No Price Increase For Iphone 13 Series: From 5199 Yuan, Apple Will Continue To "Seek Defeat Alone"

At 1:00 a.m. on September 15, Beijing time, the annual Apple autumn new product conference, known as the "Spring Festival Gala of science and technology circle", arrived as scheduled.

When Apple CEO Tim Cook stood in the middle of the stage, many people may not realize that this is the tenth year cook has taken over from jobs.

Over the past decade, cook has been questioned by countless people. People always like to compare him with Steve jobs. People who are not optimistic about cook will say that he lacks the genius creativity of jobs, and the gap between top students and talents is something that cook will never be able to cross.

In terms of products, although the iPhone iterates every year, there are more and more labels of "lack of innovation" and "mediocrity" on the iPhone. Is that really the case? The answer may be No.

In the past decade, under the leadership of cook, Apple's share price has risen from about $8 in August 2011 to $149 at present, with a market value of more than $2.4 trillion, making it the world's largest listed company.

According to Apple's financial report for the third quarter of fiscal year 2021, Apple's revenue reached US $81.434 billion in the second quarter of this year, up 36.4% year-on-year; For the nine months ended June 30, 2021, Apple's revenue was $282.457 billion, up 34.6% year-on-year.

So apple is still growing at a high speed. In the second quarter, Apple's revenue from iPhone was $39.57 billion, up 49.8% year-on-year.

These figures are the most convincing answers that cook, as CEO of apple, has given to the outside world. At the same time, these figures are enough to prove that iPhone products still have strong market competitiveness.

However, all the past is a prelude. Standing at the beginning of the new decade, apple is facing more fierce market competition than ever before. Whether Apple and cook are ready to release new products today will determine the answer one year later.

There is no price increase for iPhone 13 series

In Apple's autumn launch, the most popular product is the new iPhone. Previous generations of iPhones have been labeled "mediocre" mainly because users don't see amazing innovation in these products.

However, in fact, with the development of smart phones, unless new breakthroughs are made in some technical fields, micro innovation with performance improvement as the core will still be the main selling point of new products in the next few years.

Perhaps it is also because of the "micro innovation" on iteration that Apple has become more and more relaxed about the confidentiality of new iPhone products. In the past two years, before the release of new products, product information was basically disclosed in advance, and the biggest suspense was the price.

This year's iPhone 13 is the same, and the content of the official announcement of the press conference is basically consistent with the information previously disclosed. For example, in terms of naming, apple did not avoid "13", but ensured the continuity of numbers. The new product was named iPhone 13 series.

This time, a total of four models were released, namely, the iPhone 13 mini, the iPhone 13, the iPhone 13 pro, and the iPhone 13 Pro max, with prices starting at 5199 yuan, 5999 yuan, 7999 yuan and 8999 yuan respectively. Among them, the price of the iPhone 13 Pro max with 1TB of memory is 12999 yuan, which is also the upper price limit of the iPhone 13 series.

In terms of specific configuration, the iPhone 13 series all adopt ultra retinal XDR display, carry A15 bionic chip, and have 6-core CPU and 16 core neural network engine. The difference is that the iPhone 13 and iPhone 13 Mini have dual wide-angle lenses arranged diagonally. The chips are equipped with 4-core GPU, while the iphone13 pro and iPhone 13 Pro Max have an extra long focus lens. The lidar scanner can realize night mode portrait, faster auto focus in low light environment, and better augmented reality experience.

In addition, the chips of iphone13 pro and iPhone 13 Pro Max are equipped with a new 5-core GPU, and the screen supports promotion adaptive refresh rate function. From 10Hz to 120Hz, the refresh rate will be automatically adjusted according to the content.

In other aspects, the iPhone 13 series has also been upgraded accordingly. For example, the film effect mode has been added to the camera, the service life has been improved by different ranges, and the space occupied by the front "bangs" is 20% less than that of the previous generation.

In terms of color, there are five colors for iPhone 13 mini and iPhone 13, namely star, midnight, blue, pink and red, while there are only four colors for iPhone 13 pro and iPhone 13 Pro max, namely silver, graphite, gold and far peak blue.

Overall, the iPhone 13 series is cheaper than last year's iPhone 12. Because the 64GB version of the iPhone 13 series has been cancelled, all of them are 128GB. If compared with the 128GB version of the iPhone 12 (6799 yuan), the price of the iPhone 13 is 800 yuan cheaper.

Before the press conference, the organizations predicted that the iPhone 13 would adopt a positive price strategy. Although the costs of upstream parts and transportation links were rising under the epidemic situation this year, apple finally realized "no price increase in volume", which also reflected Apple's ability to control the cost of the supply chain system.

According to the Convention of the past, Apple will lower the price of the previous generation of iPhone after it is released. The reporter learned from Apple's official website that at present, the starting price of iPhone 12 Mini is 4499 yuan, with a decrease of 1000 yuan; the starting price of iPhone 12 is 5199 yuan, with a decrease of 1100 yuan; while the iphone12 pro and iphone12 Pro Max are no longer sold on Apple's official website.

