Apple slashes prices for Lunar New Year as competition heats up in mainland China

South China Morning PostCenter-RightEN 1 min read 100% complete by Ben JiangJanuary 22, 2026 at 10:01 AM

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Apple is offering discounts of up to 1,000 yuan (US$144) on select products in mainland China from January 24-27, 2026, as part of a Lunar New Year promotion. The discounts apply to iPhone 16 and 16 Plus models, as well as some MacBooks, iPads, Apple Watches, and AirPods purchased through Apple's website and official stores in mainland China. This is Apple's second major promotion in January, following earlier discounts from January 4-7. The promotions aim to boost sales during the Lunar New Year shopping period amid increasing competition from local smartphone rivals like Oppo, Vivo, Huawei and Xiaomi. Despite leading the Chinese smartphone market with a 22% share in Q4 2025, Apple experienced a month-on-month sales decline.

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Huawei 40% MacBook 40% iPad 40% Apple Watch 40% AirPods 40% Oppo 40% Counterpoint 50% iPhone 17 50% iPhone 16 ×260% Ivan Lam 60% China ×380% Apple ×790%

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