Among them, the iPhone 14 price starts at 5,999 yuan, the iPhone 14 Plus starts at 6,999 yuan, the iPhone 14 Pro starts at 7,999 yuan, and the iPhone 14 Pro Max starts at 8,999 yuan.

Shenrancaijing original

author | Wang Min

edited | Xiang Xiaoyuan

early morning in September 8, html l3 Apple 's "Ultra-Preview" autumn press conference arrived as scheduled.

At this press conference, Apple updated the three major product lines of iPhone, AirPods, and Apple Watch. After watching the entire press conference, it is estimated that only the design of the iPhone 14 Pro series "Lingdong Island" is the most surprising.

"Lingdong Island" once again demonstrates Apple's software and hardware collaboration capabilities. Before the press conference, the iPhone 14 Pro series screen hole-punching design was expected to change from bangs to pills, becoming the biggest point of complaint. However, Apple has made many software adaptations around pills, which can change with the software and application scenarios and are named "Lingdong Island", which makes users who stay up late shine.

is different from the 15% price increase in the market forecast. The 128GB starting version of the iPhone 14 series still continues the strategy of "increasing volume without increasing price". The price increase range of 256GB, 512GB and 1TB different memory versions is between 100-500 yuan . Among them, the iPhone 14 price starts at 5,999 yuan, the iPhone 14 Plus starts at 6,999 yuan, the iPhone 14 Pro starts at 7,999 yuan, and the iPhone 14 Pro Max starts at 8,999 yuan.

In addition, in addition to the updates of Apple Watch SEries 8 and Apple Watch SE, the smart watch product line has ushered in new member Apple Watch Ultra, aiming at more professional sports scenes, in terms of battery life and diving, etc. There are some sports scenes A significant increase, with a price of 6,299 yuan. The AirPods Pro 2 is equipped with a new chip, which has doubled the noise reduction performance, but the increase in volume and reduced the price. The price is 1,899 yuan, which is 100 yuan cheaper than the first generation.

2022 is a cold winter for the global smartphone market. However, according to relevant data from research institutions, compared with the decline in mobile phone sales in the low-end market, the high-end market is not so severely affected. Manufacturers' grabbing for the high-end market continues. Just two days ago, Huawei updated the Mate series after two years, and released the Huawei Mate 50 series mobile phone, with the highlight of supporting satellite communications and XMAGE imaging systems.

Whether it is iPhone 14 or Huawei Mate 50, the market has placed high expectations before it was released. The most direct manifestation is that scalpers are ready to stock up on goods, users make reservations in advance, and even ask scalpers to book at high prices.

Last year, against the backdrop of Huawei's "fall" and other domestic mobile phone manufacturers heading for the high-end, the sales volume of iPhone 13 hit a new high after the release of the company, and it has won the first place in the Chinese market for six consecutive weeks. This year, whether the iPhone 14 can continue the highlights of last year has also touched the hearts of industry insiders.

iPhone14 standard version and Pro version widen, and users lament that "it's still 13 fragrance"

every autumn press conference, iPhone updates are the motivation to keep Apple fans at night.

This year, the biggest difference between the iPhone 14 series is that after cutting off the mini version, the Plus version is added, which is called the enlarged version of the iPhone 14. The screen is enlarged from 6.1 inches of the iPhone 14 to 6.7 inches, and the battery capacity is increased from 3279mAh to 3279mAh to About 4300mAh.

iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus/ Apple's official website

is not surprisingly the mini version was cut this time. Previously, many industry insiders pointed out that the sales of the mini version are indeed poor. According to Counterpoint's iPhone 13 series sales statistics in 2021, the sales volume of iPhone 13 mini accounted for only 5%.

, and the performance gap between the two products, iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus, and the Pro series, has further widened. Before the

launch conference, the market expected that in order to maintain its gross profit margin, Apple may increase the price of the iPhone 14 series by 15%. But from the actual situation, in order to maintain users, Apple still adopts the strategy of increasing the amount and not increasing the price of the 128G low-end memory, but the 256GB, 512GB version and 1TB version are 100 yuan, 300 yuan and 500 yuan respectively. Among them, the iPhone 14 price starts at 5999 yuan, the iPhone 14 Plus starts at 6999 yuan, the iPhone 14 Pro starts at 7999 yuan, and the iPhone 14 Pro Max starts at 8999 yuan. The 1TB version of the most expensive iPhone 14 Pro Max is 13,499 yuan.

However, the performance gap between the two standard versions of iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus and the Pro series has further widened, distinguishing between entry-level and high-end models, and not giving up the cost-effective strategy, but also Capture users with certain consumption capacity.

