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

US tech giant Apple is offering discounts of up to 1,000 yuan (US$144) on selected products to customers in mainland China, the latest promotion from the iPhone maker ahead of an expected holiday shopping wave and heightened competition from local rivals.

Promoted as a limited-time Lunar New Year offer, Apple said buyers of iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus from its mainland China website and official stores between January 24 and 27 would receive the discounts, which also applied to some MacBook, iPad, Apple Watch and AirPods models.

It is Apple’s second major promotion in less than a month, following discounts of up to 800 yuan on selected products from January 4 to 7.

Apple rolled out the promotions to counter declining monthly sales by capitalising on the Lunar New Year shopping period, according to Ivan Lam, senior analyst at consultancy Counterpoint.

Lam said sales had fallen month on month in the fourth quarter of 2025, despite Apple leading the Chinese smartphone market with a 22 per cent share in the period, thanks to strong demand for its newly launched iPhone 17 lines.

Apple was followed by Oppo, Vivo, Huawei and Xiaomi in terms of market share in the period.