According to research from analysts at Jefferies, Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) is offering deeper discounts in China for the 618 shopping day festival.
The firm said 618 pre-sales on JD and Tmall started on May 20, with a three to six percentage point increase in discounts on the iPhone 15 series compared to the 14 series last year.
Apple is offering deeper discounts to defend its market share in the country. Rising competition and slowing demand are said to have recently impacted the company.
"Tmall (store officially run by Apple) and JD both offer similar discounts (16%-24%) for iPhone 15P/PM, but Tmall discounts are more aggressive than JD on 15/15+," said Jefferies.
"We estimate the average discount on iPhone 15 Pro is ~5ppt higher than last year (on 14 Pro), while for 15PM the average discount is ~3ppt higher. For 15/15+, Tmall discounts are 5-6ppt higher than last year," analysts added.
Jefferies believes Apple needs to aggressively defend its market share. Analysts noted that Android and Huawei flagship models have some promotions, but discounts are limited, indicating healthy demand.