iPhone 14 Pro: The mystery of costly Apple iPhone 14 Pro selling better than iPhone 14

Apple’s iPhone 14 Pro smartphone was launched last month and it costs more, but it is selling better than the cheaper iPhone 14 model in India.

Due to tepid demand, Apple has reportedly dropped plans to boost production of its base iPhone 14 model. The American technology giant has alongside increased the production of iPhone 14 Pro models to 60 per cent of total iPhone output, from the initially planned 50 per cent. It could raise iPhone 14 Pro production to 65 per cent, according to market research firm TrendForce.

Pricing could be one reason for the weak demand for iPhone 14 models, especially in India. Though similar to the older iPhone 13 in terms of design, features, and specifications, the base model of iPhone 14 costs Rs 10,000 more at Rs 79,990. The big screen ‘Plus’ model costs even more at Rs 89,990 for the base model.

In comparison, the iPhone 13 costs Rs 69,990 for the base model.

The price margin between the iPhone 14 and iPhone 13 widens further after discounts, cashbacks, and bank offers from online e-commerce platforms and retail stores such as Croma and Reliance Digital on the latter smartphone.

“Ultra-premium category smartphones, especially older generation flagships, experienced strong demand momentum amid price cuts. Samsung offered deep discounts on its older generation Galaxy Z Fold3 and latest Galaxy S22 series in online and offline channels. Similarly, demand for the aggressively discounted iPhone 13 outstripped the latest iPhone 14, whose value proposition is very similar to the former,” according to research firm Canalys, referring to smartphone demand during festival sales.

ALSO READ: Apple iPhone 14 Pro review: Familiar, but with a good new user experience

The iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus are both readily available for orders on Apple’s online store and retail stores. However, demand for the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max make them hard to get quickly, with estimated shipping timeline varying between three to four weeks on the Apple store online. iPhone 14 Pro starts at Rs 1,29,990 and iPhone 14 Pro Max at Rs 1,39,990.

Though on the expensive side, the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max models get fresh upgrades from Apple such as screen with Dynamic Island and 48-megapixel primary camera on the rear side. These upgrades make them look better value proposition compared to the vanilla models, which are identical to the last year models with incremental upgrades such as crash detection and satellite connectivity features.

Regarding the unavailability of the Pro models, Minister of State for Electronics and IT Rajeev Chandrasekhar on Wednesday said he had spoken to Apple, which said that the iPhone 14 demand is being met with India production, and the iPhone 14 Pro demand has surged and is facing supply constraints that it is addressing.

“I have spoken with Apple and they have said while iPhone 14 demand is being met also with India production, the iPhone 14 Pro demand has surged and is facing supply constraints which they are addressing,” he said on Twitter.

• iPhone 14: Starts at Rs 79,990 (shipping in 1-2 weeks)
• iPhone 14 Plus: Starts at Rs 89,990 (in stock)
• iPhone 14 Pro: Rs 1,29,990 (shipping in 3-4 weeks)
• iPhone 14 Pro Max: Rs 1,39,990 (shipping in 3-4 weeks)

Originally appeared on: TheSpuzz