Kuo: iPhone 14 Plus Pre-Orders Worse Than iPhone 13 Mini, Product Strategy 'Fails'

The iPhone 14 and ‌iPhone‌ 14 Plus have seen "bad" pre-order results, indicating that Apple's positioning of the two new standard models may have failed, according to Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.

iphone 14 iphone 14 plus in hand
In his latest post on Medium, Kuo explained that the ‌iPhone‌ 14 Pro and ‌iPhone‌ 14 Pro Max have seen "neutral" and "good" pre-order results compared to the ‌iPhone‌ 13 Pro and ‌iPhone‌ 13 Pro Max. Delivery wait times of more than four weeks may indicate good demand for the new high-end devices. It is apparently "unclear" whether Apple will increase shipment forecasts of its Pro models, but there is a "growing" chance that it will cut orders of the ‌iPhone‌ 14 and ‌iPhone‌ 14 Plus, which currently account for around 45 percent of the entire lineup's shipments.

The ‌iPhone‌ 14 and ‌iPhone‌ 14 Plus are expected to be in stock in retail stores on their launch dates, "reflecting lackluster demand." As it stands, Kuo says that the pre-order results for the ‌iPhone‌ 14 and ‌iPhone‌ 14 Plus are worse than those of the third-generation ‌iPhone‌ SE and the ‌iPhone‌ 13 mini. He noted that Apple cut orders of both the third-generation ‌iPhone‌ SE and the ‌iPhone‌ 13 mini in the first half of 2022 due to low demand.

If demand for the two standard models do not improve, Apple may cut ‌iPhone‌ 14 and ‌iPhone‌ 14 Plus orders as soon as November. Suppliers who are not major beneficiaries of Apple's ‌iPhone‌ 14 Pro models will likely see the start of declining revenue in September and October as a result.

For ‌iPhone‌ 14 Plus, in particular, the "pre-order result is significantly lower than expected." As a model that effectively replaces the "mini" form factor in the latest ‌iPhone‌ lineup, with 6.1-inch and 6.7-inch display sizes now being the only options, Kuo said that "Apple's product segmentation strategy for standard models fails this year."

All four of the ‌iPhone‌ 14 models were announced by Apple last week and have been available to pre-order since September 9. The ‌iPhone‌ 14, ‌iPhone‌ 14 Pro, and ‌iPhone‌ 14 Pro Max are set to launch on Friday, September 16, and the ‌iPhone‌ 14 Plus will launch on Friday, October 7.

Related Forum: iPhone

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Top Rated Comments

eilavid Avatar
40 months ago
it failed because the price went up by 260 euros
Score: 176 Votes (Like | Disagree)
WiiDSmoker Avatar
40 months ago
13 to the 14 is basically the same phone. Glad it’s failing.
Score: 121 Votes (Like | Disagree)
MacDevil7334 Avatar
40 months ago
Seems to validate the theory that the Mini failed because Apple forced people to choose between size and Pro features. I would have bought a Mini Pro in a heartbeat.
Score: 117 Votes (Like | Disagree)
mnsportsgeek Avatar
40 months ago
Apple makes the same phone 2 years in a row and they wonder why nobody wants it if they make it a little bigger?
Score: 113 Votes (Like | Disagree)
solarmon Avatar
40 months ago
I don’t want to have to buy new pants with bigger pockets, just to carry my phone. I will, however, buy the 13 mini before it goes away.
Score: 105 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Doebldodl Avatar
40 months ago
In my place, iPhone 14 is 200 EUR more expensive than iPhone 13, with a very small set of new features. That's hard to justify.
Score: 102 Votes (Like | Disagree)