Can I still win this iPhone 14?

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The mobile phone industry has already entered the stage of gradual innovation

In the early morning of September 8, the new autumn product launch conference arrived on schedule. After several changes, the release time of the iPhone 14 series products was set to be released in Huawei Mate50 for one day. Under the situation of 4G Huawei against 5G Apple, how Apple "lives" and attracts the attention of the industry.

As early as the beginning of Apple's autumn new product launch conference, Apple CEO Cook publicly called "looking forward to the shining Apple conference". According to incomplete statistics, Apple has boarded 920 times on social media in the past three months, of which more than 700 are related to iPhone.

Obviously, Apple is ready. The iPhone 14 Pro series uses "pill screen" to replace the previous "bangs screen" in appearance design, creating an interactable "smart island". At the same time, it is equipped with A16 chip and "satellite communication technology". However, netizens have always opened the annual "Tucao Mode": "A small function is also worth saying for a long time" "After reading it, it is still thirteen incense."

In recent years, due to the lack of core and epidemic, the development of mobile phone technology has also inevitably entered the "bottleneck period". In the high -end mobile phone market affected by relatively small mobile phone markets, Apple can be described as the heroes, but its latest financial report shows that the growth rate of mobile phone business has slowed down and net profit decreases. In this case, in the face of domestic mobile phone manufacturers who are "watching", Apple still cannot take it lightly. People in the industry believe that the mobile phone industry has already entered a stage of gradual innovation. At this stage, only new functions of research and development or grabbing will not fall into passive.

To start with the screen, iPhone 14 wants to "out of the circle"

In September, the high -end mobile phone market ushered in two heavyweight players.

On September 6, Huawei took the lead in bright swords, released new Mate50 series, and achieved a good reservation sales with the new Huawei imaging brand and the Beidou satellite communications technology that started "Breaking the Sky". state. A Huawei dealer revealed that offline is currently unable to book, and the exhaust time is relatively long.

In the early morning of September 8, after Apple followed Huawei, it released the iPhone 14 series of new products. The difference in just one day made the outside world smell the smell of gunpowder. After the outside world "strip" of the iPhone 14 product information, it adds a lot of pressure to the apple who wants the post -haircut.

At this new product conference, Apple changed the order of the first appearance of the iPhone in the past, and extended the press conference time, first released the new Apple Watch Series8 and AirPods Pro, and finally the iPhone 14 series of product finale appeared. "Powerful circle", this is the theme displayed on the official website before the Apple conference.

Apple has brought the big upgrade of iPhone in recent years, especially in the appearance of "Liu Haiping", which has been controversially controversial, and the iPhone 14 Pro series has been changed to "pill screen". In fact, since the iPhoneX, the appearance of the iPhone has not changed much. Earlier, the person has exposed the iPhone 14 to use the digging screen design. At that time, many people talked about "the more ugliest and the ugliest." An industry person also lamented that digging the hole screen was nothing new. Domestic manufacturers had already used it before.

However, it is beyond expected that the interactive design of "Pill Pills" came -"Smart Island". At the press conference, Apple said that after using the new original deep -feeling camera, the front camera control area decreased by 30%, so the distance sensor was placed behind the display screen. "We rethink the method of interaction with the user and the iPhone, and completely blur the direct boundaries of hardware and software." Apple said that this area can clearly convey information, can notify, warn, and implement connection, and will not allow users to from the current current Diversified on the app used.

Many netizens said that they were attracted by this design, but also caused some disputes. Some netizens questioned whether it was practical, and this itself just changed the form of message notification, not too much breakthrough. Guo Tianxiang, a senior analyst at IDC, told China News Weekly that "smart island" is indeed a bit new, especially the background application can be displayed, and the display effect can be automatically adjusted. This is indeed Apple's rare highlights in recent years.

