Apple Reportedly Scaling Back iPhone 14 Production as Customers Opt for Pro Models

[applesith]

I'd expect the monthly financing to be a contribution as well. A few hundred dollars doesn't seem like that much more money when it's spread over 12-24 monthly payments vs paying it up front when deciding to upgrade to the Pro.

It's interesting Apple delayed the 14 Plus several weeks after the 14 and Pro & Pro Max. People clamoring for the latest and wanting a largest may have opted for the Max on launch day/week.

 

[TechLord]

The standard line has been completely neutered since the 12. At this point apple could probably gut the standard line up and just keep around the previous years pros. So you’d have the 14 pros and the 13 pros available this year.

 

[AppleTheorist]

Why would I want an iPhone that looks the same and does the same things as last year's model?

 

[Oblivious.Robot]

I was just in the market to get my niece an iPhone upgrade from her XR, and boy was I confused at the number of options for iPhone being sold but the retailers almost felt a bit Samsungy. There's a great Diwali sale going on, where 11, 12, 13 mini, 13, 13 Pro, 13 Pro Max were all on a discount.

I had thought of buying her a 14 or one of the Pros, but a heavily discounted 13 was too good to pass up.

 

[EugW]

I'd expect the monthly financing to be a contribution as well. A few hundred dollars doesn't seem like that much more money when it's spread over 12-24 monthly payments vs paying it up front when deciding to upgrade to the Pro.

It's interesting Apple delayed the 14 Plus several weeks after the 14 and Pro & Pro Max. People clamoring for the latest and wanting a largest may have opted for the Max on launch day/week.

In Canada my carrier has the 14 Pro Max for CA$800 plus monthly payments. It has the 14 Plus for $500 plus monthly payments. That's "only" a CA$300 (US$223) difference, but more importantly it means that those on a budget have to pay 60% more up front to get the Pro Max over the Plus.

That price difference is a very big deal in that context. If your monthly salary is say CA$3000, it's a lot easier to stomach $500 than it is $800.

I was just in the market to get my niece an iPhone upgrade from her XR, and boy was I confused at the number of options for iPhone being sold but the retailers almost felt a bit Samsungy. There's a great Diwali sale going on, where 11, 12, 13 mini, 13, 13 Pro, 13 Pro Max were all on a discount.

I had thought of buying her a 14 or one of the Pros, but a heavily discounted 13 was too good to pass up.

There are good deals on the 13 Pro and 13 Pro Max around, but both have been discontinued. These deals won't be around for long, and thus won't form a large part of this year's iPhone sales statistically.

 

[npmacuser5]

Status symbol! Look at everything produced from cars to house to phones, etc. All about looks and status with very little justification for the added functionality. I have the new iPhone 14. Has everything I need and more. Add nice savings. Good move Apple!

 

[darthbane2k]

What is wrong with giving consumers choice? Not everyone necessarily wants the features/capabilities of a Pro model. Last year, the top selling iPhones were a mix of Pro and non-Pro (as well as sizes except the mini which didn't make the top seven).

Too much choice creates confusion and lack of focus. Steve Jobs knew this. The regular iPhone model being neglected and held back is evidence of this.

 

[smoking monkey]

I'll put my hand up and say I was wrong on this one. I thought the Plus would sell very well. But I didn't take into consideration the DI and the fact that it makes the notch look old. People don't want the notch.

BTW, are the non pro phones based on the screen dimensions of the 13 pro or the 14 pro line? If they gave the plus the 14 pro max screen size you're getting the biggest usable area on any Apple phone to date. The DI eats into the screen lower than the 13P/PM notch.

 

[Tyler O'Bannon]

That's one way to increase prices... Just make the cheaper model less desirable

It’s 2 pronged - push people to the more desirable device, increasing ASP, and have a model that is more affordable to sell more overall devices (sell to people who couldn’t or wouldn’t buy the pro). That’s why they aren’t going back to just 1 model of iPhone.

 

[EugW]

I'll put my hand up and say I was wrong on this one. I thought the Plus would sell very well. But I didn't take into consideration the DI and the fact that it makes the notch look old. People don't want the notch.

BTW, are the non pro phones based on the screen dimensions of the 13 pro or the 14 pro line? If they gave the plus the 14 pro max screen size you're getting the biggest usable area on any Apple phone to date. The DI eats into the screen lower than the 13P/PM notch.

The 14 Plus will sell very well, and way, way, way better than the mini ever did of course. Just not in the first month, especially considering it's not actually even available until October anyway.

 

[TechRemarker]

This is why there should only be one iPhone, just like the old days. Every phone they put out should be a "pro". Just make three sizes, mini, regular, plus.

That would be ideal for us Pro users, who are willing to pay extra for the pro features. But for many others that is too expensive, and they want to any iPhone but for less and don't need the latest and greatest that the rest of us desire. So have to product lines allows to meet both those needs, as well as each year being able to pass down some materials from the pro model to the more affordable models. But yes more skus are certainly more challenging for companies, especially where each has multiple color options and multiple size options etc.

 

[FasterQuieter]

I always judge the cost of my phone by the monthly payment amount, not the full price. When I look at that I end up thinking, what's $10 a month extra? I'll buy less other stuff. Then I get the Pro. Keeping the same chip as last year was the ultimate push to the Pro models.

