Original title: Why is the iPhone 14 Plus, which is up to 1299 yuan cheaper than the official website price, the “most invaluable mobile phone of the year”?
Every reporter: Wang Jing Every editor: Dong Xingsheng
On October 11, the news that the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus set the record for the fastest price cuts for the first launch caused heated discussions.
On October 7, the iPhone 14 Plus was officially launched, and soon following the model went on sale, it encountered a price break in third-party channels – regarding 400 yuan cheaper than Apple’s official website. A similar situation occurred with the iPhone 14, which was released earlier. On September 18, the topic #黃牛費買Apple 14 was posted for 100 yuan out# once rushed to the hot search.
On the morning of October 11, a reporter from “Daily Economic News” learned from the e-commerce platform that the price of the iPhone 14 Plus is generally regarding 500 yuan cheaper than the official website, while the price of the iPhone 14 is generally regarding 200 yuan cheaper than the official website. At the same time, the reporter contacted a boss with a stall in Huaqiangbei through WeChat, and was informed of Huaqiangbei’s latest offer for the iPhone 14 series. Among them, the iPhone 14 128G can be cheaper by up to 409 yuan, the 256G can be cheaper by up to 609 yuan, and the 512G can be cheaper by up to nearly a thousand yuan, that is, 979 yuan; for the iPhone 14 Plus, the price gap is even bigger, 128G, 256G, 512G can be cheaper at most 699 yuan, 829 yuan, 1299 yuan. Therefore, it is also dubbed by netizens as “the most invaluable mobile phone of the year”.
Image source: provided by Huaqiangbei sellers
In addition, when the reporter logged on Apple’s official website to check, he noticed that the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus are in stock, and you can directly place an order to pick up the goods at the store, or choose to deliver. At present, the pre-orders of the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus are not ideal, while the Pro version continues to sell well, and the supply is still insufficient.
Affected by this, the price/performance ratio of the old models of the Apple 13 series is becoming more outstanding. The latest market research report from Counter Point Research shows that following the launch of the iPhone 14 series, the price of refurbished/used products of the iPhone 13 series has risen by an average of 11%, especially the prices of the 13 Pro and Pro Max versions have reached a new high in the past six months.
Compared with the iPhone 13 series, the iPhone 14 series released this year canceled the mini version and added the Plus version, which has a screen size of 6.7 inches. However, the iPhone 14/14 Plus still continues the Liu Haiping scheme. The iPhone 14 Pro/Pro Max uses a “pill screen” design. This is also the first time that Apple has canceled Liu Haiping in five years since the release of the iPhone X, which is considered to be a leap forward in the appearance of the iPhone.
In terms of core configuration, the iPhone 14/14 Plus is equipped with the Apple A15 bionic chip, and has a rear 12 million dual-camera. The iPhone 14 Pro/Pro Max is equipped with a new A16 bionic chip. The processor adopts the latest 4nm technology, and the camera hardware has been upgraded. For the first time, it is equipped with a 48-megapixel main camera.
Apple store photo source: Every reporter Zhang Jian (data map)
Guo Tianxiang, a senior analyst at IDC China, told reporters through WeChat that the sales of the iPhone 14 (basic version) this time are far worse than the iPhone 13 in the same period last year, mainly because the upgrade is too small and not very attractive to users. What we currently know is that Apple has adjusted its follow-up production plan and will provide more pro versions. “Of course, in the case of this year’s iPhone 14 (basic version), we are not sure whether Apple’s strategy is to upgrade less, thereby driving consumers to buy the more expensive pro version, making Apple’s income higher.”
The cold sales of the new iPhone 14/14 Plus also forced Apple to adjust production lines. Tianfeng Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo also posted on social media recently: “In the Pro models, the iPhone 14 Pro Max accounts for regarding 60%, which is beneficial to Apple’s iPhone ASP (average selling price) product portfolio in the fourth quarter of this year. I think this result will further encourage Apple to create more differentiation between the iPhone 15 Pro Max and the 15 Pro to boost 15 Pro Max shipments and strengthen the iPhone product portfolio.”
However, Guo Tianxiang believes that Apple’s follow-up strategy includes next year’s iPhone 15 series, and it is still a bit premature to talk regarding it. “If the follow-up iPhone 13 is completely discontinued and the inventory on the market is exhausted, it is estimated that the demand for the iPhone 14 will rebound to a certain extent. It is even said that if Apple loosens the (iPhone 14) price, there will be a certain (iPhone 14) price. sales) boost.”
daily economic newsReturn to Sohu, see more
Editor:
Statement: The opinions of this article only represent the author himself, Sohu is an information publishing platform, and Sohu only provides information storage space services.