This past Friday was iPhone 14 preorder day, and plenty of people around the world, including here at iMore, placed their orders for Apple’s latest smartphone. The iPhone 14 lineup includes the iPhone 14, iPhone 14 Plus, iPhone 14 Pro, and iPhone 14 Pro Max. However, according to analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, the iPhone 14 Plus model looks to be a flop so far, while the iPhone 14 Pro is a big hit.
The preorder results are in and no one wants an iPhone 14 Plus
Kuo got the results of iPhone 14 preorder totals from the weekend and posted a blog about it. Compared to the iPhone 13 models, the iPhone 14 Pro Max did the best, the iPhone 14 Pro is neutral, and the two standard models of the iPhone 14 didn’t do as great. iPhone 14 Pro Max preorders did better than the iPhone 13 Pro Max did on launch, but overall, the results are neutral. At this point, it is unclear whether or not Apple will be increasing the shipment forecast for the Pro models. However, it is important to note that both the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus only accounted for 45% of total iPhone preorders, which means a possible cut in orders and production in the future.
(1/2)Latest offline pre-order survey for iPhone 14 series in China1. The total order allocation for two 14 Pros is about 85%.2. 14 Plus has the lowest order allocation (less than 5%).September 9, 2022
Kuo also tweeted that an offline preorder survey for the iPhone 14 took place in China. Out of that poll, the order allocation for the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max are about 85%. The iPhone 14 Plus had the least amount of order allocations from that survey, with just a mere 5%. This could be due to the fact that only the iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max received significant upgrades compared to the standard models.
Other observations by Kuo focus on the delivery time of the iPhone 14 models. At the moment, with delivery dates out as far as four weeks or more, it seems to suggest good demand for the new iPhones. This is especially true for the Pro and Pro Max models, which are out as far as five to six weeks, respectively. iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus still may be in stock on launch day, which reflects lackluster demand. Preorder results for the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus are actually worse than even the iPhone SE 3 and iPhone 13 mini.
Though the iPhone 14 Plus is supposed to be the “replacement” for the iPhone 13 mini (even though it went bigger than small), the significantly low preorders for this model suggest that Apple’s strategy for product segmentation this year has flopped. The delivery times for the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max are a smidge longer or about the same as the iPhone 13 equivalents, and the iPhone 14 and 14 Plus are shorter versus the iPhone 13 mini and iPhone 13.
With such low demand for the standard iPhone 14 models, Apple may cut the shipments for those particular devices for November and beyond if demand does not improve. At the same time, it may appear that the demand for the Pro models will hold up until at least November.
The standard iPhone 14 was a boring update, the iPhone 14 Pro models are much more exciting
Considering that the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus still use the A15 Bionic chip from the iPhone 13 models, it’s not surprising that the demand for the standard models is low and considered a flop right now. Removing the mini size and adding a 6.7-inch Plus version was a change that no one really asked for. Besides marginal improvements to the camera and new features like Emergency SOS via satellite and Crash Detection, there honestly is not much improvement in the iPhone 14 over the iPhone 13 — it’s not even getting a ProMotion display, introduced last year with the iPhone 13 Pro.
The iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max received significant upgrades with A16 Bionic, 48-megapixel Main camera, Always-On display, Dynamic Island, and more. It’s a clear winner for what the best iPhone is this year, and the preorder demand seems to reflect that as well.
