![](https://cdn.i-scmp.com/sites/default/files/styles/768x768/public/d8/images/canvas/2024/05/20/0d8bddee-a8ef-409d-87ab-0cd203ccc42e_42e6ba5a.jpg?itok=bin7dHNN&v=1716193957)
Apple slashes prices of iPhone 15 models to new low in China amid heated competition in world’s largest smartphone market
- Mainland online retailers JD.com and Alibaba’s Tmall on Monday started offering deeper discounts on iPhone 15 models
- The aggressive price cuts on the two major online platforms show the lengths being taken by Apple to boost domestic demand for its flagship product
The basic 128GB iPhone 15 model, meanwhile, now costs 23 per cent less at 4,599 yuan, down from its previous price of 5,999 yuan, on both JD.com and Tmall. The sale runs from May 20 to 28, according to the two platforms.
Apple’s mainland online Apple Store, however, kept the recent prices of iPhone 15 models unchanged. The company did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Monday.
![A large iPhone 15 Pro advertisement is displayed on a large screen at the Apple Store in Wangfujing Street in Beijing. Photo: Shutterstock](https://cdn.i-scmp.com/sites/default/files/d8/images/canvas/2024/05/20/c0927636-8592-46a9-879d-d9d183baf7be_2da5d53d.jpg)
![People check out various iPhone 15 models at Apple’s launch event in the firm’s headquarters in Cupertino, California, on September 12, 2023. Photo: AP](https://cdn.i-scmp.com/sites/default/files/d8/images/canvas/2024/05/20/c3bc3a0f-7742-4362-a25b-7a4deec07814_324af5b0.jpg)
Still, the recent iPhone discount drives appear to have helped Apple. Shipments of foreign-branded smartphones in March grew 12 per cent from the same period last year, according to data published earlier this month by the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology earlier this month. The state-run academy did not identify the brand, but the bulk of foreign handsets sold on the mainland are from Apple.
![](https://assets-v2.i-scmp.com/production/_next/static/media/wheel-on-gray.af4a55f9.gif)