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Apple Reportedly 'Seriously' Concerned About iPhone 14 Plus Sales, Looking to Reevaluate iPhone 15 Lineup

Many folks don’t understand a lot of us Mini buyers

I do the bare minimum on my phone, which is basically using it as a phone and messaging device and taking some photos, using CarPlay, listening to podcasts and music and interacting with a few key apps at grocery stores and things like that.

I flat out don’t want to tote around some big heavy $900+ overpowered hunk of glass

Maybe I need an iPhone Air (if Mini branding is off putting)

I need reasonable specs, with good battery life and to run the latest iOS, and that’s about it.

I don’t want to make and edit movies on my phone, nor power my AR headset with it…and I certainly don’t need or want a ray tracing GPU in there. (Like what are we doing here?)
 
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turbineseaplane said:
Oh, don’t get me wrong I would totally prefer USB-C on all of their devices at this point.

I’m just skeptical they are going to do it and they can be so petty when it comes to regulations

In reality, most of the regulation coming down on themis because they didn’t do something themselves sooner
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Well then my first point stands, since phones have largely been the same for a decade I've only really upgraded every few years to update my battery and be able to get the new security updates. I'll just update when I hit those points as usual which is probably more rare than they'd like it to be...USB-C would help speed up the process for a year at least.
 
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I think they should ditch the ultra wide lens on the standard models and replace it with a zoom lens. I don’t know anyone who would prefer the ultra wide over the zoom. Also, stop artificially limiting features through software. If the internals can support it, offer it. Artificially limiting a phone to reduced feature sets looks greedy and shows you’re not innovating your hardware enough YoY. And I think people who want a big display also want 120Hz refresh. Add that to the standard lineup.
 
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krspkbl said:
as long as they don't bring back the mini...

they should just do SE / 15 / Pro / Ultra

if you want a small phone get the SE. the SE shouldn't be a yearly release. maybe every 2 years.
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The mini is only slightly smaller than the SE, with a much larger screen.

If anything, they should keep the mini, and get rid of the SE. The SE is just large enough to not be comfortable to use with one hand.
 
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SkippyThorson said:
  • iPhone Mini - Aluminum, 5.4”
  • iPhone Pro - Steel, 6.1”
  • iPhone Ultra - Titanium, 6.7”
All models should have the same cameras, storage options and core features. Battery life would be tiered appropriately.

—

Apple needs to simplify things. The iPhone lineup (and its pricing structure) is becoming as convoluted and idiotic as the iPad(s).

Jobs did marketing right. Cook’s strategy of product ranges is horrendously messy.
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I can't like this twice and that makes me sad.

This is the solution. Hit your price segmentation and market segmentation all at once. Simplify the lineup and provide real options to your customer base. Stop trying to trick us into buying "features" and sell us what we want in the package that suits our needs.
 
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"The ‌iPhone 14‌ Plus is the newest addition to the ‌iPhone‌ lineup and replaces the 5.4-inch mini ‌iPhone‌."

WTF does this even mean? How does the 14 Plus 'replace' the mini iPhone? I mean, one has been introduced and the other discontinued, but that doesn't equate to one 'replacing' the other. Who writes/edits these articles?
 
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heystu said:
Apple needs to stop trying to milk its fanbase - just give us a really decent iPhone 15, not Pro, not Plus, not Mini or anything else - hark back to the days of Steve Jobs - there was just one iPhone (okay already it had differing storage options...)
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Agreed! Not to mention the fact that phones have gotten SO expensive. I'm not really interested in being in a long-term contract with any of the cell phone carriers, and I just can't justify spending $1000 every year for the latest and greatest technology when (in the grand scheme of things) it's really only marginally better than the previous model.
 
williamkey123 said:
I think there should be 4 to 5 models:
iPhone Ultra - the absolute newest tech in a large screen device

iPhone Pro Max - previous year's Ultra tech with this year's A series processor
iPhone Pro - same, but with a mid-size screen
iPhone Pro Mini - same, but with a small screen if possible

iPhone - previous year's processor and whatever previous year Ultra tech they can mass produce
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I'm thinking it should be:

iPhone Mini ($699)
iPhone ($799)
iPhone Plus ($899)

All should have the same specs minus battery with the differentiation being the size. They all would sell like hot cakes and would ease manufacturing and supply chain issues.
 
