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Leaks of the iPhone 15's range have shown off a number of potentially alluring improvements and eye-popping price rises. However, a recent report suggests that Apple may lower costs.
Even after accounting for continued pandemic-related component shortages, historically trustworthy industry insider yeux1122 reports that Apple's internal review of the dismal iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus sales found that their fall is "far outside the range projected." Apple will therefore aggressively price its successors as a result.
The insider claims that "the price is the major issue." This is logical. Despite having a poorer display, CPU, camera, and an outdated design, the $899 iPhone 14 Plus costs just $100 less than the iPhone 14 Pro. There isn't much of a rationale to choose Plus over Pro as the majority of customers spread their purchase expenditures over a two-year carrier contract.
According to Yeux1122, Apple has considered a number of methods to address this, including decreasing the feature differences between the standard and Pro variants of the iPhone 15, but has come to the conclusion that more aggressive pricing for standard units is the most likely course of action.
Update on December 31: The Mini form factor won't be returning, despite Apple's projected price reductions for normal iPhone 15 models. Significant discussion has grown around Apple's "aggressive" pricing plan since after yeux1122 disclosed it.
Slashing the price of the iPhone 15 Plus sends shockwaves through the pricing of the iPhone 15, iPhone 14 (which is probably going to stay on sale), and even the base-model iPhone SE. As a result, it makes a lot more sense that Apple could simply drop the Plus and release an iPhone 15 Mini with the iPhone 15. This would allow Apple to lower the price of the entry-level model, increase the price differential with the iPhone 15 Pro versions, and maintain the costs of the other variants.
There are no plans to release an iPhone 15 small next year, in case you were wondering, according to AppleLeaksPro, who has disproved this tactic.
If true, this is unfortunate. Big phones aren't for everyone, so what Apple accomplished with the Mini form factor was impressive. Its discontinuation was ultimately brought on by unexpectedly weak sales, but according to market reports, sales of the iPhone 14 Plus are much worse.
Because so many people purchased the Mini, Apple might have been able to offer three iPhone sizes once more. Given that there are options from Apple and Android, it is challenging to construct the same case for the iPhone 14 Plus. In spite of this, I believe it is far simpler to design a smartphone with a 6.7-inch form factor than a 5.7-inch one.
Update on January 1: Statements made by TSMC Chairman Mark Liu may have just revealed important performance data concerning Apple's upcoming A17 chipset, which will power the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max/Ultra. Liu, who discussed TSMC's product schedules, confirmed that mass manufacturing of 3-nanometer chips has started at the company's Tainan site in southern Taiwan. TSMC is Apple's main chip supplier.
The "extremely strong" demand for 3nm chips, according to Liu, is the result of "decades of collaboration with the local supply chain," which has led to mass manufacture of 3nm chips. But when Liu discussed the advantages of 3nm processors, he said that tests showed they will outperform 5nm circuits while using 35% less power.
Although Samsung Foundry has already delivered the first 3nm chips used for cryptocurrency mining, TSMC will be the first to employ them in consumer electronics, and Apple will have initial access to the majority of TSMC's output. As a result, it is widely expected that the M2 chips in the next MacBook Pro range upgrade would introduce this new technology in the first quarter.
The timeframe thus gives Apple iPhone 15 Pro and Ultra plenty of time to move to mobile when they debut in Q3. This is not surprising because 3nm nearly launched the iPhone 14 before it was delayed, but before Liu's remarks, little was known about its performance and efficiency advantages.
Of course, it is yet unclear how Apple will make use of these efficiency improvements. Although I assume a middle ground will be the most sensible choice, it might decide to give significant battery life improvements and a relatively tiny performance bump or vice versa. In any case, Apple now has more flexibility than it has had since the A14 became the first iPhone processor made on a 5nm process in 2020.
These efficiency improvements would also offer Apple the freedom to revive an iPhone Mini model when the 3nm A17 filters down to the main iPhone models in 2024. Despite the fact that this plan has already been rejected for 2023, the size is far more distinctive than the iPhone 14 Plus and is not likely to face competition from top Android smartphone manufacturers given their present market share. However, after dropping a product, Apple hardly ever turns around.
The obvious choice would be to reduce the price of the iPhone 15 Plus by $100 to $799, hence reducing the price of the iPhone 15 to $699. The iPhone 14 would now cost $599 and would still be available for purchase. At that price, Apple runs the danger of undercutting sales of the $429 iPhone SE, which explains last week's allegations that the firm is contemplating completely scrapping the 2023 iPhone SE.
It's interesting to note that a new flagship, the iPhone 15 Ultra, is rumored to cost even more than the iPhone 14 Pro Max, while yeux1122 also supports this and claims Apple will make the iPhone 15 Ultra and iPhone 15 Pro different from one another. According to Yeux1122, there are variations in the cameras and materials, which is consistent with rumors that the Ultra has a titanium chassis.
In the end, any suggestion of price reductions will come as a surprise because it contradicts numerous sources that claim Apple would raise, not lower, the majority of iPhone 15 prices. Having said that, yeux1122 has a track record of successfully leaking material that goes against the norm.
Notably, the insider refuted allegations that the iPhone 14 will have thinner bezels than the iPhone 13 in March; a week later, schematic leaks confirmed this. Despite numerous reports, yeux1122 predicted in August that iPhone 14 pricing wouldn't rise. Ultimately, Apple frozen prices in its largest markets. The leaker also distributed iPhone 14 Plus covers in September, proving that previous "iPhone 14 Max" branding rumors were unfounded.
Therefore, despite the possibility that the iPhone 15 Ultra may become the most expensive iPhone ever, yeux1122's data implies that purchasers of the normal iPhone 15 models will have more money in their accounts than anticipated.