 

[widestload]

As others have said, just go with one 'flavour' of phone (i.e. the Pro) but with mini, 'regular' and max size options. And some funkier colours.

 

[5105973]

I think majority of the people are into Pro models now. Apple should consider moving the regular iPhone line up during Spring event.

I agree!

And I think they ought to change from ultra wide angle to a 2x zoom. It pains me to say that, because I use the ultra wide lens often. But when I have a phone that lacks a 2x lens option I really feel it when taking portraits. Wide lens isn’t flattering to people or even pets. It makes the nose look bigger and makes everything else seem to recede a bit.

 

[werty1432k]

I sure would love a 15 mini...

 

[gk_brown]

No ****, if you are OK with last year's CPU, just buy last year's phone.

I suspect that most buyers don't know or care what CPU is in their phones.

 

[bayportbob]

if I want a new iPhone I want a new iPhone and not last years model regurgitated with new color case...

 

[Mr. Dee]

Either this intentional on Apple's part or they just read the market wrong.
I predict they are not gonna do this next year and make sure even the standard models get the latest tech. Because its a costly process to maintain two separate product lines as flagship. It would be better all have the same internals to keep cost down and just differentiate on things like storage and screen size.

It wouldn't be surprise me if by early next year we see some significant discounts and aggressive trade in offers just to get people to take all those iPhone 14 and 14 Plus sitting in warehouses.

 

[citysnaps]

That's one way to increase prices... Just make the cheaper model less desirable

Paying more money for a product with additional and better features/specs is hardly a new concept.

As a manufacturer, why in the world would you charge the same amount of money for a device that has more/better features that cost more to produce?

Are there people who really don't understand this?

 

[Black Magic]

The regular iPhone line up is a horrible buy and the same could be said for the pro models this year as well.

iPhone 14 Cons: Very minor improvements over the 13 while the 13 is still on sale.
iPhone 14 Pro Cons: Speed bump that no-one will notice in day to day use. $100 more for an extra lens, promotion, 48 megapixels, and an updated notch?

Apple should uncomplicated the line up and offer Pro model features only on all phones with price differentiation focused on size and storage options.

iPhone Mini
iPhone
iPhone Plus

This stream lines the offerings and manufacturing process.

 

[EugW]

The regular iPhone line up is a horrible buy and the same could be said for the pro models this year as well.

iPhone 14 Cons: Very minor improvements over the 13 while the 13 is still on sale.
iPhone 14 Pro Cons: Speed bump that no-one will notice in day to day use. $100 more for an extra lens, promotion, 48 megapixels, and an updated notch?

Price is $200 more, comparing the Pro models to the same sized non-Pro models.

Apple should uncomplicated the line up and offer Pro model features only on all phones with price differentiation focused on size and storage options.

iPhone Mini
iPhone
iPhone Plus

This stream lines the offerings and manufacturing process.

As mentioned, just about nobody aside from a few enthusiasts want the mini. Sales of the mini were absolutely abysmal.

 

[citysnaps]

Status symbol! Look at everything produced from cars to house to phones, etc. All about looks and status with very little justification for the added functionality. I have the new iPhone 14. Has everything I need and more. Add nice savings. Good move Apple!

Really? Very little justification?

What if someone wants a larger screen because it's easier to read? What if someone is a photographer who makes a ton of photos a year and a 48 Megapixel sensor with ProRaw encoding provides better quality images that will yield better prints? What if someone values the greater battery life a larger battery (in a larger phone) provides?

 

[BC2009]

It IS odd that they continue to sell the 12 and 13, given how similar the 14 is.

The ”photonic engine” differentiation between 13 and 14 should not even exist. It is artificial since the two phones have the same chip both could do the tasks of the photonic engine’s image processing. They just chose not to enable that software on the iPhone 13.

If 13 had photonic engine then the only difference would be crash detection and satellite SOS.

Can you imagine paying $100 more for iPhone 14 to get only those 2 features?

 

[Apleeseed84]

It IS odd that they continue to sell the 12 and 13, given how similar the 14 is.

It’s funny because I keep watching video reviews about the 14 but instead of the 14 pro’s, my search feed keeps giving me the regular 14’s and I keep seeing the pattern on how the only “noticeable” feature is a new color from last years model and i was like huh, some upgrade LOL.

I think majority of the people are into Pro models now. Apple should consider moving the regular iPhone line up during Spring event.

Well they are tricking us into thinking that paying the $200 difference for the entry level pro models is worth it and in some cases it really is!

Amazing that Apple doesn't have the ability to predict that people would want the pro models over the standard models. I'm not marketing genius but I could have predicted this (again).

You would be surprised at their think thank to Be honest, Apple legit thought the Mini’s would sell like hot cakes but nope notice how on this year’s lineup they completely discontinued the mini’s alltogether, they will never say something never works for them they just don’t sell them wouldn’t surprise me if they just start selling regular iphones as pro models and get rid of the regular lineup just because.

 

[Black Magic]

Price is $200 more, comparing the Pro models to the same sized non-Pro models.


As mentioned, just about nobody aside from a few enthusiasts want the mini. Sales of the mini were absolutely abysmal.

The mini could be a limited production run to satisfy that market or maybe the sales weren't there due to it not being feature rich?