Immediately after the presentation, where four smartphones of the iPhone 14 line were shown, I climbed onto the Apple website to see what the company removed from sale and what it left. And what I saw greatly impressed me because the company took a step that surprised all the experts very much – it left the iPhone 13 and iPhone 13 mini on sale.
This decision looks rather strange at once on several points. Of course, we are discussing a substantial similarity between the two models. The iPhone 14 is the iPhone 13 with a few changes:
- The fourteenth received the Apple A15 system-on-chip from 13 Pro, where there is one more graphics core.
- We improved the camera: the wide-angle module received a matrix with a pixel size of 1.9 μm versus 1.7 μm for 13 and 13 mini. And it looks like the camera is from the 13 Pro / 13 Pro Max.
- New colors.
- New case size.
If you are interested, Sasha wrote a text about all the differences between the two models:
In general, the entire current line looks like this:
| 64 GB | 128 GB | 256 GB | 512 GB | 1 TB | |
| iPhone SE | $429 / €549 | $479 / €619 | $579 / €749 | — | — |
| iPhone 12 | $599 / €799 | $649 / €849 | $749 / €969 | — | — |
| iPhone 13 mini | — | $599 / €799 | $699 / €919 | $899 / €1149 | — |
| iPhone 13 | — | $699 / €899 | $799 / €1019 | $999 / €1249 | — |
| iPhone 14 | — | $799 / €999 | $899 / €1129 | $1099 / €1389 | — |
| iPhone 14 Plus | — | $899 / €1149 | $999 / €1279 | $1199 / €1539 | — |
| iPhone 14 Pro | — | $999 / €1299 | $1099 / €1429 | $1299 / €1689 | $1499 / €1949 |
| iPhone 14 Pro Max | — | $1099 / €1449 | $1199 / €1579 | $1399 / €1839 | $1599 / €2099 |
The main problem is that people are starting to wonder which smartphone they should buy. And if a year ago the choice was between two smartphones – iPhone 12 and 13 – now 14 are added to this.
Let’s say you want to buy an iPhone. You have an apparent request: it must be a 128 GB Face ID iPhone because the 64 version will not be enough. The cheapest option for you is the iPhone 13 mini. For him, in the US, they ask for $599 for a contract version or $629 for SIM Free.
But for $649 ($679 if it’s SIM Free), you can buy an iPhone with a larger screen – the iPhone 12. At the same time, at a price, it’s pretty close to $699 (or $729 if SIM Free) that they ask for iPhone 13. This smartphone is newer. It has a better camera. At the same time, it is almost the same as the iPhone 14, but a hundred bucks cheaper. However, the margin with the iPhone 13 is much lower than with the iPhone 14. About the same hundred dollars.
Looking at this price, I understand why to buy an iPhone 13. But I don’t know why to buy an iPhone 12 or 14. Some buyers will choose a new product because it is:
- New.
- New colors.
But the iPhone 13 will take over potential buyers of the iPhone 14. Thus, last year’s smartphone became very popular, but only Apple will receive much less money from it than it could.
I understand from the point of view of the buyer why the iPhone 13 is needed. This excellent smartphone will delight the user for many more years. And the fact that it didn’t turn into a pumpkin after yesterday’s presentation is a great reason to keep buying it.
However, I don’t understand why Apple needs the iPhone 13. It would be logical to leave the line as I predicted it on August 29:
- iPhone SE (2022),
- iPhone 12 mini,
- iPhone 12,
- iPhone 14,
- iPhone 14 Max,
- iPhone 14 Pro,
- iPhone 14 Pro Max.
But maybe it’s not about the money that the company could earn from sales of a more marginal iPhone 14?