iPhone 8 price tag dampens enthusiasm in China

Apple Inc will launch an expected iPhone 8 on Tuesday, hoping the number’s auspicious connotations in China will help turn around fortunes in the world’s biggest smartphone market.

The latest model is tipped to have a price tag upward of $1,000, compared with less than $800 for the top-end iPhone 7 Plus. 

That is unlikely to make a major dent in US sales, analysts say, but could have a greater impact in China, where the cost is roughly double the average Chinese monthly salary.

The success of Apple’s next iPhone in China is crucial for the Cupertino-based firm, which has seen its once-coveted phone slip into fifth position in China behind offerings from local rivals Huawei Technologies Co Ltd, Oppo, Vivo and Xiaomi Inc.

Greater China, which for Apple includes Taiwan and Hong Kong, accounted for roughly 18 percent of iPhone sales in the quarter ended in July, making it the company’s top market after the United States and Europe. Yet those sales have been declining steadily and are down 10 percent from a year earlier, in contrast with growth in all other regions.

And the iPhone’s share of China’s smartphone shipments fell to 9 percent in January-June, down from 14 percent in 2015, showed data from consultancy Counterpoint Research.

While the iPhone 6 took China by storm in 2014, models since have received a more muted response.

“I’ll wait for a drop in price, it’s too expensive,” said Angie Chen, 23, a project manager in Nanjing and iPhone 6 owner

“Apple really needs to launch a very innovative product this time around,” said Mo Jia, Shanghai-based analyst at Canalys. 

The iPhone 7 suffered from the perception that it was too similar to earlier models. 

This time, despite talk of wireless charging, advanced touch screen and facial recognition technology, Chinese netizens are yet to replicate the online mania around previous iPhone launches.

Mentions of iPhone 8 on popular Chinese social media platform Weibo - an indicator of consumer interest - were running slightly ahead of the similar period before the iPhone 7 launch, but were far more muted than with the iPhone 6.

Apple declined to comment on the new phone, price or supply.