The following is from IDC:
The following is from IDC:
In the early morning of September 8, 2022, Beijing time, the new generation of iPhone 14 series will meet us earlier than previous generations. Compared with previous generations of products, Apple seems to show more sincerity this time, and the regular version and Pro version have made different targeted improvements. As we all know, the Chinese mobile phone market in 2022 is facing relatively big challenges. But the high-end mobile phone market has been less affected by comparison. According to IDC data, in the first half of 2022, the market share of high-end mobile phones above US$600 in China reached 13.3%, which is 1.0 and 3.8 percentage points higher than that in the same period in 2021 and 2020, respectively. The high-end mobile phone market has become a battleground for all companies. The changes in the appearance of the iPhone 14 series and the improvement of images are expected to become the most attractive selling points for the iPhone series in recent years. Coupled with other different upgrades, it can help Apple to consolidate or even continue to improve its advantages in the high-end mobile phone market in the face of the impact of various high-end Android models.
First, the appearance changes: the screen size increases and the “Smart Island” design
For a long time, the iPhone mini series can be said to be very loud online, but there are not many people who actually pay for it. Therefore, in the current sluggish mobile phone market, cut off a small-screen product line that cannot bring practical benefits, and pick up the large-screen strategy that worked well before. The slogan “See you on the screen” is not only in line with mature business operation logic, but also brings more beautiful sales results. After all, an iPhone with a larger screen but a relatively cheap price can meet the needs of more consumers. Therefore, IDC predicts that in the next 5 years of iPhone shipments, the share of “6.5<7" large-screen products will increase from 21.6% in 2022 to 25.7% in 2023, and the share will exceed 30% in 2026. More importantly, for ordinary consumers, the external changes of the product are more easily perceived, and the improvement of the recognition rate can also arouse the desire to buy. Therefore, for consumers with more adequate budgets, the "Smart Island" design of the Pro version can not only expand the screen ratio, display more information and content, and present new interactive methods; the appearance has changed the design language since the iPhone X. , will also attract more consumers' attention and interest, and then stimulate more consumer demand.
Second, the main camera pixel has been improved, and the imaging capability has been further upgraded
In recent years, the pixels of the main camera of mobile phones have been continuously improved, from 48 million pixels, 50 million pixels, 64 million pixels, to 100 million pixels, and even 200 million pixel Android phones have been launched. According to IDC data, as of 2022Q2, the share of products with main camera pixels exceeding 48 million pixels in China’s smartphone market has reached 59%, and the share of mobile phones with 13-14 million pixels has also reached 26%. Among Android competing brands, high-end flagship and mid-range product lines generally use 48-megapixel and higher main cameras, and low-end models also mainly use 13-megapixel main cameras. Although relying on powerful algorithms, the image experience is excellent, but only Apple still insists on the 12-megapixel main camera starting from the iPhone 6s, even the iPhone 13 Pro Max, which starts at nearly 10,000 yuan, is the only mainstream manufacturer on the market. But this year’s iPhone 14 Pro series has finally been upgraded to a 48-megapixel main camera lens, and its imaging capabilities have ushered in a major upgrade. For ordinary consumers, the higher pixel upgrade of the main camera means a more intuitive improvement in the shooting and recording capabilities of mobile phones, which can bring a better image experience. In fact, the upgrade of camera functions in recent generations of iPhones has gradually shifted to the video field, especially the movie mode brought by the iPhone 13 series last year, which has further lowered the threshold for professional video shooting. This year, the iPhone 14 Pro series began to support 4K video shooting at 24 frames per second, making the iPhone continue to be the benchmark for video creation tools.
Finally, Apple still has obvious advantages in China’s high-end mobile phone market
Under the impact of uncontrollable factors that began in the second half of 2020, the top Android manufacturers were absent, and Apple’s share in China’s high-end mobile phone market above US$600 has been bullish until the end of 2021. The highest share in the past three years is 76.9%. Beginning in 2022, other leading Android manufacturers continue to invest in high-end flagship models, whether it is self-developed chips, folding screens, or images, etc., the effect is beginning to show, product competitiveness continues to improve, and the market share begins to rebound to 30.5%, but The gap with Apple is still large.
IDC believes that the severe economic environment will continue to affect consumer budget spending, and it is unlikely that the domestic smartphone market will see much improvement in 2022. However, products that can bring a differentiated experience can still impress consumers and drive consumers to switch. Even the iPhone 14, which plays the main role in shipments, still has problems such as using the previous-generation chip, does not support high refresh rates, and has a slow charging speed for the whole system, but the launch of the Plus model with a larger screen size and the appearance of “Smart Island” The major changes in the iPhone 14 series, the continuous improvement of the image experience, and the new color matching of the body will make the upgrade of the iPhone 14 series more intuitive for consumers. In particular, the price of the low-storage version of the whole series remains unchanged, which is likely to trigger a certain wave of replacements, which will continue to consolidate or enhance Apple’s advantages in the high-end mobile phone market in China.
However, with the long-term investment of major domestic Android manufacturers in the high-end line, including products, services, channels and brands, the competitiveness of Android mobile phones in the high-end market will be significantly improved. In addition, more and more Android manufacturers and the supply chain have started in-depth cooperation from the technology pre-research stage. The model of sharing investment and risk has gradually become common, and some underlying technologies have become more open, with more and more customization and differentiation. Varied products are emerging. Through more time accumulation, from quantitative change to qualitative change, Android mobile phones are expected to gradually gain a firm foothold in the high-end market, which will further impact Apple’s dominant position in the future, and the competition in the high-end mobile phone market will become more intense.Return to Sohu, see more
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