The discussion has surfaced once again in the digital circle, with the topic of “iPhone 14 sales are lower than iPhone 13” gaining attention. However, before jumping to conclusions, it’s important to acknowledge the facts. This topic is based on a picture.
According to the market research firm Counterpoint Research’s top ten list of global mobile phone sales in 2022, the iPhone 13 ranks first with a 5.0% sales share, while the iPhone 14 ranks seventh with a 1.4% sales share. It’s worth noting that the iPhone 14 has only been on sale for a little over three months, while the iPhone 13 data reflects sales over the course of 12 months. Therefore, the comparison between the two models is not objective.
Furthermore, if we look back at the sales list for 2021, we can see that the iPhone 13’s sales were also lower than the iPhone 12. However, this does not necessarily mean that the iPhone 13 is a weaker product than the iPhone 12.
That being said, it is clear that the iPhone 14’s attractiveness has regressed when compared to the iPhone 13. In 2021, the difference between the iPhone 13 and iPhone 12 sales was only 0.8%. The iPhone 13 standard version was the best-selling model in the 13 series.
In 2022, however, the gap between the iPhone 14 and iPhone 13 sales was as high as 3.6%. Additionally, the best-selling model in the 14 series was the iPhone 14 Pro Max. It’s evident that the standard version of the iPhone 14 is not as popular as the Pro version.
So, what went wrong with the standard version of the iPhone 14? As a senior Apple fan, I have a few opinions to share. Firstly, the biggest mistake was not upgrading the chip. Upgrading the chip is a fundamental improvement for each new generation of iPhone, but the iPhone 14 was the only exception. It only changed from A15 to A15 full-blooded version, with a minimal improvement of an extra 2GB of memory.
Secondly, not using Dynamic Island was a missed opportunity. Many people can’t understand why the standard version of the iPhone 14 didn’t use Dynamic Island. If all iPhone 14 models had used it, developers would have been more active in adapting, and Apple could have used lower-cost appearance innovation to attract users.
Lastly, the pricing of the standard version was too high. If Apple had provided some leeway on the price, consumers would have felt more valued. However, the iPhone 14 standard version still sells for $799, and the big-screen version of the iPhone 14 Plus goes up to $899. This is too much beyond expectations.
Any one of these issues could have been solved, and the iPhone 14 would not have faced such a disappointing reception.
Come to the end, do you think iPhone 14 series is worth buying rather than iPhone 13 series?