iPhone 14 Plus Sales 'Lower Than Expected' Following Launch Last Week

[MacRumors]

Less than a week after the launch of the iPhone 14 Plus, yet another report of unexpectedly low sales for the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus has emerged, suggesting that Apple may actively reduce stock and orders of components for the devices as soon as this month.

The paywalled report from DigiTimes claims that sales of the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus are considerably overshadowed by an "enthusiastic" response to the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max. Sources speaking to DigiTimes say that despite differences in sales performance between the Pro and non-Pro iPhone models this year, total iPhone 14 model shipments will likely be around the same as those for the iPhone 13 lineup in the second half of 2021.

If sales of the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus "remain flat" in the near term, Apple purportedly may cut orders of parts to make the devices in the second half of October. If Apple cuts orders more aggressively than expected, then the total iPhone 14 lineup shipments by the end of the year may even fall compared to the iPhone 13 series in the same time frame last year. Research indicates that Apple expected to make approximately 90 million new iPhones overall in the second half of 2022, but this could fall to 80 million units due to "sluggish demand."

The information mirrors multiple other reports that suggest the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus have not met Apple's sales expectations. Shortly after launch, Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said that demand for the two devices is "lackluster," with worse pre-order results than the third-generation iPhone SE and the iPhone 13 mini. He went as far as to claim that "Apple's product segmentation strategy for standard models fails this year" and Apple is believed to have shelved plans to increase production of the two devices. Display analyst Ross Young says panel orders for the ‌iPhone 14‌ are down 38 percent versus the ‌iPhone 13‌ at the same time last year, while in the resale market, the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus are losing their value twice as fast as the iPhone 13 mini and iPhone 13 last year.

On the other hand, the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max reportedly continue to see high demand. Apple is believed to have shifted production away from the non-Pro models to make more iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max devices, as evidenced by increased component shipments.

Article Link: iPhone 14 Plus Sales 'Lower Than Expected' Following Launch Last Week

 

[MayaUser]

As expected...releasing after one month later hurts as well

 

[dantracht]

It’s priced wrong for what it is.

 

[DelayedGratificationGene]

Ordered another 14 pro max yesterday space black ATT and delivery time is Nov 6th…

 

[1557750]

Go Pro, Yo!

👊😎👍

 

[TheYayAreaLiving 🎗️]

Expected for the sales to go up during the Holiday season.

 

[ian87w]

It was intentionally delayed, thus it misses the early rush of early adopters. People who must have the latest iPhone would've bought the Pro earlier.
But, throughout the years, I can see this is being a big seller as regular people started to see and buy them.

If Apple maintains the Plus version for more than 2 cycles, we know it's selling very well.

 

[stocklen]

Perhaps Apple will take away form this years product launches a lesson.

Dont put the same processor etc etc in the next phone....

If you dont have enough upgrades to justify the next numbered phone up... i.e 13 to 14... then dont release one at all.

Seems to me that the 14 customers would be niche in that 13 owners wouldnt be upgrading to 14. 12 owners on a 2 year cycle would be better off getting the 13 and saving some money....
So who wants the 14 plus? I can only see it being 'non pro' customers who wanted the bigger screen but never wanted to pay pro prices.

 

[azentropy]

Another reason for slower sales is that XL iPhone users already had an option with the Pro Max so there wasn't as much pent up demand for it.

 

[antiprotest]

Even lower than the very low expected sales?

Might as well make a mini and make some people very happy.

 

[foobarbaz]

with worse pre-order results than the third-generation iPhone SE and the ‌iPhone 13‌ mini

Perhaps the mini didn't perform all that bad after all. It's just that high demand for the Pro makes everything else a niche …

 

[ThatGuyInLa]

Everyone is broke or fear they’re about to be. There’s not enough different in this model from last. It’s expensive. You’re going to see more reductions if things keep going this way. Leaving Apple with less and less of their “on the line” customers. Only those with truly solvent finances left for such luxuries year after year.

