The iPhone XR gets discounted in Apple's stronghold Japan, as more users buy the 8 or 8 Plus
Over the weekend, and just as rumored last week, the iPhone XR's carrier pricing in Japan went from 36,000 yen ($317) to 24,000 yen ($211). Needless to say, these are the subsidized tags with a contract, so essentially Apple's phone price has been indirectly lowered by increasing subsidies by NTT DoCoMo, Japan's largest carrier.
If the others follow suit, the synchronized nature of the discount would hint at some coordination with Apple's local reps, aiming to stave off tepid iPhone XR sales. Given that Japan is Apple's stronghold in the region, and its market share there is larger than that in the US, a move to keep that position is rather explicable.
Unconvinced by the notch and Face ID's virtues, the Japanese users are reportedly getting an iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus when they upgrade, rather than the XS or XR models.
That trend is seemingly universal, as plenty of analysts already lowered their buoyant sales targets for the XR, while the 8 and 8 Plus assemblers are churning out handsets like iOS navigation gestures never happened.
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