Since the beginning of 2024, Apple's stock price has experienced a "black door" and has been downgraded by investment institutions. Shortly thereafter, its market value was surpassed by Microsoft. Behind a series of problems, the market performance of Apple's "Rocket" product, iPhone, cannot be circumvented. Apple's solution is to reduce prices to boost sales.
On January 15th, the official website of Apple China announced that from January 18th to January 21st, the highest price for purchasing Apple designated products through eligible payment methods would be 800 yuan, followed by related topics occupying the top spot on the micro hot search list.
According to Apple, purchasing designated products using eligible payment methods during the event can save up to 800 yuan. Among them, the new iPhone 15 series, iPhone 14, iPhone 14 Plus, and iPhone 13 can save up to 500 yuan per year; 13 inch or 15 inch MacBook Air (M2 chip model) and 13 inch MacBook Air (M1 chip model) can save up to 800 yuan in a row. During the "Double Eleven" period in 2023, Apple products on major e-commerce platforms underwent a wave of price reductions. According to incomplete statistics by Blue Whale Finance reporters, the maximum discount at that time could reach nearly a thousand yuan, and offline distributors began to compete for sales by offering discounts and lowering prices. But even with major promotions, there has been no price reduction action for new products on Apple's official website.
Blue Whale Finance reporters have noticed that the current price reduction on the official website is still far less than that of third-party e-commerce platforms. Taking iPhone 15 as an example, after adding billions of subsidies to dealers on Pinduoduo, the selling price of 128GB can be as low as 4598 yuan, which is 1401 yuan lower than the original selling price of 5999 yuan; The lowest selling price on Taobao platform is the same as that on Pinduoduo, which is 4598 yuan; The lowest price of big brands of Kwai e-commerce is 4629 yuan. The selling price of the higher configuration iPhone 15 Pro 256GB is 8999 yuan, and after various discounts and subsidies on the Pinduoduo platform, the selling price is 7398 yuan; Taobao is also consistent with Pinduoduo; The lowest price of Kwai is 7295 yuan.
A sluggish market and rising competitors
Thanks to its influence and position as the "leader" in smartphones, Apple's new products have always been priced on third-party platforms, and the official website maintains the original price. It is rare to announce a price reduction directly on the official website this time, and Apple has not lowered the price of its latest iPhone for many years.
Behind all these actions, the smartphone market has begun to "change", and with the efforts of a group of domestic smartphone manufacturers, Apple's market share has begun to decline. According to a research report released by market research firm Counterpoint Research, Apple's market share in the global high-end smartphone market (≥ $600) in 2023 is predicted to be 71%, a decrease from 75% in the same period in 2022; Thanks to the return of the Huawei Mate 60 series, Huawei has achieved a market share of 5%, an increase from the same period of 3% in 2022; Due to the gradual success of Xiaomi's high-end strategy, its market share has increased from 1% to 2%.
On the news side, Apple has recently been bearish by Barclays analysts and has been downgraded from "holding watch" to "reducing holdings". Analysts stated in their report that we expect the stock's situation to reverse in the past year when most of Apple's performance has not met expectations and its stock price has performed better than other companies. The report points out that the current "sluggish" sales of iPhone 15, especially in China, indicate that sales of iPhone 16 will also be weak. The report states that "our evaluation of iPhone 15 sales and product portfolio is still negative, and we believe that there are no features or upgrades that can make iPhone 16 more eye-catching."
After the opening of the US stock market on January 11, 2024 local time, Microsoft's stock price rose 1.43% to $388.24 per share, with a market value of $2.886 trillion; Apple's stock price fell 0.57% to $185.13 per share, with a market value of $287.9 million. Microsoft once surpassed Apple to become the world's highest listed company by market value. According to Interface News, Apple announced in its proxy notice on January 11th that CEO Tim Cook's total compensation for 2023 has decreased from $99.4 million in 2022 to $63.2 million, mainly reflecting a decrease in the value of its stock incentives.
In the previous financial report disclosed by Apple, the company's revenue for the third quarter of 2023 was $89.498 billion, a year-on-year decrease of 1%, marking the fourth consecutive quarter of revenue decline. Specifically, in terms of products, Apple's net revenue from products in the third quarter was $67.84 billion, a decrease from $70.958 billion in the same period in 2022. As for the decline in the Chinese market, Cook said it was mainly due to the impact of sluggish sales of Mac and iPad.
Is Vision Pro the hope of the whole village?
But based on the information disclosed by various parties, Apple is already doing its best to reverse this weak trend. According to Bloomberg reporter Mark Gurman, Apple plans to conduct a major update to its iPad product line in early 2024 in order to boost declining iPad sales. Apple plans to launch new iPad Air and iPad Pro, both of which will have significant changes. It is reported that the iPad Air will provide two sizes for the first time, similar to the iPad Pro. The smaller models will continue to use the 10.9 inch size, but the larger models will be 12.9 inches, just like the larger iPad Pro. The iPad Pro model will be equipped with Apple's new M3 chip launched earlier this year, and will feature an OLED display for the first time in the iPad series, while the iPad Air will continue to use a standard display.
On the other hand, Apple's highly anticipated Vision Pro will be launched for sale in the United States on February 2, with a starting price of $3499, marking Apple's first major new product attempt since the launch of the Apple Watch in 2014. According to Apple, Vision Pro is a revolutionary spatial computing device that seamlessly integrates digital content with the physical world. It provides the most natural and intuitive input through the user's eyes, hands, and voice, unlocking a powerful spatial experience. Vision Pro's display uses Micro OLED technology, provided by Sony and chip manufacturer TSMC.
But according to Mark Gurman's recent analysis of Vision Pro, the situation seems less optimistic than expected. Apple will design a 25 minute trial process for users who want to experience Vision Pro. At the beginning of the article, Mark Gurman wrote that Apple is facing one of the most severe marketing challenges in its history, promoting a $3499, limited battery life, clumsy design, and no killer applications to customers. To ensure the smooth operation of retail employees, Apple also gathered hundreds of employees in its office in Cupertino, California this month to train them to complete the entire process. But Mark Gurman also stated that Apple has spared no effort in launching major products for the first time in nearly a decade, but these cannot guarantee success in the next one or two years, and the products are too expensive and bulky to win the favor of mainstream consumers.
In Apple's financial report data, the revenue of wearable, household products and accessories in the third quarter of 2023 was $9.322 billion, which did not meet analyst forecasts of $9.43 billion. Vision Pro is the next growth curve that Apple hopes for, but it is still unknown whether consumers will approve. In addition, Apple is also facing challenges from its competitors. According to foreign media reports, at the CES 2024 exhibition, Sony released a "Space" VR headset with an intelligent control ring, equipped with the Snapdragon XR2+Gen 2 platform, designed for professionals engaged in 3D work and will compete with Vision Pro.