Steep price cut (more than $100) in China on Apple's iPhone14 Pro Model.

Apple Inc.’s latest iPhones are selling at discounts of more than $100 in China, an unusually steep price cut just months after launch that suggests dwindling demand for even its highest-end devices. JD.com Inc. and state carrier China Mobile Ltd. are among the retailers taking 800 yuan ($118) off the iPhone 14 Pro range over 11 days. Retailers in the southern electronics hub of Shenzhen have also begun cutting prices for the same handsets by 700 yuan, the official China Securities Journal reported after visiting outlets around the city. Apple’s own local website, meanwhile, continued to offer devices at regular prices. The discounting emerged around the end of the Lunar New Year season, when retailers gear up for a holiday shopping spree before schools reopen. While it’s unclear how long the cuts may persist, they point to weak demand in the world’s largest smartphone arena just as Apple is counting on a recovery in China. Unusually, the roughly 7% to 9% discounts on the iPhone Pro range mirrored bargains offered on lower-end models, which typically get cut first. “The discount seems bigger than what we found in January, which was 3%-4%,” Jefferies analysts led by Edison Lee wrote in a Sunday research note. “We see that as a sign of weak demand.”