©️Capital Detective Original
Author | Liu Yurui
From Time Flies to Hi, Speed, the theme of the invitation letter to the Apple conference is the same as the audience's expectation, "Hurry up, then fast".
At one o'clock in the morning on October 14th, Beijing time, Apple held its second special event this fall in Apple Park, releasing the iPhone 12 series, HomePod mini and Magsafe accessories. After
's previous multi-angle spoilers, this new machine conference is more like a script rehearsal performance, and it did not bring much surprise to the market.
As previously reported, the iPhone 12 series released this time includes 4 models, namely iPhone 12 mini, iPhone 12, iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro Max. This is the first time that Apple has launched four mobile phone models at the same time at the press conference. Since the iPhone X was announced at the iPhone 8 conference as One more thing, Apple has maintained the rhythm of releasing three models every year for three consecutive years. The advantage of the three models is that they can form three product lines, high, medium and low. The iPhone XR released in 2018 is considered to be Apple's most successful product in the relatively low-end product line layout. The release of the iPhone 12 mini this year marks another big step for Apple in this direction-Apple has to rely on cheaper products to harvest new users.
With the stagnant growth of the global smart phone market and the increasingly complex market environment, Apple, as one of the top players in the high-end smart terminal market, will further intensify market competition by adding weight to the mid-range market.
In the dual factors of the limited innovation space of the product form of smart phones and the certain decline of Apple's product strength, the observation of Apple's pricing and sales strategy should be brought to the front. The familiar "spread" of
, which is less than a month away from the last press conference of Apple, the protagonist is undoubtedly this year's main iPhone product iPhone12 series. After Cook released the HomePod mini, the second smart speaker product released by Apple after the HomePod, the HomePod mini priced at only $99, the protagonist appeared.
The iPhone 12 released this time has four models in one go. In terms of size, the iPhone 12 mini has the smallest size of 5.4 inches, the iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro are both 6.1 inches in size, and the iPhone 12 Pro Max is 6.7 inches in size. , Is the largest screen size product in iPhone history.
In terms of functions, all iPhone 12 series support 5G, all equipped with A14 bionic chip and both adopt super retina XDR display. Among them, two products of Pro series are equipped with LiDAR (LiDAR) technology used on iPad Pro. Depth maps can be drawn in nanoseconds to better realize the AR function of Apple devices.
In addition, the iPhone 12 Pro Max is equipped with Apple's most advanced camera module so far, the pixel size has been increased to 1.7 microns, and a new sensor displacement optical image stabilization function can be used to shoot Dolby Vision videos.
Apple has also added a ring-shaped magnetic array on the back of the iPhone 12 series, and introduced MagSafe accessories that can be attached to the back of the iPhone, including charging accessories, protective shell accessories, leather card package accessories, and vehicles launched by third-party manufacturers Charging accessories, etc.
From the model and pricing point of view, Apple has continued the gameplay of the first two generations of products, carrying out the strategy of full layout of low, medium and high-end products to the end. The price of the iPhone 12 mini released by
this time has dropped to 5499 yuan, but it is far from being a low-priced product-never in Apple’s product lineIn terms of absolute low prices, some are just relatively low prices.
can be reversed in combination with the products and pricing released by Apple in recent years. Apple's understanding of parity is not simply to reduce prices, but to cooperate with the product side. Under the premise of compromising certain elements of the fuselage, the remaining parts are the most competitive. part. From the perspective of users, high-end and low-end models will not form a functional distinction. On the one hand, it guarantees the user experience, on the other hand, it draws a clear line from high-end models. This is the core logic of Apple's price parity strategy.
For example, on the relatively cheap iPhone 12 mini, Apple compromised the screen size, while retaining its most competitive A14 chip, super retina XDR display and 5G technology, which ensures that users can still enjoy Apple when buying and using it. The core experience the product brings.
explored this play, and it took Apple nearly five years.
From luxury to parity strategy
In 2013, iPhone 5c was released. The iPhone 5c body uses hard-coated polycarbonate material and is equipped with an A6 processor, while the iPhone 5s released in the same field uses a metal shell and is equipped with an A7 processor. This means that the iPhone 5c has shrunk in terms of internal configuration and appearance materials. In terms of price, the iPhone 5c starts at 4,088 yuan, and the iPhone 5s starts at 5,288 yuan. The price difference is only 1,200 yuan.
