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I'm guessing Apple is predicting chip advantages will be increasingly less of a differentiating factor give their lead over Qualcomm chips and wanted to put more of the cost of a device into the costs of other components.
The supply constraints on processors also make it more attractive for Apple to reserve the best chips for their latest Pro products
 
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May I inquire what your suggestion for this would be?

Reason I ask it is because ALL smartphone manufacturers have this same exact problem, so it doesn't appear as if it's just a result of complacency on Apple's part.

Whether we like to admit it or not, smartphones have largely settled on a dominant design (thin slab of glass with a camera on the back) which means there is a lot less room to innovate (and hence differentiate) the product from others.

Until new technologies emerge, it seems likely that we're stuck in the era of incremental change where differentiation will be increasingly difficult and economies of scale all the more important.
I agree and where I think Apple should start is weight reduction. Aluminum is actually more expensive than steel so why are the most expensive iPhones steel? You could argue durability but then I would suggest using titanium which they already use in Apple Watches. Maybe not full titanium due to cost but some. All Mac computers and iPads use aluminum exclusively yet the device people use the most (phones) are heavy steel? If Apple insists on putting bigger cameras in year after year then weight will be a huge issue and now with the new non-pro Max being aluminum I bet there will be a ton of people that switch from the PM to the non-PM simply due to the weight. I’m definitely thinking about it.
 
In short, the regular iPhone 14 only exists to maintain (further increase) the price of the „Pro“ model. Otherwise they could simply continue selling the iPhone 13 with a price drop but then you would have too big of a gap between the iPhone 13 and iPhone 14 „Pro“.

Ah how I miss those old days when you could simply choose between last years model on a cheaper price or the latest model
 
Apple are definitely channeling customers to their most expensive iphone models.

But this chip strategy does make sense as it will provide more differentiation to entice customers to go to the high end products in order to get top of the range features such as camera tech.

The other benefit will be to extend the shelf life of their last gen chips. Which will benefit Apple immensely.
 
The A15 chip that they put into the 14 and 14 Max will most likely be the 5 Core A15 that is in the 13 Pro. They can then at least say that regular 14 has last years Pro chip, and along with 6 GB RAM may be enough to entice customers.
 
So - if the iPhone 14 (non-pro) does not get the new chip, the new 48MP cameras, and the new pill-dot notch replacement, all of which goes into the iPhone 14 Pro – what is the selling point of the iPhone 14 (non-pro)????? Surely just more RAM is not enough to get people to upgrade? What am I missing?
I have an XR and while I will probably get the 14 Pro, even the regular 14 would be a solid upgrade.
 
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So effectively it will be taking at least a year off the supported OS period for non Pro level devices?

I think there is already plenty to separate the models as it is with them all sharing the same internals, something that has been a great selling point for years? Phones like the iPhone 11 were great sellers because it gave people a cheaper phone with upto date internals. Now customers will have to be told "that's last year's technology" which is instantly a negative, regardless of whether they need the extra processing power.

It's just a bit of a shame that a company that is worth so much is still finding ways to get more and more out the end user.
 
Besides, iPhones are too expensive to upgrade every year so I’m holding on to my 13 Pro Max for another year

True... but iPhones do hold their value quite well.

If you spent $1,000 for an iPhone one year... you can sell it for $800 or whatever the next year.

Then put that money towards the next $1,000 iPhone.

Boom! After the first large iPhone purchase... each year's new iPhone only costs you $200

But yeah... most people are keeping their iPhones for at least 2 years nowadays. You've got options.

:p
 
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Why is anyone surprised? This is classic consumer electronics strategy and it basically has been this for a while. Smartphones are a mature market and incremental changed have been the only changes for some years now. Outside of what people believe in marketing the last real innovation was the first iPhone. Everything else was a natural progression afterwards which is very typical in growth sectors following a consumer electronics strategy.
 
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