A recent report revealed that iPhone shipments to China are down by 22%. This more or less echoes what Apple’s CEO Tim Cook said when he acknowledged the weakening demand for the iPhone, which seemed to be extra prevalent in China. However it seems that sales for the iPhone in China could be on the rise again.
According to local publication Feng.com (via AppleInsider), it seems that sales of the iPhone have risen by 83% between 11th January and 30th January based on the sales figures of two online retailers. This is apparently said to be due to the price cuts that Apple has made to the iPhone in China which we had previously heard about.
Apple’s iPhones aren’t cheap and the increasing prices are certainly not helping the company win over any fans. Even Cook had previously conceded that price was one of the factors behind declining upgrades where he had also hinted that Apple could be looking to revise the pricing of the iPhone in select markets whose currency might have weakened considerably against the dollar.
If this latest report is any accurate, then it looks like by reducing the prices of the iPhone, Apple could help drum up more sales. Naturally this would mean a smaller profit margin compared to if they were sold at their recommended retail price, but perhaps Apple could make up for it in volume instead.