's comprehensive price reduction strategy and insufficiently differentiated prices made Apple's first exploration of a relatively low-end product line almost a failure. According to statistics from the American consulting agency Localytics, within 72 hours after the official launch of the new iPhone, the ratio of 5s and 5c activations is approximately 3.4:1, while in the Chinese market, this number has reached 9:1.
In 2016, on the fifth anniversary of the death of Jobs, Apple released the iPhone SE. This model has a right-angle frame similar to the iPhone 4s. The SE generation is generally believed to be Apple's tribute to Jobs. From the results, iPhone SE has also achieved great commercial success.
iPhone SE is equipped with A9 chip, supports 4K shooting, and supports Apple Pay. The hardware parameters are almost the same as iPhone 6s. The price of 3288 yuan also makes it the lowest listed iPhone in Apple history, which is 2,000 yuan different from the price of 6s. According to data, when the iPhone SE was launched, the number of reservations in the Chinese market alone exceeded 3.4 million units.
However, due to Apple's huge effort and production line to prepare for the iPhone 7 series released at the end of 2016, the production capacity of iPhone SE has been affected, and shortages have occurred from time to time, which has adversely affected its overall sales. The combination of
iPhone SE and iPhone6 allowed Apple to gradually figure out its unique price-parity strategy: core competitiveness retention + price difference maintained at around 2000 + stable production capacity. This strategy of
is different from that of Android manufacturers. Lei Jun once ridiculed at the press conference, "Some mobile phone manufacturers will make two models, Pro version and normal version, but they only talk about the Pro version at the press conference, and the normal version only reveals the price." This ridicule explains the side of Android. The manufacturer's parity strategy, which is to comprehensively reduce configuration and cut costs, is similar to the iPhone 5c. Such a strategy is related to brand power and will seize most of the low-priced market in the short term, but in the long run, product experience that is too far from high-end models will not be good news for the accumulation of user groups and the cultivation of buying habits. The release of
iPhone XR is considered to be a key step in Apple's relatively low-end product line layout. Apple has skillfully used the parity strategy summarized by the 5c and SE models on this model.
iPhone XR is equipped with an A12 chip, a TrueDepth camera, and supports Face ID, which is almost the same as Xs. Although the OLED screen is cut off, its exclusive dual-card dual-standby function is still very attractive to consumers. force. In terms of the price of
, the iPhone XR starts at 6,499, and the price difference with the iPhone XS released at the same time is around 2,200 yuan, forming a certain price difference. But only a year later, XThe starting price of R’s equivalent iPhone 11 is 5,499 yuan, and the starting price of the 11 Pro in the same period remains at 8,699 yuan, with a price difference of 3,000 yuan. The price reduction process of
means that Apple could have accepted lower profit margins on XR, and XR could have brought more sales to Apple.
Angela Ahrendz, former senior vice president of Apple's retail business, is an important role in Apple's pricing changes.
Angela Ahrendts joined Apple in 2014 and previously served as the CEO of the luxury brand Burberry. In an interview with Vogue, she once said that she is concerned about the impact of retail on the company's brand, not just sales figures. The
market’s comments on Angela Ahrendz are mixed. Supporters believe that it has improved the efficiency and experience of Apple’s offline retail, while opponents believe that it has brought Apple into the luxury quagmire-in Angela Allen A few years after Ci took office, the iPhone's increasing price led to continuous decline in sales, and Apple's stock price was also in a trough.
Rationally, Angela Ahrendts certainly has a background in the luxury goods industry, but as an extremely mature modern company, the pricing of each product must have undergone countless rounds of revisions and demonstrations, and her individual cannot truly decide or lead one. Product positioning. Just as a leader in the retail business closest to consumers, the influence of Angela Ahrendts team on the pricing of Apple products cannot be ignored. After
suffered a huge blow to its luxury strategy, iPhoneXR became a turning point for Apple's product price strategy. Since then, Apple has played the price difference to the extreme-the iPhone 11 with a price difference of 3,000 yuan has achieved greater success. According to data released by Rosenblatt Securities, since its release in late September 2019, iPhone 11 has sold more than 12 million units in the first month, which is a 15% increase in overall sales of iPhone XR released in 2018. Annual sales exceeded 70 million units. After tasting the "sweetness" of the parity strategy, Apple launched the second generation of iPhone SE this year. As a product of the previous generation, the second generation of SE adopts the same product design as the iPhone 8 series. The release of the new SE has greatly improved the market sluggishness caused by the epidemic. Apple’s second quarter report showed that iPhone sales in the Chinese market in the second quarter increased by 225% month-on-month, and the new iPhone SE was indispensable.
will "parity" to the end
is not only a mobile phone, but Apple's "parity" strategy is also reflected in two aspects. One is that product lines such as watches have begun to reproduce the price reduction strategy of mobile phones, and the other is that marketing methods are more grounded.
