How's China Taking To iPhone 14 Lineup? Analyst Shares Insights, Strategy To Boost Profits In Mature Market

Apple, Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) launched its newest iPhone lineup on Wednesday and the reactions have been mixed.

Prominent Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo offered his take on the early pointers towards the uptake of the iPhone 14 models in China, one of Cupertino’s key markets.

Premium Has Strong Momentum: Orders for the two iPhone 14 Pro models in China were around 85% and the lowest interest is for the iPhone 14 Plus at 5%, Ku said in a series of tweets.

See also: 'Buy Your Mom An iPhone,' Tim Cook Says As Apple Snubs Android And Next-Gen Update

Historically pre-orders lean more toward Apple’s high-end products in the early stage, but this time around, orders for the Pro models have been higher-than-normal, the TFI Securities analyst said. 

This reflects Apple’s strategy change of having major updates only for the Pro models, according to Kuo.

Despite Apple leaving iPhone prices unchanged, the average selling price of the iPhone 14 series is still about 10% higher in the second half of 2022 compared to the year-ago period. Kuo attributed this to the higher iPhone 14 shipment allocation and the iPhone 14 Plus replacing the iPhone 13 mini.

What Next:  Going forward, Kuo expects Apple to start creating differentiation between the iPhone 15 Pro and the iPhone Pro Max model.

“It’s the best practice via a precise product segmentation strategy to generate more sales/profits in a mature market,” he said.

Kuo added that Apple can afford to do product segmentation because the "Android camp" still poses no threat to the company in the high-end market due to brand value and ecosystem advantages. 

Price Action: Apple closed Thursday’s session down 0.96% at $154.46, according to Benzinga Pro data.

Read Next: Apple Analyst Says iPhone 14 And Other Fresh Launches Enough To Beat Street Expectations On Q4 Revenue

Photo courtesy: Apple