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Strong iPhone 14 Pro Sales Could See Apple Hold 60% Market Share for High-End Smartphones

MajorFubar said:
The thing is, no one really cares about that. UK and EU consumers just look at the price of the current iPhone 14 models compared to last year's and say 'hell no'.

Other manufacturers often passed-on exchange-rate savings when the pound or Euro favoured the mfrs currency. Only greedy Apple was the guaranteed exception. There was a time in the 2010's when the £ was so strong against the US$ it was cheaper to take a budget flight to America, buy an iPhone and fly back with it, than buy one in our stores.

iPhone 14 sales the the UK and Europe will be a flop, and a market which is already dominated by Android phones will slip further away from Apple. Whether Apple care or not is a different matter.
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Yet you fail to understand it is not as simple as one currency being higher or lower but the grand sum of the markets.

Let me provide a simple example, there are more people in the US willing to purchase an iPhone with or without carrier subsidies, people’s attitude and mindset of iPhone in the US say compared to EU or UK. Some people in those markets may not mind paying higher for an iPhone but many don’t and see an iPhone as a phone. The mindset of the market in UK and EU and many other places is “value for money”. The next is what can an iPhone do that another device such as an Android phone not do. If it is the same or similar and one costs 1K while the other half if not free the “value for money” will sway to the half if not free as it’s functionality is perceived as same or similar.

Don’t get me wrong I am not dismissing your observations, I am adding a different perspective. There is a reason why in India many just go for an affordable if not free Android device and why having an iPhone means you can afford something better (perception) meaning you are successful.

Human Mindset:
iPhone = Successful
Android = Plebs

Regardless if it is true or not even if your Android device cost more than an iPhone, no one gets excited from receiving an Android phone because it’s given away for free in many markets unlike an iPhone (exceptions in certain markets).
 
webkit said:
The price of a 128GB iPhone Pro in England is £915 before VAT which when converted to USD is around $1,012. That's only $13 USD more than the price of the same phone (before sales tax) in the U.S.

How is that 100% pure greed?
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Apple is hedging the UK pound to decline by that much over the course of a year. People don’t seem to understand that, if the currency stays on course or increases that is a gamble Apple has taken. If the currency declines more Apple may probably absorb it.

Imagine if Apple kept fluctuating its product pricing every day or week or month to reflect currency exchange, people will be on the sidelines and say well I purchased my phone a month ago for XYZ less than you did recently. It’s a marketing and reputation nightmare, but many people are often naive related to market conditions and see a 1:1 exchange ratio. There are other factors in the background which are never considered by these people.
 
contacos said:
I am not a phone maker lol and I create websites with millions of monthly views everyday but let me assure, I was not involved with The Verge redesign!
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Don't worry nobody calling themselves a designer of developer would come up with such bad UX

My visits to The Verge went from 10 visits each day and reading several articles and comments to one visit a day reading 1 thing. I would love to see there analytics for the past week.
 
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I'm an apple fan, but just a reminder they are making 40%+ profit on iphones.
There executives are worth 100million each with salary, stock, perks, etc
Mean while their outsourced staff in 3rd world countries are paid peanuts.
 
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DeadSeaMac said:
I love, want and demand premium quality in my tech tools and toys!

And that is why I have been living in the Apple ecosystem since 1998.

So for me, it will always be the Pro models that Apple offers - especially with the iPhone.

The Jobs/Ive DNA runs in my veins!
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Personal preference. I went from a XS > 11 > 12 Pro > 13 mini. Like the smaller size. Miss the telephoto, hoping there is a 15 mini if not then 15 Pro it is. Not many compelling features for me to jump on 14 Pro, but still a happy investor that people are purchasing the higher margined product 😁
 
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contacos said:
Kind of sad, it just means they can remain to be lazy cuz … why bother?

On the other hand, I assume this is US only? I wonder how the situation is in Europe for example
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Lazy? Such a strong word. I would call this method smart calculated since the base 14 models clearly is an upsell for consumers to opt for the pro models.

If Apple go down this trend... I think it would be better if they just release pro models.
 
everybodylovesramen said:
how about stop cannibalizing your own customer base and make only maybe two models per year with size of phone being the only spec difference

the standard 14 not being made could’ve made the pros priced more competitively if they wanted to dominate
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14 Pro Plus
14 Pro
14 Mini

Thats all we need. Yes, WE WANT THE MINI BACK
 
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contacos said:
I am not a phone maker lol and I create websites with millions of monthly views everyday but let me assure, I was not involved with The Verge redesign!
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Out of curiosity I decided to look at The Verge for the first time in years after reading this. Now I wish I didn't.
 
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See there’s two groups of people in here. People that buy Apple products and people that complain about Apple products. Sure there’s some overlap in those groups.

The people that complain about Apple products aren’t actually going to spend money on them so it really makes no sense for Apple to factor in what they think. If you change your product based on those people, then it’s just going to upset actual customers. Apple is smart and listens to its actual customers not people just complaining but will never buy the product anyway. Hence that’s why some get a survey after they actually buy a product. That’s why sales are good.

