Apple cut prices on iPhones in early and late February to ensure that iPhone sales got back on track and to clean out inventory. With calendar Q1 / Fiscal Q2 over, Apple wasted no time in putting iPhones back on sale to get the quarter rolling right-out-of-the-gate. Reports claim that Apple has cut prices on the iPhone, iPad and AirPods by about 6%, though part of that is from a new tax reduction that kicked in on April first.

CNBC reports that "Apple has cut prices for several of its most important products on its official Chinese online store by nearly 6 percent. The price cuts affect products including iPhones, iPads, Macs and AirPods, according to Apple's online store in China."

Monday's price cut may be in response to a recent value-added tax cut in China that took affect on April 1. The value-added tax for manufacturers, like Apple, was cut to 13 percent from 16 percent, according to Caixin.

The price cuts can be seen on Apple's website. For example, the entry-level iPhone XR now costs 4299RMB after a trade-in ($630 US) which is still higher than Apple's sale prices in the U.S. at $449 (after maximum trade-in).  The price chart below is from C/Net's report showing list prices before trade-ins.

Earlier today we posted a report showing that Apple's weak spot in China during Q4 came in the $400-$600 range. Chinese OEMs were selling modern smartphones against Apple's aging iPhone 7 and beat them during the holiday quarter. The iPhone XR is a modern iPhone that could better compete in the mid-range category.

About Making Comments on our Site: Patently Apple reserves the right to post, dismiss or edit any comments. Those using abusive language or negative behavior will result in being blacklisted on Disqus.