Apple unveiled a new red version of the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus to support the AIDS charity (Red). The (PRODUCT)RED Special Edition iPhone 7 will go on sale worldwide later this week, but its red branding does apply to all regions.
Why no AIDS charity branding in China?
In China, the iPhone is seen as a status symbol, so a special edition iPhone holds big potential when it comes to sales. However, the red iPhone is not being promoted there using the (PRODUCT)RED branding.
According to TechCrunch, a few shoppers noticed the differences between the promotion of the red iPhone on Apple’s China website and Taiwan website. The China website had the picture of the red smartphone with the usual name, whereas the Taiwan website had the picture and the name (Product) RED. However, other details like the launch date and time are the same on both sites, suggesting that the red iPhone is being promoted in China just as an additional color option.
A possible reason the RED charity branding is not being promoted in China could be because sex is still a controversial and sensitive topic in the country “where traditional values frequently clash with more liberal Western attitudes as its economic boom increasingly opens it to outside influence,” suggests MacRumors.
Apple, which has already been involved in too much political controversy, may want to stay clear of any other controversy it might get dragged into.
Not the first RED device from Apple
Apple’s red iPhone will go on sale in about 40 countries on Friday (Ordering will open at 08:01 a.m. Pacific/11:01 a.m. Eastern). There have been rumors about a red iPhone for a long time, but no one knew it would come to support a cause as well. If you think this is the first time that Apple has released a red device to support the AIDS charity, you are wrong. The company has been working with RED for a decade now, and its first RED device was an iPod.
Since then, the U.S. firm has released several Apple accessories and Beats headphones to support the AIDS charity, increase awareness about it and generate additional donations. The purchase of each Apple AIDS Charity Branding product includes a small contribution to the charity. So far, the tech giant has assisted in raising more than $130 million through the sale of RED products.