In addition to the "smart island", Apple also improved new machine performance and image capabilities when released the iPhone 14 Pro. The iPhone 14 PRO series is equipped with A16 chip, the manufacturing process is upgraded to TSMC 4nm, and the power consumption is reduced by 20%. Technology, supports the original film format of the Apple Pro PAW, and supports 4K 24 frames. Industry insiders believe that most of the improvement of Apple's improvement comes from the effects of chip process, the improvement of algorithms, and the application of sensors, giving Apple more room to play.

In addition, Apple also uses satellite communication technology on the iPhone, which is the same as Huawei's "breakthrough" technology. Apple defines this technology as a satellite SOS emergency contact function, and is currently limited to the United States and Canada. At the same time, Apple also launch a car accident detection function on the iPhone, but it is still yet to be tested. Guo Tianxiang pointed out that the function of Apple's new machine this time is not much different from the previous breaking content. This also reflects the common phenomenon of mobile phone markets in recent years: technology has developed to bottlenecks, and innovation and enhancement are limited. Both Apple and Android camps face this problem.

If the increase is not increased, Apple is also anxious?

A week ago, the relevant information of the iPhone 14 series has been exposed to the fullest, but the news of the price increases before it seems "face". Compared with the iPhone13 series of iPhone 14 series, the starting price ranges from 100 yuan to 500 yuan. Apple did not reduce prices for new products, but the basic strategy was to "increase the price without price increase".

The iPhone 14 products in this conference include the four models of iPhone 14, iPhone 14 Plus, iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max. The capacity is 128GB, the price is 5999 yuan, the iPhone 14 Plus starts at 6999 yuan, the iPhone 14 Pro starting price is 7999 yuan, the iPhone 14 Pro Max starts price of 8999 yuan, but from 256GB capacity to 1TB capacity, it has increased by 1TB capacity. The price ranges from 100 yuan to 500 yuan.

"It is far from rumors that the sky is as expensive." Many netizens said that they were about to move when they saw the price. In fact, since the release of the iPhone13 series last year, Apple's intention to implement "price tactics" in the Chinese market is very obvious. Last year, the price of the iPhone13 series of new products fell from 300 yuan to 800 yuan. During 618 this year, Apple also carried out price reduction promotion for the iPhone13, fighting in the high -end mobile phone market, and eventually accounted for nearly half of the total sales.

Guo Tianxiang pointed out that the previously issued price increase may only be a trial action in the market. If the general price increase, especially the ordinary version of the market, the final sales may be affected.

In the past two years, Apple has riding dust on the global high -end market. According to public data, global smartphone shipments reached 1.35 billion units in 2021, of which 44%of the market revenue was taken away by Apple with 17%of shipments. In 2021, Apple's share in the high -end smartphone market reached 60%since 2017. In the second quarter of 2022, Apple's high -end market share reached 57%, and Apple's share was 56%in the same period last year. However, there are still some subtle changes.

According to Apple's Q3 (second quarter) financial report released by Apple, Apple's quarterly revenue was 82.959 billion US dollars, a slight increase of 2%compared with the same period last year, and a net profit of 19.442 billion, a year -on -year decrease of 11%. From the data point of view, Apple has been in the past three consecutive quarters, and the growth of net profit has slowed down. From the perspective of business lines, iPhone has contributed half of their income, an increase of 2.8%year -on -year, which is really rare in the case where global smartphone sales have declined. However, other business line products, such as Mac, iPad, and wearable device products, have declined.

Therefore, Apple must grasp the dominance of the iPhone in the high -end market. At present, except for Baobao iPhone 14 to boost performance, Apple does not seem to have found a better way. "The iPhone13 shipments in the second half of last year were less than 75 million. The order volume of iPhone 14 in the second half of this year is about 90 million, which is obvious, which shows that Apple has certain confidence." , Important upgrade, performance improvement, and visible color matching, as well as the eye -catching satellite connection communication technology, which is a generation of products with more upgrades. It is essentially to make ordinary consumers perceive the product change and improve the recognition of mobile phones. Stimulate consumer desire.