In addition to the iPhone 13 series, Apple has released several new products, including the new iPad and the ipad Mini. Among them, the new ipad Mini is greatly upgraded. In addition to greatly improving the performance by carrying A15 chip, the new ipad Mini also adds a usb-c interface, which can support 5g network. At the same time, the new ipad Mini is equipped with a 1200 pixel ultra wide angle front camera and has the function of centering people.

In terms of design, the new ipad Mini integrates touch ID into the top button, and supports the second generation Apple pencil, which can be magnetically attached to the side border of the ipad Mini. On the price, the 64GB version of the new ipad Mini is 3799 yuan, and the 256gb version is 4999 yuan.

On the same day, Apple also released the apple watch series 7. The new Apple watch redesigned the display to narrow the border by 40%, making the screen area nearly 20% larger than the series 6 and more than 50% larger than the series 3. In terms of health functions, the series 7 can measure blood oxygen through innovative sensors and apps, and can monitor its heart rate anytime, anywhere, as well as mindfulness training and sleep tracking.

In addition, the apple watch series 7 has also improved its charging speed by up to 33% compared with the series 6, and it only takes about 45 minutes to charge from zero to 80%. With cellular networking, the series 7 allows users to use networking without a mobile phone. According to reports, the starting price of the apple watch series 7 is $399. As the product is officially launched in late autumn, there is no price information on Apple's official website in China.

Rising sales: Apple's pursuit of success

Looking at the forecasts released by major institutions, despite the shortage of chips, we still have a positive judgment on the growth of iPhone 13 sales.

According to trendforce, the biggest challenge for apple is still the supply shortage of some parts affected by the new crown pneumonia epidemic, but the estimated impact is limited; The total production of the whole year is predicted to be 230 million, with an annual growth rate of 15.6%, of which new machines account for about 37% ~ 39%.

In addition, the proportion of 5g mobile phone production of the brand will jump to 77% from 39% in 2020, ranking first in the world. In view of the fact that the sales performance of the previous generation of iPhone 12 Mini is not as expected, and it has entered the EOL ahead of schedule, it is estimated that the proportion of the new generation iPhone mini series will also fall within 10%, and the other three models will be the focus of sales in the future.

Tianfeng securities also believes that, thanks to the U.S. ban on Huawei and the upgrading of new designs and specifications, the iPhone 13's shipment volume in 2021 can still maintain a year-on-year growth of more than 10% (compared with the shipment volume of iPhone 12 in 2020), "We believe that the current challenge for the iPhone is the shortage of parts and components. The old models have been revised down by about 5% - 10% in 3q21 due to material shortage, while the iPhone 13 may have potential downscaling risk due to material shortage. However, the impact of this downscaling on iPhone 13 shipment is limited."

From the perspective of the global mobile phone market position, apple can be said to be "on its own" and continues to rank among the top and maintain a high income.

As for the ranking of global mobile phone brands, apple ranked third in the second quarter. According to the report of counterpoint, in the global smartphone market in the second quarter of 2021, Samsung's shipping volume remained the first, reaching 57.9 million; Xiaomi surpassed apple in the second quarter, ranking second for the first time, with the shipment exceeding 50 million, followed by Apple (48.9 million), oppo (33.6 million) and vivo (32.5 million); In the Chinese market, apple ranked fourth, and the top five in the second quarter were vivo (23%), oppo (21%), millet (17%), apple (14%) and Huawei (10%).

Although apple did not enter the top two in terms of shipping volume, it ranked first in the world's mobile phone sales list in the second quarter of the world. Counter point research analyst aman Chaudhary pointed out that Apple's sales accounted for 41% of the total market sales in the second quarter, a record high, followed by Samsung, oppo, Xiaomi and vivo.

Counterpoint analysis showed that Apple's supply capacity was not affected by the shortage of chips in the industry, thanks to Apple's strong industry relations, prudent supply chain management, transportation management, and the ability to shorten the time from factory to sales outlets. Apple's supply capacity was not affected by the shortage of chips in the industry, and sales increased by 52% year-on-year.

Apple's "cash ability" shows again. It is worth mentioning that apple still has an absolute advantage in the high-end market. In particular, Huawei fell out of the top five in the market under pressure, and apple has taken on more high-end market shares. In the domestic high-end market, apple and Huawei have further widened the gap from last year's May Fifth Five-Year Plan. According to GfK data, in the first half of 2021, in the global high-end market of more than $600, China and Western Europe accounted for 67% of the market share, while Samsung and apple accounted for 94% of the high-end market share in Western Europe.

Although the competition pattern of mobile phone market is still in dynamic fluctuation, apple repeats the ending of "boring": no matter how the market share of competitors changes, apple always occupies the high point of industrial revenue and profit.

From this point of view, apple is lack of challengers. A few years ago, we expected Android and Huawei to make more industrial innovations. But at present, Apple's competitors are not effective enough. What's more, this is not only because Apple is strong, but also because of geopolitics and economic factors, It contributed to Apple's dominance.