 

[QuiteSharp]

This is most likely a wake-up call to Apple. The customers who usually buy the budget variant are most likely eyeing last year's iPhone 13 Pro and Pro Max instead of this year's iPhone 14 and 14 Plus. It would be interesting to see if there is an increased demand for last year's Pro models as a result of the declining non-Pro models from this year.

I wouldn't be surprised if Apple next year only releases Pro models.

 

[Bobdigi76]

Everyone is broke or fear they’re about to be. There’s not enough different in this model from last. It’s expensive. You’re going to see more reductions if things keep going this way. Leaving Apple with less and less of their “on the line” customers. Only those with truly solvent finances left for such luxuries year after year.

As he saying goes, ”it’s the economy stupid.”

 

[MajorFubar]

In a mature product line like mobile phones, Apple is living in a fantasy world if they're at all surprised that their difficult middle child isn't selling well. The best sales will be at price extremes, which is what we're seeing. I could have predicted that, and I'm not a sales exec.

 

[qgadrian]

Hopefully, this means no to iPhone 15 Plus and yes to iPhone 15 mini 🤞

 

[timber]

Apple's phones are already so expensive that is a bit weird to figure out who would want the very expensive but slightly less variant.

That is also quite inferior to the other tier.

 

[Cobold]

In a mature product line like mobile phones, Apple is living in a fantasy world if they're at all surprised that premium-priced tech isn't selling well.
This side of the pond we're mostly deciding whether or not to starve or freeze.

Did you even read the article? The even more premium-priced tech a.k.a. iPhone 14 Pro series is selling like crazy!
It's the standard 14 series that are seeing lackluster sales.

 

[boswald]

I bought a piddly 128GB iPhone 14 from Verizon, and I think even that is overpriced. Times are tough, I guess.

 

[Mr. Dee]

Consumers say, we’ll, if I’m going to spend 900 dollars might as well spend the extra 200 and get the Pro Max with all the new features.

And it’s possible that the average consumer is more tech savvy than we thought or they have tech savvy family members informing their decisions.

They are aware that the Plus has last years SoC and decide that it’s ridiculous to buy last year’s technology at that price.

It will be surprising if this strategy survives next years rev. Apple might end up dropping the Plus and keep the standard 6.1, 6.1 Pro and 6.7 Pro Max instead.

 

[danieldk]

This shouldn't surprise anyone:

• The 14/14 Plus have the same SoC generation as last year.
• The Euro is currently weak compared to the dolar. Rather than eating up some of the price difference with their large margins, Apple decided to raise the prices considerably.
• A lot of people have increased energy and food costs due to inflation, that cuts into luxury expenses.
• The economy is looking quite bleak, so most people will save the money and use their perfectly fine older phones for longer.

If Apple wants to sell more units, then a new generation should bring more to the table or they should reduce prices. Even though Apple will stick with its prices, they'll probably lower prices in other channels (third-party sellers, etc), which will offset the slow market a bit.

 

[SuprUsrStan]

I really think they should bring back the mini. You can already get a big phone with the pro max but you can't get any smaller iphone. I know at least a few people, my wife included, who didn't jump on the 14 because they killed the mini.

 

[MathersMahmood]

Pricing and last years phone.

 

[Stuey3D]

Chances are this will be like the XR which also released a month later. It missed the initial fan fair due to the early adopters going for the XS but ended up being the best seller overall that year due to the price to features ratio when all the normal non tech nerds upgrades were coming up.

In the US the Plus vs Max argument is much closer due to a much closer price gap, but as I’ve said in another post over here in the UK the Plus is £250 cheaper than the Max and that makes the Plus a more tempting device.
When I got my 12 Pro Max battery life and screen size were my push for the bigger most expensive model, now people have the choice of a phone that is £250 cheaper which also has the battery life and screen size but not missing a huge amount vs the Max.

If you were to walk into the Apple Store with £1200 would you go for a Pro Max, or a Plus with a pair of AirPods Pro or Apple Watch SE.

Or to phrase it another way is the slightly faster processor, brighter smoother screen, & better camera worth a pair of AirPods Pro or an Apple Watch.

 

[imola.zhp]

Take that PLUS! Bring back the MINI!