This makes some users not very satisfied with the upgrade of iPhone 14. First of all, from the chip, the two products, iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus, only use the enhanced A15 chip. At the image level, these two products use rear dual cameras, and the main camera is still 12 million pixels. So much so that after watching the iPhone 14 press conference, many users sighed that it is indeed "13 fragrance".

Fortunately, the iPhone 14 Pro series gave users certain surprises. The performance of the A16 chip used in the two Pro series has been improved, and the power consumption has been reduced by 20%. The rear main camera has also abandoned 12 million pixels and adopted 48 million pixels, supporting ProRes format shooting, which is the post-production of professionals. It provides space, and is equipped with an upgraded 12-megapixel ultra-wide angle and a 12-megapixel telephoto lens.

iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max / Apple's official website

The most popular user is the interface design of the Pro series "Lingdong Island". This space can clearly and coherently display reminders and background activities so that users will not be able to get from the current Used apps to distract and blur the difference between hardware and software. For example, users can view taxi, countdown, navigation and other information through Lingdong Island, and each reminder has a different animation. Apple fans lamented that the design of Lingdong Island "turned the 'banghai area' that was criticized into a functional area, and its thinking was a bit advanced" and "like turning waste into treasure."

Lingdong Island / Apple official website

Of course, the iPhone 14 series also has some regular upgrades in terms of functions, such as adding car accident detection function, emergency satellite communication rescue function, etc. It is interesting that mobile phone manufacturers have recently set their sights on satellite communications functions. Especially Apple and Huawei are still in a state of tightening step by step. Two days ago, Huawei Mate 50 just snatched the title of "the world's first mass smartphone to support satellite communications". After losing the advantages of high-end chips, Huawei began to take the lead.

Apple Watch has a "super large cup", and the new AirPods Pro "added volume and reduced price"

At this press conference, as soon as Cook came up, it took the update of Apple Watch as an appetizer. The product updates of

Apple Watch Series 8 and the new Apple Watch SE are relatively regular. Among them, the former has improved health and safety functions, supports women's menstrual tracking, and improves measurement accuracy through temperature sensors. In combination with temperature detection, it can help women estimate ovulation time and also supports safety detection. The battery life is 18 hours, and the one-charge mode is not fundamentally changed, but it can support low-power operation and the battery life can be extended to 36 hours. The price is the same as the previous generation, with a starting price of 2,999 yuan.

Apple Watch Product Line Update/Apple Official Website

The new Apple Watch SE will support the car accident detection function announced on S8, and it uses the same chip as Series8, with a price starting from 1,999 yuan. Apple will also enter the children's watch market with the new Watch SE, saying the new Apple Watch SE will be used with Apple's home settings feature, which allows users to set up the Apple Watch SE using their parents or caregivers' iPhone. Meanwhile, the new Apple Watch SE can run as a standalone smart device.

In the past, Little Genius took the lead in the children's watch market. In 2022, more and more manufacturers are testing children's smart watches. The new Apple Watch SE also brings the barriers of Apple's ecosystem to this market.

Apple Watch Ultra is the largest update on the Apple smart watch product line, priced at 6,299 yuan, mainly for professional athletes and outdoor sports enthusiasts, such as mountain bike hand, hikers and marathon athletes, and diving enthusiasts. The crowd first significantly improved the battery life, achieving a maximum battery life of 36 hours and a maximum battery life of 60 hours.Functionally, it integrates real-time compass, professional running monitoring, GPS positioning, 86dB alarm system and other functions to detect underwater depth, time and water temperature to meet the needs of outdoor adventure sports.

From the user's perspective, this professional-grade product has a relatively small audience range. But some industry insiders believe that Apple's products are moving towards a more professional segmentation direction, and the emergence of Apple Watch Ultra this time may seize the market for professional sports smart watches, and thus affect the pattern of the smart watch market.

new AirPods Pro with additional volume and no price increase, priced at 1,899 yuan, equipped with a new H2 chip, further improving the spatial audio experience, personalized spatial audio, active noise reduction capability increased by 20% compared to the previous generation, supports adaptive transparency mode, touch Control operation can adjust the volume. The battery life is 6 hours, an increase of 33% over the first generation. With the headset box for 30 hours, you can directly use the charger of the Apple Watch for charging, and a new lanyard hole design is also added.

AirPods Pro 2 / Apple launch conference

In the smart wearable device market, Apple firmly holds the head of the head, whether it is smart watches or headphones. Relevant research reports show that in the second quarter, Apple's market share in the global smartwatch market and TWS headphone market were both around 30%, ranking first.

