Just two days after a rare drop on Apple's official website, on January 17th, the topic of # iPhone 15 price dropping to its lowest in history # once again surged on the hot search. As of the close on January 16th local time, Apple closed at $183.63 per share, down 1.23%, with a total market value of approximately $2.84 trillion, while Microsoft's market value has exceeded $2.9 trillion.
According to Apple's previous marketing style, they are very concerned about their products being sold at lower prices through third-party channels such as e-commerce, which does not align with their high-end positioning. However, in the face of a severe market environment, Apple has also begun to put down its position and think of relying on proactive price reductions to stabilize the fundamentals. According to the recent introduction on Apple's official website, from January 18th to January 21st, purchasing Apple products through eligible payment methods can save up to 800 yuan, marking Apple's first official price reduction for a new iPhone in many years. And e-commerce platforms and dealers have also followed suit, offering greater discounts than the official website to attract consumers. Taking the iPhone 15 128GB as an example, after adding billions of subsidies to dealers on Pinduoduo, it has dropped to below 5000 yuan, as low as 4598 yuan, a decrease of 1401 yuan from the selling price of 5999 yuan; The selling price of 256GB iPhone 15 Pro with higher configuration is 8999 yuan, but the lowest price in Kwai is 7295 yuan.
In the comments on the # iPhone 15 price dropping to the lowest in history # entry, some netizens said, "It used to be reasonable to be expensive, but now it may be more cost-effective." "For the first time, it seems like we can all go to the island.".
After the price reduction, the iPhone 15 is facing high-end series products from domestic smartphone manufacturers such as Xiaomi, Honor, and OPPO. Since the beginning of 2024, OPPO and Honor have both launched their flagship products, which are equipped with large models and have upgraded their camera and other functions. The starting price of the OPPO Find X7 is 3999 yuan; The starting price of Honor Magic 6 is 4399 yuan, and the starting price of Honor Magic 6 Pro is 5699 yuan. At Honor's new product launch, Apple's proud iOS system has been compared by Honor CEO Zhao Ming. In the Honor Magic 6 series, it also comes with the self-developed operating system MagicOS 8.0. "We need to surpass the excellence of Apple, and we have advantages that Apple currently does not have," Zhao Ming said bluntly.
Under the efforts of domestic manufacturers, Apple's position has begun to waver. According to the latest report released by market research firm Counterpoint Research, Huawei achieved a high-end market share of 5% in the global high-end smartphone market (≥ $600) in 2023, up from 3% in the same period in 2022, according to brand market share statistics. Apple's market share in 2023 was 71%, a decrease from 75% in the same period in 2022. This is mainly due to the release of Huawei's Mate 60 series, and Xiaomi's gradual success in high-end strategy, which increased its market share from 1% to 2% in the high-end market.
Affected by this, the days of fruit chain companies have also been somewhat difficult. As of the close on January 17th, LanSi Technology closed at 11.78 yuan/share, a decrease of 2.89%; Wentai Technology closed at 36.92 yuan/share, down 2.38%; Geely Group closed at 17.89 yuan per share, down 5.59%; Lixun Precision fell 6.24% and closed at 28.4 yuan per share.
Although Apple is beginning to lose its former glory, it still dominates the smartphone market today. On January 15th, according to IDC data, global smartphone shipments in 2023 decreased by 3.2% year-on-year to 1.17 billion units. Among them, Apple surpassed Samsung for the first time in global shipments, with Apple's market share of 20.1% and Samsung's market share of 19.4%. It is worth mentioning that Xiaomi's market share has also reached 12.5%, and Xiaomi's executives have also forwarded IDC data to cheer for Xiaomi. Apple, which is lowering prices, and domestic smartphone manufacturers, which are moving towards the high-end camp, are starting a new round of competition.