In the early morning of September 8th, Beijing time, the 2022 Apple autumn new product launch conference with the theme of “super-forward-looking” arrived as scheduled. In the live broadcast, the scene was changed several times, and finally in front of the Apple headquarters building, Apple CEO Cook appeared with the latest generation of Apple products.
At this conference, Apple brought the new iPhone 14 series of mobile phones. Like previous rumors, in this series, Apple canceled the mini model and added the iPhone 14 Plus model, plus the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max, a total of 4 models.
In terms of price, the iPhone 14 starts at 5,999 yuan; the iPhone 14 Plus starts at 6,999 yuan; the iPhone 14 Pro starts at 7,999 yuan; and the iPhone 14 Pro Max starts at 8,999 yuan.
Compared with the iPhone 13 series, the iPhone 14 series has experienced a step-by-step price increase. The Times Weekly reporter found from the price comparison displayed on Apple’s official website that the lowest price of the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Pro national version is the same as the iPhone 13 series, and other models have different price increases for different memory versions, such as the iPhone 14 Pro 256GB version. The price increases by 100 yuan, the 512GB version increases by 300 yuan, and the 1T version has a maximum price increase of 500 yuan.
At the same time, the prices of the existing iPhone 13 series have been reduced, of which the national version of the iPhone 13 and the national version of the iPhone 13 mini have dropped by 500 yuan and 600 yuan respectively, while the iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro Max models are no longer available on the official website. price.
Appointment service has appeared
As early as a few months before the launch, the parameters and design of the iPhone 14 were revealed one after another. In appearance, almost the same as the previously released renderings, the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus still use the previous-generation notch design.
The more obvious changes have occurred on high-end models, with the iPhone 14 Pro featuring a pill-screen design. Apple claims that this design can reduce the footprint by 30% compared to Liu Haiping.
Taking this opportunity of change, the iPhone 14 Pro unlocks a new way of man-machine interaction corresponding to the pill screen – Smart Island. According to reports, the iPhone 14 Pro has designed a highly adaptive new space that can smoothly expand into different forms. Through carefully crafted animations and transitions, it clearly and coherently displays and reminds background activities, bringing a new and intuitive experience.
In terms of performance, the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus use the previous generation A15 bionic processor. The iPhone 14 Pro series is equipped with the new A16 bionic processor, which can reduce power consumption by 20% compared with the A15. It is reported that this processor uses TSMC’s 4nm process technology and has 16 billion transistors.
“There is no doubt that the A16 Bionic is the fastest chip in the history of smartphones, and competitors are still chasing the performance of the A13 chip.” Apple’s relevant person in charge said at the press conference.
It is worth mentioning that the entire iPhone 14 series mentioned in the previous news is expected to support the satellite communication rescue function for the first time, which was also confirmed at the press conference. It is reported that Apple spent two years building custom components and specific software to connect to specific satellite frequencies to help users send messages for rescue. This feature will go live in November, and currently only supports the United States and Canada.
According to the press conference, the iPhone 14, iPhone 14 Pro, and iPhone 14 Pro Max will all be released on September 16, while the iPhone 14 Plus will be released on October 7.
The Times Weekly reporter noticed that a week before the release of the iPhone 14 series, a modern appointment service has already appeared on the market, and the cost is 200-600 yuan.
On a second-hand trading platform, the reporter consulted as a customer, and a person who took orders for the reservation business of JD.com’s official flagship store said, “The cost of the shooting is 299 yuan, and any model can be shot, and the success rate is 90%.” Another person who took orders for Apple’s official website appointment business said that the cost of making an appointment on behalf of the company is 599 yuan, and there is no guarantee of 100% success.
In addition, there are also scalpers who directly told the Times Weekly reporter that the machine will definitely be available on the day it goes on sale. The source of the product comes from corporate orders. There are 10 places in total. The price of the version below 512G will be increased by 500 yuan, and the price of the version above 512G will be increased by 800~1000 yuan.
Source: Times Weekly reporterNew pricing strategy and play style
Unlike last year’s iPhone 13 “increase volume without increasing price” strategy, Apple, which has always positioned itself at the high end, has adopted a new pricing strategy and style this time.
This time, Apple canceled the mini model and replaced it with the iPhone 14 Plus version, which is more expensive, and its starting price is 1,000 yuan higher than the iPhone 14 standard version. In addition, compared with the iPhone 13 series, other models of the iPhone 14 series have also increased in price to varying degrees, which also means that the average selling price of Apple mobile phones in the high-end market has been further raised.
Some industry analysts pointed out that the price increase of the iPhone 14 series may be affected by factors such as the decline in demand for mobile terminals and rising costs in the first half of the year.
According to Apple’s latest financial report, in the third quarter of fiscal year 2022, Apple achieved revenue of US$82.959 billion, a slight increase of 2% year-on-year; net profit was US$19.442 billion, facing a year-on-year decline of more than 10%; among them, the net revenue in Greater China was US$14.604 billion, down 1% year-on-year.
Although the popularity of the iPhone 13 series has lasted for 9 months, in the context of the downturn in the global electronic terminal market, Apple is also unable to survive alone and needs to seek new profit increments.
On September 8, Major General Ding, the founder of Nail Technology, analyzed to a reporter from Times Weekly that Apple adopted ladder pricing. On the other hand, this also reflects Apple’s confidence in its own products and brands, and maintains Apple’s high-end brand tonality.
On the same day, Sun Yanbiao, chairman of Chaodian Think Tank, analyzed to a reporter from Times Weekly that last year, due to Huawei’s absence from the high-end market, Apple gained room for growth and the iPhone 13 series sold well. The 14 series is difficult to replicate the brilliance of the iPhone 13 series.
According to market research firm Counterpoint Research, in the second quarter of this year, sales of high-end smartphones (wholesale prices above $400) increased by 33% over the same period last year. Among them, Apple performed well in the market segment of $1,000 and above, with sales A year-on-year increase of 147%.
It remains to be seen how the iPhone 14 series will go in the future. To be sure, Apple still has strong competitiveness in the high-end market. Major General Ding believes that, as a pioneer in creating an ecological service model integrating software and hardware, Apple can get rid of the quagmire of smartphone price wars in the high-end market.