However, competition in the wearable device market is becoming increasingly fierce, and domestic mobile phone manufacturers and some emerging brands are accelerating their grabbing for this market. Apple's financial report in the second quarter showed that its wearable devices and accessories products revenue declined year-on-year. Apple also needs to continue to export new products to stimulate the market to stabilize its position.

After the three major product lines were updated, the Apple press conference came to an end. This time, Apple did not release new gadgets, nor did it "One More Thing", but there was only an easter egg at the end, a passenger in the subway flashed like a virtual character. Many people think that this is Apple for next year The press conference is warming up, and Apple's XR products may appear at that time.

The mobile phone industry is in a cold winter, is the iPhone 14 still delicious?

In 2022, it has become a consensus that "it is difficult to sell mobile phones". Throughout the first half of the year, both in the global market and the Chinese market, the shipments of smartphones were biting chills.

Canalys related data shows that during the first and second quarters of 2022, global smartphone shipments fell by 11% and 9% year-on-year respectively, and the shipments of smartphone market in mainland China fell by 18% and 10% year-on-year respectively.

The market is in a downturn, and mobile phone manufacturers have not had a good life. Taking the second quarter as an example, in the domestic market, except for the Honor , which has a low market share base, it is still rapidly expanding its market share, and the other manufacturers have experienced significant year-on-year declines, among which vivo shipments fell by 28%, and OPPO fell by 30%. , Xiaomi fell by 16%. In the global market, Xiaomi OV shipments fell by about 20% year-on-year. Xiaomi's financial report also shows that during the first half of the year, mobile phone sales decreased by 25 million year-on-year.

However, the high-end flagship mobile phone market is relatively less affected by the sluggish market demand. Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon has previously said that sales of low-priced phones have declined the most significantly. Counterpoint data also shows that in the second quarter, the sales volume in the high-end market only fell by 10% compared with the overall year-on-year decline of 14%. Among them, the high-end market segments of US$600-799 (about RMB 4,100-5,470) and flagship high-end market segments of US$1,000 (about RMB 6,850) and above both achieved growth in the second quarter of 2022.

mobile phone manufacturers have also placed high-end strategies on the top priority because of the strong consumption power of users in the high-end market and the high product profit margin. The prices of flagship phones have been rising, but the results are not satisfactory. After Huawei "falls", the iPhone 13 ushered in a new highlight with the strategy of increasing volume but not increasing price. In the fourth quarter of 2021, Apple ranked first in the global mobile phone market and China's mobile phone market, which is also the first in the Chinese market in a single quarter after six years. Apple accounts for 60% of the market share of high-end smartphones in 2021.

Until the second quarter of this year, according to the financial report, the revenue of Apple's Mac, iPad and other hardware product lines declined, but the iPhone product lines are still growing and contributed half of Apple's revenue.

So, this year, can the iPhone 14 continue the highlights of the previous generation?

market variables have emerged. Just two days ago, Huawei released the new Huawei Mate 50 series, targeting the high-end market with more than 5,000 yuan, and fighting with Apple in close combat. Among them, the starting price of Huawei Mate50 series mobile phones is 4,999 yuan. The starting price of Huawei Mate50 Pro series mobile phones is 6,799 yuan, and the price of Mate 50 RS is 12,999 yuan.

The Mate series, which was updated two years ago, exceeded 2 million early reservations, and users commented that " satellite communication looks cool" and "I want to experience Hongmeng 3.0".

Some industry insiders pointed out that despite the highlights of satellite communications, Hongmeng system, imaging innovation, etc., without Kirin chip , without 5G version, and without Leica, the advantages are reduced a little bit, and the Mate series wants to return to its peak. It's difficult, but it can still grab some market share.

Scalpers performed very positively for iPhone 14, and Tianfeng Securities chief analyst Ming-Chi Kuo also believes that the shipment volume of iPhone 14 may reach about 90 million to 100 million units in the second half of this year remains unchanged.

However, Sun Yanbiao, chairman of Chaodian Think Tank, believes that the iPhone 13 is a product of a specific period and does not represent the performance of the conventional market. In his opinion, compared with the iPhone 13's hot sales cycle that lasted for about 9 months, the iPhone 14's hot sales cycle may last for about 5 months. It is not easy for Apple to recreate the highlights of iPhone 13 in the Chinese market.

has entered the second half of the year, and the mobile phone industry is still in a cold winter, but the high-end mobile phone market can be said to be a "god fight". In the second quarter of last year, Apple's market share in China fell to the bottom, and the iPhone 13 made a comeback for Apple. But this year, whether the iPhone 14 can be maintained can only be answered by time.

*The title picture comes from @TimCook.