Apple offers iPhone discounts in China ahead of annual 618 shopping festival

As has been the case since at least 2021, Apple is offering a discounted iPhone in China as part of the country’s 618 shopping festival. Here are the details.

Some models on track to reach lowest prices since launch

In recent years, Apple has joined other major consumer electronics brands in participating in one of China’s largest annual shopping events: the 618 shopping festival.

It is a major mid-year online retail event that began as a JD.com Anniversary Sale and has since expanded across the country’s largest e-commerce platforms.

Last year, Apple offered limited-time trade-in discounts in China during the sales festival, while JD.com and other local online retailers listed iPhone 16 models with discounts of up to 2,530 yuan (around $351 at the time).

This would have helped Apple reverse its earlier sales decline in the country. In the first quarter of 2025, Apple had been the only major smartphone supplier to record a drop in shipments in China, but in the second quarter, Canalys data showed iPhone shipments increasing 4% year-over-year.

This year, as reported World Time (via MacMagazine), Apple is starting the 618 shopping festival early, with the iPhone 17 Pro series getting a 1,000 yuan (around $146) price cut starting today.

The report notes that JD.com offers even deeper discounts:

JD.com, one of China’s largest online retailers, showed in its self-operated flagship store of Apple products that after direct discounts and exchange subsidies, some iPhone 17 Pro models could be purchased for as low as 6,999 yuan, the lowest since the series was launched.

The standard iPhone 17, Apple’s latest flagship phone model, also received its first notable price cut since its release, with some versions priced as low as 4,499 yuan after multiple subsidies and trade-in offers.

The report also cites an employee at an Apple store in Beijing who said that “the latest discounts could be combined with trade-in subsidies and promotions on the platform, with some models hitting their lowest prices since launch.”

To read the World Time‘ full report, follow this link.

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