A month ago, Apple released the Apple Watch SE. Compared with Apple Watch Series 6, it only cuts off non-essential functions such as the all-weather retina display and blood oxygen detection, but the price drops to 2199, which is 1,000 compared with high-end products. Yuan spread. This price is basically close to the price of smart watches launched by Android manufacturers and will have an impact on the relatively low-priced smart watch market.
At the marketing level, Apple has also changed its previous style and adopted a more flexible approach in its marketing strategy.
For example, during the 618 period this year, the iPhone participated in the 618 event for the first time and received official subsidies. After the release of the new iPhone SE this year, different e-commerce platforms launched an impact on its price of 3,299 yuan. Pinduoduo's claim of tens of billions of subsidies dropped to 2,999 yuan, and the official announcement of Juhuasuan dropped to 2,799 yuan. But no matter where consumers finally go to buy, Apple will make the best use of it. In addition, Apple products frequently appear in live broadcast rooms. Taking Luo Yonghao's live broadcast room as an example, Apple products appear no less than 5 times a month.
Whether it is 5c, SE generation, XR or the latest generation of Apple Watch SE, Apple's promotion of parity strategy is an inevitable move in the new market environment.
Currently, the growth of the entire smart phone market is weak. IDC (International Data Corporation) data show that the global shipment of smartphones in the first half of 2020 was only 553 million units, a year-on-year decrease of 13.9%. From 2017 to 201In 9 years, global shipments of smartphones have fallen for two consecutive years, from 1.472 billion units to 1.371 billion units. At the competitor level, domestic mobile phone manufacturers such as Huawei, OPPO, vivo, and Xiaomi have consistently ranked among the top six in mobile phone shipments. In recent years, they have continuously launched high-end mobile phones to attack Apple's market hinterland. With the disappearance of market dividends and the intensification of high-end competition, Apple must launch more types of products to stabilize the market
. Since Tim Cook became CEO, Apple has been criticized for lack of innovation. The company became a "commercial" company. However, it can be seen from the sales volume that Cook's choice has received positive feedback from the market-putting the maximization of commercial revenues rather than the ultimate product innovation in the first place, placing Apple on the world's first throne with a market value of more than one trillion US dollars. A more realistic consideration is that Apple's current revenue structure has become more abundant.
Apple’s third-quarter financial report released at the end of July this year showed that software service revenue was $13.16 billion, second only to iPhone, with a growth rate of 14.85%. Behind the data reflects the optimization of Apple's revenue structure, that is, revenue is no longer only driven by iPhone sales. While the synergy of the software and hardware ecology is gradually emerging, it has also gained better anti-risk capabilities.
Compared with the legendary story of Jobs at the press conference that year, Apple in the Cook era is often labelled as "insufficient innovation" and "cannot bring excitement." But from the perspective of the financial situation, in addition to the hardware business that has attracted the most attention from the outside world, Cook is perfecting Apple’s huge ecosystem of software and hardware. Its overweight in services has been transformed into revenue and profit returns, supporting Apple’s new Growth curve.
At the September press conference, Apple launched the latest exercise software Apple Fitness+, which became the sixth subscription service after Apple News, Apple Music, and iCloud. Combining with the changes in Apple's revenue structure, it can be deduced that although the parity strategy reduces hardware profits, the broader Apple ecosystem formed after the harvest of new users will help Apple's revenue more and will be more imaginative in the future.
Therefore, although the doubts surrounding Cook have never stopped, Apple does rely on the advantages of brand and product strength, continuously optimized revenue structure, and more flexible price strategy to firmly occupy the top position in the mobile phone market.
The launch of the iPhone 11 series in 2019 pushed Apple's stock price to a high point: Since the release of the iPhone 11, Apple's stock price has risen from the highest price of $56.05 in September 2019 to the highest price of $137.98 in September 2020, an increase of 2.46 times. On August 19 this year, Apple's market value exceeded US$2 trillion, becoming the first listed company in the history of the US stock market with a total market value of more than US$2 trillion. With the epidemic hitting the mobile phone market, it remains to be seen whether the iPhone 12 can renew the Cook myth. In any case, Apple has long become different. The broader product ecology obtained by price reduction and the overall strategy behind the parity strategy have become more worthy of observing Apple's cut than the product or the price itself.