Reshuffle of domestic supply chain

Whether from the perspective of revenue or profit, Apple's mobile phone has been booming this year. With the advent of the sales peak season, can the new iPhone bring growth momentum to the apple industrial chain?

At present, domestic Apple suppliers are also showing a complex situation. On the one hand, both ofI light has been eliminated from the circle of friends, and domestic enterprises have been constantly joining the apple supply chain. Among the new domestic manufacturers in recent years, BOE has undoubtedly attracted much attention. Previously, BOE has supplied flexible OLED screens for the iPhone 12. BOE will also supply screens for the iPhone 13 this year, a number of panel insiders told 21st century economic reporter.

According to omdia's previous forecast, apple expects to buy 172 million flexible OLED display panels from Samsung display, LG display and BOE in 2021, of which 106 million will be used for the new iPhone 13 (5.4, 6.1 and 6.7 inches). For the new iPhone 13, BOE's panel is in the process of certification and is expected to start mass production in the fourth quarter of 2021.

In the list of top 200 suppliers announced by apple in 2020, 36 new enterprises have been added, including 12 in mainland China, including Zhaoyi innovation, Tianma microelectronics, Changying precision, etc.

In addition, it is reported that sunny optics will enter Apple's iPhone supply chain for the first time this year, providing lens for the rear camera of the new iPhone, but its share is relatively small. Previously, most of the lens of iPhone was provided by Dali light, a Taiwanese company. Sunny optics has become a major supplier of smart phone manufacturers such as Xiaomi, Huawei, oppo and vivo in China.

On the other hand, enterprises at the head of Apple's industrial chain are extending their boundaries. For example, lichen precision has acquired Taiwan's Weichuang iPhone OEM factory, which will bring about the increment of iPhone assembly OEM business. It is reported that lichen precision has won Apple's new mobile phone orders from Foxconn and Heshuo, and will be responsible for about 3% of the production of iPhone 13 series.

As for lichen precision, Tianfeng securities also pointed out that the main assembly manufacturer of Apple watch 7 is currently actively copying production lines, and is expected to start mass production of all production lines by the end of September. Therefore, the supply of Apple watch 7 will be significantly improved after mid and late October.

"We estimate that Apple watch 7 and total Apple watch shipments will grow significantly to 14-16 million units and 40-45 million units in 2021, respectively. Thanks to the large number of Apple watch 7 shipments, the profits of Lixun's apple watch business in 4q21 will significantly exceed the total profits of 1-3q21 and beat market expectations," Tianfeng Securities said.

In addition, golfer has gradually expanded from airpods and Android TWS to more IOT products; This year, Foxconn's entry into automobile OEM and its investment in beiteng and Geely to establish automobile OEM enterprises have attracted considerable attention in the market.

We can see that the competition between Apple's OEM factories is more intensive and multifaceted. Apple's multi supplier strategy is an opportunity for domestic enterprises to broaden the upstream and downstream boundaries step by step to obtain more high-end manufacturing capabilities. Of course, apple suppliers are still facing the uncertainty of the trade market and the consideration of the global layout of the industrial chain.

Get rid of the crisis of "innovation"

Although the iPhone 13 series is still considered "not amazing enough", Apple's share price routinely fell by 0.96% after the launch, many netizens said that "Zhenxiang". Among the top 11 hot searches on Weibo, 5 were related to Apple's launch, among which the most popular "iPhone 13 price" directly went to the top of microblog hot search. It has to be said that with the update of the supply chain system, cost control, and changes brought about by M1 chip, Apple's changes this year are still impressive. Next, the outside world is looking forward to further iteration of the iPhone, the possible AR and the legendary Apple car.

In fact, Apple has suffered from the controversy of "lack of innovation" in recent years. In the face of a lot of noise, Cook said in an interview in 2019 that Apple's long-term health and product line "have never been so good", and the company's ecosystem "has never been so strong.".

Now, looking back at Cook's statement, all this is gradually becoming a reality. Especially with the launch of self-developed chip M1, the outside world once again sees Apple's self-improvement. At present, Apple has indeed reached a new height in ecology. The multi-dimensional structure of hardware, supply chain and developers has become a big apple. The ecology of apple is becoming more and more mature, and mobile phone has become the ecological cornerstone.

An industry insider analyzed to the reporter: "Apple has completely passed the innovation crisis three years ago. Now the ecology created by apple, including the connection of multiple terminals such as PC and mobile phone, is the result of its long-term efforts. The interconnection ecology that both windows and Android want to achieve is now the first step in apple.

For Apple's update direction, the focus is still on ecology. It is more and more difficult to update and innovate a single product. However, apple benefits from ecology. It can reap profits from watches and earphones through mobile phones, and even on products such as MAC, which are more profit-oriented than market share. "

However, Apple's ecological innovation is not radical. On the contrary, apple continues its conservative strategy and insists on "being itself". Even the M1 chip that makes the outside world amazing is not born out of the blue. Apple has always wanted to grasp the core technical links, and has been researching and developing its own chips for a long time. Whether it's M1, or operating system updates, iPhone 13 and other new products, apple is still continuing its own program and going forward in its own way.

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