Apple Inc. [NASDAQ: AAPL] shares edged approximately 1% higher on May 15 after reports confirmed the company had quietly cut prices on certain iPhone 17 models in China ahead of the country’s annual 618 shopping festival, a strategic move designed to capture additional market share during the year’s second major consumer electronics sales event.

The cuts went live on Chinese e-commerce platforms JD.com and Tmall, with Apple’s official storefronts applying a direct 1,000 yuan, or approximately $138, discount on iPhone 17 Pro series models, bringing some configurations to their lowest price point since the device’s launch.

The standard iPhone 17 also received its first notable promotional markdown, with some configurations available for approximately 4,499 yuan, or around $622, depending on trade-in values and platform promotions, a level that puts the device comfortably under the 6,000 yuan threshold for China’s national smartphone trade-in subsidy, which provides up to 15% off qualifying purchases.

Qualifying for the government subsidy threshold is strategically important because it means customers purchasing those iPhone models can receive both Apple’s promotional price reduction and the state-backed subsidy, combining to make the total cost of ownership substantially lower than the base retail price suggests.

Apple has demonstrated meaningful success in China with the iPhone 17 cycle, with China-made EV equivalent smartphone shipments rising 20% year-over-year in Q1 2026 according to Counterpoint Research, even as the broader Chinese smartphone market declined 4% in the same period, suggesting Apple is gaining share in a contracting market.

According to Google Finance data, AAPL was trading around $298-300, near all-time highs, having rallied sharply from its February and March lows as concerns about US-China trade tensions eased and the company’s fiscal second-quarter results revealed record-breaking iPhone revenue and Services growth.

Bank of America reiterated a positive stance on Apple in recent notes, describing the stock as the “highest quality name” in its coverage universe and expressing continued confidence in the company’s resilience across Services growth and its product cycle trajectory.

Competition remains intense in the premium China smartphone segment, with Huawei holding a 20% market share, above Apple’s 19% in recent tracking data, and local manufacturers BYD, Xiaomi, and Geely continuing to aggressively bundle advanced driver-assistance and AI features into their devices at competitive price points.