apple Intelligence in China coincides with the launch of Double 11 promotion for the iPhone 18 series, which may reshape the product selling points of this flagship model. Before that, when domestic consumers chose to buy iPhones, their focus was mostly on imaging, chips, and system fluency. After the implementation of Apple Intelligence, end-side AI capabilities such as AI writing, one-click photo erasure, and real-time translation will become the core plus points of the iPhone 18 series.

However, some market voices believe that the first batch of online functions is limited, and the lack of Siri AI may make the effect of stimulating the willingness to replace mobile phones less than expected. Many users will wait and see, and decide whether to buy a new phone after the full AI capabilities are implemented.

In the just-passed third quarter, Omdia data shows that the overall market demand for smartphones in Chinese Mainland is still weak. Huawei shipped 12.4 million units, ranking first in China with a 21% market share; Apple shipped 11.6 million units, up 15% year-on-year, accounting for 20% of the market share, ranking second. Only Huawei and Apple among the top five brands achieved positive growth.

The capital market is also continuously paying attention to Apple's dynamics. As of the pre-market trading session on October 14 US Eastern Time, Apple's share price was at $342.96, up 0.5%, with a total market value exceeding $5.01 trillion, and it rose 0.73% in pre-market trading on October 15. Apple has also become the second listed company with a market value exceeding $5 trillion after NVIDIA.

This article is from "Jiemian News", reporter: Song Jianan, 36Kr is published with authorization.