I don't really think that most people care about camera improvement bumps. Smart phones have been taking vary good pictures for several years now. I have photos taken with my 4S years ago in daylight that look pretty good. I think that phones have plateaued in general and people could care less about higher refresh rates and USB-C ports, notches, and so forth not including phone enthusiasts.
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Rumor: iPhone 14 to Start at $799, Same as iPhone 13
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Terrible news for shareholders. I guess we are absorbing the inflationary pressures so the consumer doesn’t have to. I guess I am okay with some short term pain for more services revenue. Does this mean the iPhone subscription plan isn’t happening after all? That was supposed to obfuscate the unit price and get everyone on installments.
I think the 13 line up will disappear completely… the 12 and 12 mini will stick around …
Traditionally they’ve only ever kept one version of an older model phone (12 or 12 mini). Not both.
The chassis is not the expensive part, it’s the OLED screen. They could easily substitute that with LCD to keep cost down. They did for the XR. So it’s not a technical issue either why they can’t make a cheaper iPhone Mini. They thought it was gonna be extremely popular, especially Europe. But the pandemic partly changed that plan.
Maybe Tim will be generous and offer lower prices on all the models…
Then I woke up!
Then I woke up!
I can barely tell the difference in screen quality between my old iPhone 8 and 13 mini. Even on dark scenes. Easily justifiable to drop an SE down to regular LCD to save money.
Apple uses amazing LCDs on all of their devices.
Maybe the base model 14 might remain the same. But the Pro variants will most probably getting a price hike.
Well, right now Apple still sell both a regular 12 and 12 mini, having dropped 12 Pro line instead.
I had the bad feeling this will happen. Apple should instead keep the $699 starting price since the regular 14 is basically going to be a rehashed 13.
And I know there's going to be responses like "Lower the price to make it affordable for consumers in this economy? What are you, crazy? Think of the poor shareholders 🥺."
And I know there's going to be responses like "Lower the price to make it affordable for consumers in this economy? What are you, crazy? Think of the poor shareholders 🥺."
I can't help but speculate that the non-Pro 14 will be positioned in the same spot in the lineup as iPhone 11 was in the 2019 lineup:
11 started at $699 and price was one of its key selling points.
So this means that 14 starts at $699-$749?
Yes but no:
If Apple raises Pro and Pro Max prices by $100 respectively then "indirectly" the $799 14 is the 2022 price equivalent of the $699 iPhone 11 in the lineup.
Base model 14 being the new iPhone 11 also aligns with 2022 being the last year of the current 3-year product cycle.
I'd appreciate them going lower. But $799 would fit better with the Apple as I know it.
The 11 annoyed me as it seemed like con on the average consumer. It has the 11 name as if it succeeded the X when in reality it was a successor to the XR while the pro was the tru successor.
The 12 I think was fair. This time around I suspect they are going to effectively make the 14 very similar to a 13 Pro.
I’m curious what they’ll keep around between the 12 mini, 13 mini, 12 & 13.
There would be no logical reason to do so today when they already have the SE with an LCD screen and low ($429) price point that does pretty well. I think it can make sense in a couple of years for a future SE, as I've already discussed, but not now.
13 and 13 mini will be too close to 14 non-Pro in specs and design, so they get cut. -Absolutely no way 13/13 mini stay if iPhone 14 non-Pro gets 1/1 the same A15. No way.
12 and 12 mini are weak compared to non-Pro 14 so they stay and maybe at a slightly lower price. 12 mini might get cut though.
11 will be cut.
SE 2022 stays, maybe lower price due to weak demand.
I really don’t think they’re gonna cut the 11 yet. If they do, they’ll replace it with an “SE Max” in the same factor with new internals.
That form factor is still a gold mine for them. They will milk it harder than they have milked the 8 so far.
And honestly, I think it’s worth keeping around. It’s a great phone, and some people prefer LCD.