Rising memory prices forcing vendor price increases dragged China's smartphone sales down 13% during the annual 618 shopping festival, despite Apple's aggressive iPhone promotions.


The annual 618 shopping festival, centered on June 18, is one of China's biggest retail events and a key sales period for smartphone makers. Counterpoint Research said higher memory costs left manufacturers with less room to offer deep discounts during the shopping event.

Apple outperformed most major smartphone brands during the 618 shopping festival despite a market slowdown. The company began promotions about one month before 618, offering up to CNY 2,000 ($294.97) in discounts and trade-in incentives on the iPhone 17 Pro lineup.

The promotions helped Apple climb to the No. 2 spot in China's smartphone market during the shopping period.


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