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heystu said:
Apple needs to stop trying to milk its fanbase - just give us a really decent iPhone 15, not Pro, not Plus, not Mini or anything else - hark back to the days of Steve Jobs - there was just one iPhone (okay already it had differing storage options...)
Click to expand...

It’s the exact opposite under current leadership. As long as there’s a dollar to be made, Tim’s game.
 
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really can’t help but laugh at Apple here. having the 6 and 6 Plus made sense before they fragmented into Pro/non-Pro models. who the f—k is gonna pay for a bigger 14 when they can get the 14PM for dumb cheap with the deals carriers are giving?

oh, on that note—Apple’s trade-in values are a joke. don’t ever fall for that scam.

I genuinely hope this is selling worse than the mini so they just bring it back. I’ve never met a person that bought a mini and wasn’t in love with it. I’ve met…zero people that have bought a 14 Plus.
 
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So, the 12/13 mini didn't work, and they pivoted to the 14 Plus. Now, the 14 Plus didn't work, so where does Apple go from here? Go back to the 3 SKU lineup? iPhone 15, iPhone 15 Pro, and iPhone 15 Pro Max?
 
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phenste said:
really can’t help but laugh at Apple here. having the 6 and 6 Plus made sense before they fragmented into Pro/non-Pro models. who the f—k is gonna pay for a bigger 14 when they can get the 14PM for dumb cheap with the deals carriers are giving?

oh, on that note—Apple’s trade-in values are a joke. don’t ever fall for that scam.

I genuinely hope this is selling worse than the mini so they just bring it back. I’ve never met a person that bought a mini and wasn’t in love with it. I’ve met…zero people that have bought a 14 Plus.
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Yea even the normal Carrier values are junk. It's just the ones where they lock you in by giving installment credits that are good amounts.
 
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Apple_Jacks said:
I can't like this twice and that makes me sad.

This is the solution. Hit your price segmentation and market segmentation all at once. Simplify the lineup and provide real options to your customer base. Stop trying to trick us into buying "features" and sell us what we want in the package that suits our needs.
Click to expand...

Likewise! The “features” upsell is just as insulting to customers as it is in the car market; maybe even more so in the tech industry where more discerning customers are keen to the gimmick. Expanding on my original post:

  • iPhone Mini - Aluminum, 5.4”, $499
  • iPhone Pro - Steel, 6.1” $799
  • iPhone Ultra - Titanium, 6.7”, $1,099
Natural upsell happens at the crossover point between the highest storage tier and the lowest cost of the next model. iPhone SE and home button is eliminated.

Mini is marketed in its place and also becomes the core carrier subsidy model. Pro Max is dropped as a name entirely. Each new model size has its own name.
 
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None of this should come as a surprise to Apple. This is what happens when you continue to grow your product line to get as many straddlers as they can. You get to a point in a product where it becomes diminishing returns. There's only so much you can do with a smartphone or tablet.

The other problem Apple has is their pricing strategy. The line up of phones gets too close to each other and just confuses the buyer. They have been doing that even longer with the iPad. The iPhone line up is even worse when you consider they not only sell the iPhone 14 Pro and Plus but the iPhone 13, iPhone 12 and the iPhone SE.

Then if you are like me that thinks okay maybe the iPhone 14 Plus is the way to go, then I look at the price and say to myself, just another $200 and I can have the Pro Max. The other problem I find is that besides the Pro series, you have to pay an extra $30 to buy it unlocked. So within 30 minutes of trying to figure out which phone is the best bang for the buck, I just leave and decide not to buy anything.
 
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Bring back the iPhone mini or similar
no one asked for the entry phone but with a bigger screen, if your going to pay more for the bigger screen you may as well buy a Pro but normal size screen.
A 15 mini or even better a 15 mini pro would be a great option.

I'm going to keep my 13 mini as long as I can until Apple bring a similar form factor phone out.
 
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They should just go back to one iPhone model (in two screen sizes) that was THE flagship of the year with the latest and greatest. Continue to sell previous year's iPhone at a discount. And have an SE for the low end that refreshes every 2-3 years (and maybe make THAT have a mini version for those that want the smallest, simplest iPhone for just calls, texts, and some apps).

Would be the best in terms of reuse of parts, the environment, ease of choice, and simplicity. But not the best for bean counter Tim Cook.

In a couple years, you could be at:

- iPhone 16
- iPhone 16 Plus

- iPhone 15
- iPhone 15 Plus

- iPhone SE
- iPhone SE mini
 
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