Yea, the joke about this year’s iPhone being the same as last year has been going on since the iPhone 6. Yes we got it. It’s the same but there’s improvements and this is how iPhone has always been. No it doesn’t fold 🤦‍♂️
 
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Abazigal said:
Happy problem, I guess. People don’t want the cheaper iPhones and are all flocking to the more expensive models.
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I think the pro-max system/camera features, plus the quantum leap to satellite access and dual band GPS is driving a wave of sales. Too bad USB C is not included - don't say you were blindsided. Because that will be the next 'gotta have' driver. Of course most of the pro/max features COULD have been part and parcel of the basic 14 - which as it stands in terms of marketing exists as the radioactive one trrnders avoid like the plague. So net from the "higher"models is driven upward and upward.
 
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JapanApple said:
Well live in Japan and pay what we are! We are the most expensive: Iphones, watches, etc. 300.00 to 500.00 us more!
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Pretty sure that’s not the case. Prices in Japan has typically been inline with the dollar value. When the yen was appreciating back in 2012 or so I even remember Japan being cheaper for some Apple products than the US.
 
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Mac Fly (film) said:
€1,339 for a 128 GB iPhone 14 Pro. Safe to say they’ll be few and far between where I live. Back in the real world I’m unsure who will be buying these things. Because Apple has gotten so greedy I kind of hope iPhone sales crash and burn. I also wouldn’t believe any sales predictions at this point. Makes me wonder who is behind Digitimes, tbh. Any analysts worth their salt wouldn’t be trying to predict sales this early, IMO. Wonder what their game is. The non-Pro iPhone 14 is €1,029 and the 13 mini remains the same €829 price for a second year running. All of these phones carry high-end prices.
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Why are you upset with Apple when the real problem is the economy? Also, if you are in Europe, maybe this is subtle payback for trying to tell Apple how to build their products and run their business?
 
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DailySlow said:
I think the pro-max system/camera features, plus the quantum leap to satellite access and dual band GPS is driving a wave of sales. Too bad USB C is not included - don't say you were blindsided. Because that will be the next "gotta have' driver.
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Honestly, apart from the camera, those features don't sound like "must have" features that makes one rush out immediately to upgrade. I am beginning to suspect that iPhone upgrade cycles are increasingly being driven by ease of access to financing options and trade-in offers. It would explain why Apple is being more aggressive in these areas. They sound boring to Macrumours users, but remain crucial in getting more phones into the hands of users while allowing Apple to still maintain their margins.

This is a departure from back when upgrading was viewed largely as a function of feature sets (ie: existing iPhone users upgrading when a new device has features that appeal to them). And I think that moving forward, reviews of how each new generation of iPhones has only iterative / marginal improvements over the previous generation grows increasingly irrelevant, because that's not what drive device upgrades anymore.

In this context, the recent news of iPhone 14s being more readily repairable makes sense. It's also a reminder of why iPhone sales alone don't paint an accurate picture of how well the Apple ecosystem is doing, because it doesn't capture the sales of 2nd hand (and maybe even third hand) iPhones. It also throws the conspiracy theories of forced obsolescence out of the window, especially when you consider that iPhones easily get 5-6 years of software support.

Moving forward, the iPhone install base will only continue to grow, and the ecosystem ever more sticky, and so to what this means for Android, well, that will be fun to watch. :cool:
 
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Mr. Dee said:
Who in their right mind would pay for the same phone 2 years in a row? This was obviously intentional to push people to the Pro SKU. Tech savvy friends and family members are letting others know the Pro is the model to buy this year if you want something really new.

My concern though, when the market is saturated with Pro models, how are they gonna convince most to upgrade to next years Pro’s.

Don’t get me wrong, just as there are iPhone 13 Pro owners upgrading to iPhone 14 Pro, there will be a ‘niche’ set upgrading to the iPhone 15 Pro.

With a saturated market with most keeping their phones longer, the iPhone sales will eventually collide into a stagnant territory within a couple years. That is unless they introduce something radical and upgrade worthy.

Let’s admit, it’s been a minute since that has really happened. I’m happy for Apple, I just hope they are looking at the wider picture of most people keeping their phones longer.
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It seems like consumers aren't necessarily feeling that they are paying for a new phone, but only extending their "lease." With the insane carrier deals consumers just trade in last year's phone and setup a new payment plan. Consumers seem to have settled into this new mode where everything is just an infinite monthly payment, and that $30-$50/mo you pay for a new iPhone every year is just another of those payments.

That's the rationale that I used to go from a 12 pro max to a 13 pro max last year, after trade in and carrier credits I was actually paying slightly less per month with my new plan. I lease my vehicles also so the paradigm isn't new, I get a new car every 3 years, am always under warranty, and write it off on my business taxes.

Is the 14 an upgrade from the 13 for myself? Hell no. The 48MP camera is overkill for taking pics of the kids and dynamic island is a complete joke of a coverup of a hardware flaw. But if I was still in the market for an iPhone you bet I'd let Verizon give me $1000 for my 13 and re-up on a new payment plan.
 
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DelayedGratificationGene said:
Agreed. These know it all armchair QBs always spinning everything Apple does to the negative zone. They are the first 10 posts every time too. They spend their days like drones hovering over just waiting to pounce.
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It gives them a shot of feel-good power that's otherwise lacking in their lives.
 
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