Of all the iPhones that dropped this year, the iPhone 14 Plus earned the dubious distinction of being the worst commercially. Many found this a little strange. The iPhone 14 Plus was one of the best iPhones made by Apple. It came with the latest iOS, a processor that outperformed most Android phones, and a large and spacious screen, all accompanied by the best battery life in a smartphone.
Despite all these advantages, it is not selling as well as expected. In fact, some reports claim that Apple has reduced production of the iPhone 14 Plus to focus on the iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max. While it’s easy to dismiss the iPhone 14 Plus as a failure per se, it’s earned a spot on our list of the worst iPhones of all time. In addition, it is useful to look at the factors that may have led to poor performance. In this case, Apple was its worst enemy.
The iPhone 14 Plus is too expensive
I’ve gone into this a little deeper before, but the iPhone 14 Plus is a very expensive phone. Sure, all iPhones are expensive, but there’s something about a thousand that encourages introspection. Is this feature required? Is it one? What can I get elsewhere?
These questions don’t really matter when you’re shopping in the middle ground. But when you spend stupid money on a phone, it gets a little more interesting. For a little more money, the iPhone 14 Pro Max is tempting. You can get the iPhone 13 Pro Max for slightly less. Apple isn’t just competing against itself here, with Google’s excellent Pixel 7 Pro beating the 14 Plus and offering a better camera and screen.
At the same time, the iPhone 14 Plus wasn’t necessarily a failure, as it was an opportunity to add to Apple’s lineup. Techsponential’s Avi Greengart pointed out to Digital Trends via email that without knowing Apple’s internal expectations, it would be difficult to quantify how far the 14 Plus has gone toward those goals.
“Overall, Apple has been incredibly successful at moving consumers to the top of its range, with consumers willing to pay more for improved imaging, display capabilities and processors in the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max.” This is especially true in markets where carriers heavily subsidize phones for users with good credit; why not get the best when you don’t pay more for it? Greengart said.
The issue of forgiveness
Apple’s iPhone 13 Pro and 13 Pro Max offer amazing cameras, high refresh rates, and long-lasting batteries compared to the cheaper iPhone 13. They also do the same with the iPhone 14 and 14 Plus. This is because the iPhone 14 and 14 Plus share many internals with the iPhone 13 series. Coupled with the cheaper prices of older phones, there are many reasons to avoid the Plus and few want to go for it.
Take the big screen as an example. At just 60Hz, it’s significantly inferior to the 120Hz display on the 13 Pro Max – even its glorious battery life is about as good as the 13 Pro Max. We can go down to the 12 Pro Max if the phone has a weaker processor, but you get better build quality and an extra camera. Oh, and it’s much, much cheaper.
“I think the Apple 14 Plus is in a blind spot because of the combination of price and specs. I agree with you that it probably depends on the price; it’s quite expensive for perceived minor upgrades. Consumers are more interested in major upgrades to the 14 Pro and Pro Max, or a ‘relatively affordable’ mainstream 14. I think the 14 Plus fell through the cracks,” Jan Stryjak, director of Counterpoint Research, told Digital. Trends in e-mail by post
Got into a losing battle
Although Apple has stopped selling these iPhones, the rise of the circular economy (especially with belt-tightening) means that many of these phones are back on the market at lower prices than the iPhone 14 and 14 Plus. Apple can only officially sell a few iPhones, but the iPhone 14 Plus competes with a number of large-screen iPhones, from the iPhone 11 Pro Max to the 13 Pro Max, that are much more attractively priced. It’s a losing battle.
Now, this holiday might still prove the iPhone 14 Plus to be a big winner. Perhaps the crowd Apple was targeting — the casual crowd — doesn’t quite match up with the early adopters who will be buying the new iPhone just three months after its release.
This could to happen It’s hard to see them being convinced of the iPhone 14 Plus over the iPhone 13 Pro Max if buying outright, or the 14 Pro Max if on contract or a payment plan. It turns out that even Apple products are not immune to the Apple effect.
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