Do you also feel that when you go to buy a mobile phone recently, especially for the one marked with the Apple logo, your wallet is suddenly not so bulging? No, the latest data has come out, which makes us mortals shine - it turns out that it is not only us, but Apple itself seems to be "shrinking".
Let's talk about the data first, the most authoritative IDC report is in front of us, and I have to believe it - Apple's global mobile phone market shipments fell by 9.6% in the first quarter compared with the same period last year. It may sound like a single digit, but for a giant of Apple's level, where every percentage point represents a change in sales of millions of units, this number is not so easy to ignore.
Don't look at just Apple, Samsung and a large domestic manufacturer fell even less in the same period - 0.7% and 8.5%. In the context of this market deceleration, Xiaomi and Transsion are swimming against the current, especially Transsion, with a growth rate of more than 80%, which is enough to show that the market still has money to make, and the key depends on how you make it.
Then why is Apple in such a hurry to cut prices? Just look at the timeline and it's clear -- from the beginning of the Spring Festival, the iPhone 15 began to be discounted, and it continued until March, with a price reduction of 1,500 yuan. This operation is very rare in Apple's history. Traditionally, Apple is a symbol of price protection, even if a new machine comes out, the price reduction of the old machine is also very modest. But this time, the price reduction strategy of the iPhone 15 seems to tell us that Apple is also a little "panicked".
Why is Apple panicking? It is not difficult to understand that consumers' wallets are tight, competitors' products are cost-effective, but Apple's products are "increasing technology but not performance". No, the A17 chip of the iPhone 15, although it uses the most advanced 3nm process, the performance improvement is far less significant than people expect - only about 10% improvement, and from time to time there are small cases of heating.
Thinking about it from another angle, Apple's product line is getting longer and longer, and low-end models such as iPhone15 and iPhone15plus still use last year's A16 processor, but the price is 800 yuan higher than the starting price of the previous generation iPhone13. This is obviously bad news for consumers who were once attracted to Apple products and are now starting to be price-sensitive. After all, for the same money, people always want to buy more advanced and "value" products.
Consumer dissatisfaction often has a direct impact on product sales. For example, rumors of Foxconn's production line dismantling and conversion may be saying that orders for the iPhone 15 have not met expectations. Especially the iPhone 15 Pro, although the quality is great, but the starting price of 7999 yuan really scared many people, and many people hesitated.
Apple has always been known for its high-price strategy, and once it cuts prices, it seems to imply: "We also drop the chain!" This approach has a significant impact on the brand image.
Although the price of the iPhone 15 has been reduced, the performance improvement is not very powerful, and it is even a little disappointing. The response in the market has been mixed, with some people thinking "at least cheaper" and others thinking that "the performance has not been improved, and the price reduction is useless". This kind of feedback is obviously a challenge for Apple.
To put it another way, it's been a few years since Cook took over Apple, and it's been a while since he ate Jobs' legacy. With the update of the iPhone, from the leap of innovation to the current iteration of small steps, from the popularity of the market to the current cautious wait-and-see, Cook's Apple seems to be experiencing a transition from a golden age to a challenging period.
It's not just Apple's problem, it's Cook's problem as well. There are also more and more voices in the market, from "Cook's apples taste the same as chewing wax" to "It's still better than in the time of Jobs", this comparison is inevitable. But don't forget, even for Cook, over the years, the size of the iPhone has become larger, the style has become more diverse, and although the market share has fluctuated, it is generally stable. It's just that the amazing innovation that started out seems to be less now.
Consumers are discerning now, and what they need is value for money, real innovation. They're no longer satisfied with just changing processors and increasing the refresh rate of a screen. They want improvements that can be seen and touched, and experiences that are worth every penny.
If Apple wants to remain strong in the market, it will need to rethink its product strategy. Whether to continue to take the high-end route, or to make appropriate adjustments to enhance the cost performance, this is a question worth pondering.
Looking at the reaction of the iPhone 15, Apple now has to make a decision: whether to maintain its usual high-end image and sell a few fewer devices, or adjust its strategy to try to satisfy more consumers.
For us, Apple is good in either way, the key is whether it can continue to bring us better products and innovative experiences. In this era of rapid change, only innovation can make consumers really buy it.
What do you think? Do you also expect Apple's future to be like mine? Or if you have any other ideas, please leave a message to discuss! See if this old tech giant can create brilliance in the new market environment.