Apple is reportedly considering a new pricing strategy for its upcoming phone believed to be the iPhone 15. The strategy is said to be a response to weak sales of the iPhone 14 Plus since its release in October 2022.
According to gadget leaker yeux1122 on the Naver blog, sales of the iPhone 14 Plus fell short of Apple’s lowest expectations. The tech giant is now considering a new approach to revive iPhone sales, particularly for the iPhone 15.
The “Plus” model will still be retained as it has been planned for years. The new strategy being considered by Apple is to lower the price of this model. For reference, the iPhone 14 Plus was priced from $899 USD. The highest model, the iPhone 14 Pro Max, was sold from $1,099 USD, which is a $200 USD difference from the iPhone 14 Plus.
However, the iPhone 14 Pro Max is equipped with the latest chip, a larger screen, telephoto camera, and other features not found on the iPhone 14 Plus. Given the relatively small price difference, while the specifications are higher, yeux1122 claims that it is highly likely for Apple to reduce the price of the iPhone 15 Plus.
The rumored price for the iPhone 15 Plus is expected to start at $849 USD or $799 USD. If the price reduction strategy is indeed implemented by Apple for the iPhone 15 Plus, the same strategy is likely to be applied to the regular iPhone 15. However, the price range for the regular model is still unknown. Despite the change in pricing strategy, yeux1122 believes that Apple will retain the special features on the Pro models to differentiate them from the regular and Plus models, according to Macworld on Tuesday (1/3/2023).
Weak Sales of the iPhone 14 Plus
The iPhone 14 Plus is a new model released by Apple to replace the mini models like the iPhone 12 mini and iPhone 13 mini. The iPhone 14 Plus is larger than the regular version, with a 6.7-inch screen size. This is equivalent to the screen size of the iPhone 14 Pro Max or iPhone 13 Pro Max. Unfortunately, despite its larger screen size and improved specifications compared to the mini models, sales of the iPhone 14 Plus have not met Apple’s expectations. According to a Bloomberg report in September 2022, demand for the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus was lower than that of the iPhone SE 3rd generation and iPhone 13 mini.
The iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus accounted for 45 percent of the total iPhone 14 series shipments, while the remaining 55 percent came from the iPhone 14 Pro.
Apple’s component suppliers even reportedly shifted production from the regular and Plus models to the iPhone 14 Pro. The Foxconn iPhone assembler was also reported to have increased production of the Pro model by 10 percent.
