Apple set to slash the prices of some of its products in China... for a limited time

Apple is cutting its prices. Now that is a sentence you don’t hear very often. The Cupertino company is better known for raising its prices than for giving customers discounts… especially directly.

Well, this is exactly what is about to happen in China. Apple has announced that it will be reducing the prices of a number of its products, including the iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro Max as well as related accessories like the AirPods Pro and some Apple Watch models.

This information was first published in a notice on Apple’s official website in China and has since been covered in an article by Bloomberg. The decision marks an unexpected turn in Apple’s pricing policy.

Apple is known for keeping the prices of its iPhones stable in-between generations and rarely alters them mid-release cycle. This move comes less than 2 months before the launch of the successor of the aforementioned smartphones - the iPhone 14 lineup.

Notably, however, because the iPhone 13 Pro series features the same processor as the one that will reportedly be powering the iPhone 14 non-Pro models, consumers will now have further incentive to get the former.

In order to benefit from the exclusive offer customers have to use one of the eligible payment platforms. For the iPhone 13 Pro lineup, users can get up to 600 yuan off the usual price (the equivalent of about $90). The discount will be available only between July 29th and August 1st.

This is the second time this year Apple has changed the prices of its newest iPhones abroad. A couple of weeks ago, the American tech giant decided to increase the price of some iPhone and iPad models in Japan.

The Chinese price cut, albeit unexpected, could be a strategic decision on Apple’s part. With the next quarterly earnings report fast approaching, most investors expect to see a slowdown in Apple’s sales growth in China. This discount is too little, too late, but could nonetheless be some form of belated reaction.