On April 5, a research report made the news of iPhone production cuts once again enter people's field of vision, especially the iPhone SE3 was released shortly after the production cut, which triggered market speculation. The iPhone SE3 with a high-performance A15 chip but pixels and small screen size has been jokingly called a "lame" product by some users. More industry views believe that the slightly higher price of the phone deviates from the low-end market demand, and Apple needs a more thorough innovation.
The iPhone SE3 may be reduced by 20 million units
Loop Capital analyst John Donovan quoted related reports to publish a research report that Apple may cut the 2022 iPhone production orders to between 245 million and 250 million, including the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, supply chain disruptions and other common reasons, and added that the iPhone SE3 production released in March may be cut by 20 million units, and because consumers choose more large-screen mobile phones, the iPhone 13 may increase production appropriately.
Compared with the market's pursuit of the iPhone 13, the iPhone SE3 released after half a year has been treated coldly, and now it is facing the dilemma of reducing production soon after listing.
In fact, the phone before the release also carried a lot of market expectations, including full screen, the cancellation of the home button, and is expected to be less than 3000 yuan of the price, but the iPhone SE3 did not achieve the expectation of "fruit powder", in the mainstream iPhone series has adopted the "bangs screen" and cancel the home button, the iPhone SE3 is still used in the shell of the iPhone8. Its screen resolution is 1334x750 pixels, that is, 720p puqing, and its front 7 million pixels and rear 12 million pixel lenses are also far from the iPhone 13 standard of 12 million pixels in front and 12 million in the rear with wide angle.
Paradoxically, the A15 chip equipped with the iPhone SE3 is very powerful, the system is also the latest IOS 15.4, the comprehensive performance of the A15 is slightly more than the Snapdragon 888 and Gen1, compared to the same series of A14 processors are also 13.7% faster. Some users on the Internet commented that the powerful performance could have made the iPhone SE3 show its fist in the game, and the A15 was also known as the "chip that conquered the "original god", but its smaller screen size and lower clarity have reduced the sense of experience and become a "lame" product.
"Niche products" are off track
Loop Capital analysts pointed out that behind such contradictions is Apple's intention to create "niche products". Niche, or transliteration of Nice, refers to a brand's products built for market segments outside of mainstream series, which tend to perform slightly inferior to mainstream and are seen as a supplemental type.
The industry view is that the mainstream iPhone is sorted by numbers and has a higher price, which is a fist product to conquer the market, and the SE series hopes to meet the needs of more user experience Apple ecology at a lower price. Profitability is not the main purpose of the SE series, through ecological expansion, and Android mobile phones to seize the share is its real intention.
Liang Zhenpeng, a senior industrial economy observer, told the Beijing Business Daily reporter that apple's strategy may be difficult to implement, and the high price is an important reason. At present, the domestic price of the 64G version of the iPhone SE3 is more than 3,000 yuan, and the 256G version is more than 4,000 yuan, deviating from the main line of meeting the needs of the low-end market. If the iPhone SE3 can still survive in the market with a starting price of $429 in the United States, then the domestic market will face more cruel siege of low-cost models.
Liang Zhenpeng said bluntly that the screen resolution of miscellaneous mobile phones with about 1,000 yuan in the domestic market can also reach 1920x1080p, and the battery can reach the level of 4000 mAh / h, which is better than the iPhone SE3. In addition, the 3000-4000 yuan mobile phone on the market is basically equipped with an OLED screen, and Apple's new product still uses an LCD screen. When the memory of mainstream brand mobile phones has been increased to 256G, the minimum memory of the iPhone SE3 of 64G is also difficult to meet the needs of users. From the perspective of size, 5 or 6 years ago, the mobile phone screen has basically entered the 6-inch era, and now the iPhone SE3 is bound to push the 4.7-inch screen is bound to have little response.
The future is uncertain
The so-called SE, or Special Edition, refers to a special version launched by the mobile phone brand to pay tribute to the classic. Apple's mainstream models are basically introduced every year, and the iPhone SE series has only been released in 3 versions in 6 years since its launch in 2016. For the future development of the series, some industry views are not optimistic.
Liang Zhenpeng believes that there is a fundamental contradiction between the SE series and Apple's brand image, Apple's mobile phone has always shown a high-end, trendy image, and the development of the SE series has so far lowered apple's brand image to a certain extent. There is a risk of being eliminated by Apple in the future.
Communications expert Ma Jihua believes that Apple started with revolution and innovation, but in recent years it has not seen major innovations. Whether it is the continuation of the SE series, or the renovation of the appearance and color matching, it is only consuming the accumulated consumer loyalty and cannot fundamentally solve the dilemma. In addition, as the pioneers in the field of mobile phones are imitated and caught up, now mobile phone products are highly homogeneous, Apple no longer has a prominent cost-effective advantage, and the market is waiting for innovation points to appear.
However, there are also industry views that Apple's strategy has always been to follow the strategy, often wait for the technology to mature and then re-enter, and immediately become the industry leader with brand advantages. Taking 5G mobile phones as an example, Samsung actually started many years earlier than Apple, but it was quickly surpassed by Apple. According to Counterpoint Research data, as early as October 2020, that is, the month of the launch of the iPhone 12, the top two in the 5G mobile phone sales ranking were occupied by the iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro, and the Samsung Galaxy Note 20 only ranked third.
Beijing Business Daily reporter Jin Chaoli Wang Zhuli Image source: Apple's official WeChat account
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