This week is all about the iPhone X, Apple’s biggest shakeup of the iPhone line since the first handset was launched a decade ago. So it’s easy to forget this week that Apple launched a brand-new pair of iPhones a month ago.
Reports are already coming in from China that the iPhone 8 is being heavily discounted, way ahead of the usual schedule. Some of the country’s biggest retailers are selling the iPhone 8 for about $150 less than its usual Chinese RRP, hinting at falling demand — and possibly, discounts to come in the US.
The South China Morning Post reports that “major e-commerce platforms” in China are offering big discounts to customers, as iPhone 8 purchases have “run out of steam.” Those discounts are worth around $165, bringing the selling price to $721. That’s still higher than the base price in the US, but this is less about the discount itself, than the fact that retailers are having to discount a brand-new iPhone at all.
Big discounts on the iPhone 8 haven’t come to the US yet, but sales trends like this tend to have a worldwide reach. Even if the demand for the iPhone 8 in the US is a little higher, it’s still possible that aggressive discounts on the iPhone 8 might start rolling out before holiday season.
