Kuo: iPhone 14 Plus Pre-Orders Worse Than iPhone 13 Mini, Product Strategy 'Fails'

[threesixty360]

There's a reason why Starbucks used to have the same coffee shop on either side of the street. Even though it would make more money consolidating on 1 side, the idea is there is always a customer that could go to a competitor if your not on the other side of the street too.

Its the same with phones. Apple would rather have less than stellar sales in one of the iPhone categories to get that extra user into the eco-system who may have gone elsewhere. That user will not just spend on the phone, but services and possibly be a long term Apple user.

So its never just about all out sales per SKU. You have to look at the iPhone 14 sales as a whole and their ability to attract additional revenue. Better still, look at iOS devices as a whole as that tells an even more complete story.

 

[coso]

I think they knew it would be this way, hence the insane price hikes. They know EU won't be buying a lot this year, not with the economic storm we are about to face here.

That would be a bad choice. I'm hearing a lot of friends, myself included, which decided not to upgrade because of the price increase. I would have with last year prices, or even a modest increase. But not this, I decided to punish Apple with a lost sale.

 

[sdwaltz]

Honestly, this one surprises me. There were many years I brought the Pro Max because the "regular" size wasn't available in the larger size. If it weren't for the Dynamic Island, I would have bought the 14 Plus myself.

But alas, perhaps I've answered my own question.

 

[MrMacintoshIII]

Product Strategy in Europe is a massive fail, iPhones prices in Europe are insanely high, they increased average $100,00 to $150,00 Wille in US remains the same price, Apple costumers are furious and boycotting upgrades.

Yeah that really must hurt…

In USA it’s common to even on a bad plan get the iPhone 14 Pro 256gb paid off over 24 months and after a $400 discount for trading in my 13 mini.

Kinda would be dumb for me NOT to upgrade at these ludicrously low prices, especially compared to the rest of the world.

 

[iPhoneFan5349]

The price went up and the new phones have the same features as last year. Anyone surprised?

 

[winxmac]

Can someone remind me what was the market reaction during the time of iPhone XR and XS/XS Max and iPhone 11 and iPhone 11 Pro/Pro Max?

What happened with iPhone 12 mini and iPhone 13 mini and what is currently happening with iPhone 14 Plus is a reminder to when iPhone 5C [which was an iPhone 5 with a polycarbonate body and higher battery capacity] was released in 2013

 

[klasma]

I'm still using my 12 mini. Really torn between 1) holding on another year, 2) getting a 14 pro, or 3) grabbing a 13 mini.

I don't love any of those options. Maybe the mini lives on as the next gen SE. If so, I'd likely go that route. Still, the stuff most tempting about the 14 pro is the battery life, satellite SOS (trying to do more solo backpacking and that's a nice safety feature), and camera upgrades.

Tough choices.

I recommend getting a 13 mini, it’s a good upgrade in particular in terms of batteries and camera.

 

[Samuel Sosa]

My take on this is that Carriers were offering great trade in values. In my case, I traded in my iPhone 12 for the 14 pro for free. No point in getting the non pro 14 the max was $999 if you don't owe anything on your phone its a pretty good deal.

 

[iPhoneFan5349]

The iPhone 14 Plus 512GB is 1199 vs the iPhone 14 Pro Max 512GB at 1399 (US Store) 200 more isn't much of a climb for an iPhone with a lot more features.

Seriously? Is the iPhone 14 plus that expensive? For that price I can get a Pro 512 gigs, why would anyone buy the plus?

 

[webkit]

I think the that's the issue, right? I think if you drop the iPhone 13 in this line-up then problem solved. The difference between the iPhone 13 Mini and iPhone 14 is minimal, so it could work. Goes from:

iPhone SE - $429 (64GB)
iPhone 12 - $599 (64GB)
‌iPhone 13‌ mini - $599 (128GB)
‌iPhone 13‌ - $699 (128GB)
‌iPhone 14‌ - $799 (128GB)
‌iPhone 14‌ Plus - $899 (128GB)
‌iPhone 14 Pro‌ - $999
‌iPhone 14 Pro‌ Max - $1099

To this:

iPhone SE - $429 (64GB)
iPhone 12 - $599 (64GB)
‌iPhone 13‌ mini - $599 (128GB)
‌iPhone 14‌ - $699 (128GB)
‌iPhone 14‌ Plus - $799 (128GB)
‌iPhone 14 Pro‌ - $999
‌iPhone 14 Pro‌ Max - $1099

But then the question may become, why buy a 64GB iPhone 12 when you can get a two year newer iPhone 14 with twice the storage for just $100 more?

If they wanted to give more price separation between the 14/14 Plus and 14 Pro/14 Pro Max models, I think increasing the Pro/Pro Max models would've been a better option.

 

[EugW]

Can someone remind me what was the market reaction during the time of iPhone XR and XS/XS Max and iPhone 11 and iPhone 11 Pro/Pro Max?

The XR sold OK in the first month, but not awesome. However, it ended up being the #1 seller over the year. I suspect the 14 Plus will be in a similar situation after a year.

 

[Bitácora]

With the prices they have set in Spain, and part of Europe, I would expect nothing less.

Iphone 14 - 1.029 €.
Iphone 13 pro - 1.094,00 €.

Iphone 14 Plus - 1159 €
Iphone 13 Pro Max - 1.225,00€.

the price of the 14 pro's is best left out of the discussion

To have the same processor, and worse cameras with the 14/Plus, people prefer to buy last year's 13 Pro/Max for a little more and with Pro motion, people are not stupid.

