As Apple Inc. lowers iPhone prices in China, many Chinese mobile phone brands have raised the costs of their products, with the price of many now exceeding 5,000 yuan (about $745.2), Hunan-based Xiaoxiang Morning Herald reported on March 7.

On March 5, reporters from the Morning Herald arrived in Wu Yi Square, the commercial center of Changsha, capital of central China’s Hunan Province, to visit an outlet of Suning Group, one of China’s largest retailers, where crowds were gathered around the counters of China’s mobile phone brands including Huawei and Xiaomi.

“My old mobile phone was Huawei’s flagship smartphone, which only cost me about 2,000 yuan. Now when I want to buy a high-end flagship mobile phone from a domestic company such as Huawei or OPPO, I need to spend between 4,000 and 5,000 yuan,” said a female citizen surnamed Wang as she chose a new mobile phone.

“I’ve been using an iPhone for two years, and I’m planning to buy myself a new phone. Since many people I know are using Huawei, I came to take a look at their products, only to find that the prices of Huawei’s Mate20 Pro series are over 5,000 yuan,” explained a woman surnamed Su.

“In the past, we could buy a pretty good domestic mobile phone for 2,000 yuan, while today, most mainstream domestic models are sold for more than 4,000 yuan,” a customer surnamed Zheng told the Morning Herald.

According to sources, the cheapest phone in Huawei’s mate20 Pro series came in at 5,399 yuan, while the lowest price of OPPO’s FindX series and Vivo's NEX Dual Display Edition stood at 4,999 yuan and 4,998 yuan respectively.

In contrast, Apple has started a price cut in China. China’s major e-commerce platforms including JD.com, Tmall, and Suning.com have all joined the money-off promotions for the iPhone.

On March 5, Morning Herald reporters noted that the prices of iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus were sold for 3,999 yuan and 4,799 yuan respectively on JD.com, while the two products on Apple’s official website cost 5,099 yuan and 5,999 yuan.

Moreover, Suning.com also announced significant price cuts on iPhone products on its official Weibo account. The iPhone XR 128GB only cost 5,799 yuan on Suning.com, 1,200 yuan less than the price shown on Apple’s official website.

Statistics suggested that Apple’s iPhone revenue fell by 26.7 percent in China during the fourth quarter of last year, with iPhone sales volume accounting for just 8.4 percent of total mobile phones sales. In contrast, Chinese mobile phone brands including Huawei, OPPO, Vivo, and Xiaomi held an overall proportion of 77 percent of the domestic market during the same period.

Industry insiders noted that domestic mobile phone brands have been making constant breakthroughs, transforming themselves from followers into leaders in 2018. Now that China’s domestic mobile phone brands account for most of the market share in China, they have a greater say in the market.

According to an executive of Suning.com, the price rise of domestic mobile phones is the result of three factors.

First, influenced by exchange rates, some imported components and parts of domestic mobile phones are more expensive than they were before.

Second, the quality of domestic mobile phones is continually improving.

Third, as the living standard increases in China alongside consumption upgrading, Chinese people can enjoy the experiences brought by high-technology and high-level consumption.