Apple has incessantly faced overwhelming odds against local brands like Huawei, Xiaomi, and others in China, and there’s an ongoing belief that customers would pick these Android devices over an overseas company to fuel the nationalist sentiment. However, slap on a discount on the latest iPhone 17 lineup and see how that exact sentiment changes.
Leading up to China’s “618” shopping festival, which is the region’s second-largest e-commerce sales event, price cuts on various Apple handsets have resulted in millions of activations, according to one tipster. The data shows that consumers will pick value over everything else, especially when there’s an excellent deal just waiting to be plucked.
Out of 30 million activations, the iPhone 17 Pro Max unsurprisingly garnered the lion’s share, followed by the base iPhone 17
Bear in mind that the 618 shopping festival has yet to start, and with up to a $368 off applied on various iPhone 17 models, Weibo’s Digital Chat Station states that 30 million activations have already been recorded. We’ve previously reported that the base iPhone 17 registered 30 million activations in China, hinting at why Apple may not be in a hurry to launch its immediate successor, the iPhone 18.
To no one’s surprise, during these past few days, the iPhone 17 Pro Max accumulated the most popularity amongst buyers, recording 13.2 million activations, followed by the base iPhone 17 at 9.16 million, and lastly, the iPhone 17 Pro came in at third place with 7.8 million activations. What’s interesting to note is that the tipster didn’t share any data for the iPhone Air, which has received the highest discounted model from Apple’s current lineup in China during the sale period.
These numbers should be incredibly worrisome for the Cupertino firm’s local competitors, as rising RAM prices have forced every Android smartphone manufacturer to raise prices, adversely affecting demand. Apple’s insane buying power means that it was able to secure an adequate DRAM supply from various memory makers, but with its stockpile running out, Apple may eventually throw in the towel and introduce a price hike.
For now, the discounts on the iPhone 17 will continue to attract buyers, and it’s not just the price reductions that have consumers flocking towards these models, but the value they get in return. The iPhone 17 Pro Max is Apple’s premier offering, offering top-notch performance with its A19 Pro chip, not to mention insane battery life that even smartphones with silicon-carbon batteries can’t match.
The base iPhone 17 is Apple’s ‘price to performance’ king thanks to being the first non-Pro iPhone to ship with a high refresh rate LTPO OLED screen, along with an A19 SoC, 8GB RAM, and double the base storage at 256GB. The California-based giant certainly unveiled a stacked lineup last year, and to see these devices maintain their popularity is a commendable feat.
News Source: Digital Chat Station
About the author: Omar Sohail is a reporter and analyst for Wccftech's mobile section, specializing in the technology and business of the mobile industry. His expertise lies in the intricate hardware supply chain, covering developments in semiconductor manufacturing, chip lithography, and camera sensor technology.
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