 

[Sharewaredemon]

It is still early to tell whether it is a success or a failure.

As I observe the 13 and 14 are very similar in terms of features, I miss a 14 mini less than I thought I would and would just get a 13 mini if my current phone died. But that also made me think of another possible strategy, that would be suitable to more people: for each generation add to the "regular" model either a "plus" or a "mini" and alternate which one is updated. That would let people have a larger choice of sizes possibly at the cost of getting last year's version, but given that the differences are less and less meaningful that should not matter too much anyway.

I suspect apple will go that route with the alternating mini and plus models. Im up for a phone soon and don’t fee at all bummed that I’m going to get a mini

 

[msp3]

it failed because the price went up by 260 euros

You mean to say government created so much more money what money already exists is worth so much less. Some governments are obviously much worse than others…

 

[herocero]

Seems to validate the theory that the Mini failed because Apple forced people to choose between size and Pro features. I would have bought a Mini Pro in a heartbeat.

Lots of people would, but you know, engineering and all.

 

[ApplesAreSweet&Sour]

That would be a bad choice. I'm hearing a lot of friends, myself included, which decided not to upgrade because of the price increase. I would have with last year prices, or even a modest increase. But not this, I decided to punish Apple with a lost sale.

Apple actually hiked prices by about 10% outside US in order to please it’s biggest market, America.

Yes, some of the non-US price hike is inflation. But deducting those, there’s still about 10% left that’s just a regular price hike with no war to blame.

 

[WillyVelsen]

Some people definitely would like this - but it isn’t consensus. With the pro camera, mini phones would get heavier and have a larger and deeper bump on their back corner.

I count myself as someone who wants smaller phones because they are smaller (not because they are cheaper) and I am willing to pay more money for better features in a small phone. But if a feature is going to make the phone significantly larger/heavier/unergonomic or to hit the battery life too much (as I suspect ProMotion would with the current tech), then I think it is better to be left out.

Yes i agree also with your standing, i woulnt have minded the mini to be a little thicker if it hat gotten the pro cameras. But every store that sells iPhones try to upsell customers to a bigger size just because it is more profitable for them.. thats why i felt the mini would have felt more at home at the Pro side of the iphones.

 

[roncron]

The 14 may be a misfire, but I'm surprised about the 14 Plus. The bigger screen size and greater battery life made the pre-Pro Plus phones (6S, 7, 8) sell pretty well. I'm guessing there are a lot of folks who still would prefer the bigger screen size but aren't willing to pay $1100+. The 14 Plus would be a good option for them.

Besides, last Friday there was no sense of urgency to pre-order the 14 Plus, which wasn't coming out for another month, whereas most of us interested in the 14 Pro Max knew we might be able to get one if we pre-ordered early enough in the morning.

So I'd wait for a month before writing off the 14 Plus as a failed experiment.

 

[SpotOnT]

Product Strategy in Europe is a massive fail, iPhones prices in Europe are insanely high, they increased average $100,00 to $150,00 Wille in US remains the same price, Apple costumers are furious and boycotting upgrades.

This is mostly down to the exchange rate correct? Like hasn’t the Euro dropped by 20% of its value compared to the dollar?

 

[OlSuttree]

Breakfast is always better with a nice hot cup of coffee and a Macrumors thread with sudden armchair experts who know how to run Apple better than paid professionals with institutional knowledge and memory.

 

[cpnotebook80]

You said it yourself. The 13 Pro Max has been discontinued.



The average upgrade cycle is 3-4 years, according to various stats. Remember, that's average, not max, meaning that many people don't upgrade for say 5 years.

Hell, I'm an Apple geek with a very decent income, and my upgrade cycle is 4 years. I'll be on my 12 Pro Max until 2024. The only people I know personally that upgrade every year include one that does app design for iOS and he writes off the phone every year on his taxes for his business, and another who makes 7 figures and also writes off the phone every year for his business.

Right - i had my iphone 8 till the iphone 12 pro came out and gave the 8 to my folks. Still works for them.

 

[dapa0s]

I said it many times, IT’S TOO EXPENSIVE!! (In the EU)

 

[ttyRazor]

This. Early adopters, the "must have it on launch day" people, go for the Pro models. It's been like this every year.

And those early adopters have even more reason to put all their attention on the Pro. Holding the non-pro 14 back at the A15 and not adding the …sigh… “Dynamic Island” was the clearest signal yet that anything less than the pro was a waste of time for anyone getting the latest and greatest. About the only thing the non-pros have going for them is their lighter weight.

I got an iPhone 12 since i didn’t feel the zoom lens was worth the extra money and weight difference, but this time my choice was getting a 14 Pro or keeping the 12 another year.

The idea of a 14 Plus doesn’t make much sense when it’s just a $200 price difference to the Pro Max. This would be far more effective for a 15” MacBook Air where the gap in sizes is $1500

 

[rgwebb]

The iPhone 14 is one of the lamest updates to their mid-range line since they took this product lineup strategy with the iPhone XR/XS year.

I don't think they intended to go the non-binned A15 and marketing as BIONIC route. This is probably Apple coping as elegantly as they can with international semiconductor shortages.

If they do this again next year, I would be concerned that Apple is killing off their mid-range line due to penny-pinching neglect.

 

[ppj845]

Same hope for a pro mini, but just one camera (to save space for battery, and don’t really need more cameras) high refresh screen, and USB C