The early morning of September 8 was destined to be a remarkable day, the annual “Spring Festival of the digital world”, we ushered in the release of Apple’s iPhone 14 series. The large screen version of the standard version was officially unveiled under the name “Plus”, but the “mini” version was retired after two years of struggle for survival.
Small screen phones are dead?
The mini version of the rumor of cancellation has been a long time since the iPhone 13 has not been released before, and related news is endless. If Huawei phones without 5G more because of force majeure factors, then the iPhone without mini is more of a compromise for the market.
Two years ago Apple was capricious, it dared to launch a “very small screen” iPhone 12 mini in the generation of large-screen phones. why say very small screen? Because even if you compare the iPhone 12 to the mainstream phones on the market at the time, the 6.1-inch body size and 162 grams of body weight already qualify as a small-screen phone, regardless of the fact that the iPhone 12 mini has a more extreme 5.4-inch body size and 133 grams of body weight.
Maybe considering the cost of the film, iPhone 13 series still have a mini version. Of course, the iPhone 13 mini also officially became the best iPhone in the mini version after this year’s launch.
The mini version’s “one out” and the Plus version’s “one in” coincide, seemingly signaling that Apple’s two-year capricious period has passed, gradually wearing out the courage to define the phone and officially moving into a more pragmatic product concept from now on. Simply put, we’ll do what contemporary consumers like, and the Plus version is born.
The ideal of a small-screen mobile phone is very plump, but the reality is very skinny! Even as expensive as an apple, it is unable to call the mini, an “unsupportable dude”. Today, among the small-screen mobile phones on the market in China, only Samsung Galaxy S22, Mi 12X, Mi 12 and Mi 12 are left. How long will the idea of a small-screen phone last after the iPhone mini version falls? How long can they survive? I don’t dare to think about it, but for the small screen party, who can’t be ignored by the minority, their choices will undoubtedly become less and less.
Do domestic phone manufacturers impact high-end new turn?
Another impact of the cancellation of the mini and the introduction of the Plus is to bring the starting price of the iPhone 14 series back to the 6000 price range from the previous 5000 price range this year. The new iPhone’s price strategy has also become much more reasonable than before, ranging from 5,999 yuan for iPhone 14, 6,999 yuan for iPhone 14 Plus, to 7,999 yuan for iPhone 14 Pro, and finally to 8,999 yuan for iPhone 14 Pro Max, with a difference of 1,000 yuan each. Apple vowed to make a drip in the battle for high-end share.
For domestic manufacturers, the impact of high-end before the iPhone standard version and Pro version of the price vacuum of almost 2,000 yuan, but the iPhone 14 series was impervious to the precise strike of each price segment, so domestic phone manufacturer’s impact high-end again overshadowed a layer.
If you look at it from a different perspective, this may also become a new opportunity for domestic phone manufacturers to impact the high-end. iPhone 14 series starting price back up after the empty 4,000 + price segment, almost the price of the standard version of the domestic flagship phone. Imagine if the domestic flagship phones take the “standard – bucket, Pro – pluck” program, enhance the product power of the standard version, can we find another way in the 4000 + price range, and regain the share of high-end phones swallowed by Apple?
Perhaps, domestic mobile phone manufacturers really need to re-examine the model strategy of their flagship mobile phones.
Summarize
For most users, the changes in mini and Plus don’t actually have much impact. It’s nothing more than the fact that the starting price of the iPhone is more expensive, and consumers are happy, but as a giant in the mobile phone industry, Apple’s every move has always affected the development of the entire industry. The survival of small-screen mobile phones in the future and the impact of domestic manufacturers’ impact on high-end are only a small part of what can be predicted. What happens after that, we might as well wait and see.