Zhang Guobin, CEO of Electronics Network, told China News Weekly that the overall price of iPhone 14 is not large. On the one hand, considering global inflation, on the other hand, the user's purchasing power is limited due to the environmental environment. In addition, now the changing cycle has become longer. After Apple adds new features, consumers may not find these features worth increased. In fact, the price of high -end models launched by domestic mobile phones recently has slowed down compared with the previous two years.

The high -end mobile phone market competes for "initiative"

According to IDC's latest report, this year's smartphone shipments are estimated to decrease by 6.5%to 1.27 billion, and the price will increase by 6.3%. The main reason is that it is affected by inflation and geopolitics, and consumer demand is greatly suppressed. However, it can be seen that the sales of equipment with a price of more than 1,000 US dollars are growing, and analysts will attribute this to the success of the recent high -end flagship products and folding machines on the market. This also reflects the fierce competition in the high -end mobile phone market from another side. In the downward stage of the market, there is a way to live only to the high -end. In the past two years, after Huawei's vacant domestic mobile phone market share, domestic manufacturers have accelerated the high -end layout. According to incomplete statistics, in the first half of 2022, major manufacturers including OPPO, vivo, Xiaomi and other major manufacturers released a total of 51 new products. A variety of flagship stores started to sell for more than 4,000 yuan. Development.

This time, the Huawei Mate series has been returning to the rivers and lakes after two years, which means that Huawei is still committed to overcome the high -end mobile phone market. Guo Tianxiang analyzed, "Huawei's brand's brand in the high -end market is still very strong, and many high -end users recognize Huawei. The previous Mate users were almost reaching the machine change stage. It is okay. However, it takes more time to return to the situation of fighting with Apple's trials again. "

This time, Huawei and Apple released a new machine, and the satellite communication technology of "breaking through the sky" has become a highlight. Zhang Guobin observed that Huawei released the world's first mass smartphone that supports Beidou satellite information, which has certain pioneering significance. This technology is not a new thing, but the price before is not popular. Huawei has really achieved the popularity of satellite communications technology, achieved breakthroughs in communication regions, and the development of mobile phone functions has also become imaginative space.

Cui Lili, executive director of the Institute of E -Commerce of Shanghai University of Finance and Economics, told China News Weekly that when the overall non -necessary consumption of the market is shrinking, the demand for new or high -end machines may exceed expectations, so at this time, mobile phone manufacturers Will double the pressure.

Cui Lili analyzed, "Apple's advantage has always been design aesthetics and iOS systems, leading the lead in software and hardware integration. From this perspective, Huawei wants to face up, and it is necessary to avoid strengths. In contrast, Huawei has always maintained advantages in the communication field. Therefore, combined with the current economic environment, the choice of satellite communication technology is launched, which is in line with the portrait portrait of Huawei high -end mobile phone, and can strengthen its high -end image. "

The iPhone 14 series also uses the emergency contact function of satellite SOS. In fact, satellite communication technology has been included in the development plan of various technology companies. For example, Musk's star chain has already built satellite communication and cooperated with operators; The next version of Android will support satellite communication technology.

Guo Tianxiang said, "Although the technology of satellite communication is the first application of Huawei, Apple also has similar features, and other mobile phone manufacturers are also following up. At present, this technology has a small probability for most consumers.卫星通讯技术一直没有找到一个完全合适的商业模式，始终是在特定场景下才会发挥作用。所以即便未来在手机上普及，也还是需要找到一个合适的商业模式，创造出更多使用场景、更Be more valuable to exist for a long time. "

"The leap -up innovation is too difficult. Now that mobile phones have entered the stage of gradual innovation, they are all improving along the original technical routes. The space and room are limited." Cui Lili believes. "In this case, it is either developing new functions or either Publish new features first, otherwise you will fall into passive. "

Author: Meng Qian [email protected])

Edit: Li Zhiquan

Operation editor: Wang Lin

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