Apple may kill the biggest USP of its ‘bestselling’ iPhones – Times of India

Ever since the launch of the iPhone XR, Apple ventured down the road less travelled — offering a vanilla iPhone which is a toned-down version of the Pro phones. While the XR was not launched alongside a Pro iPhone technically, it was a sign of things to come. With iPhone 11 series, Apple had two Pro iPhones and one non-Pro one and that continued till iPhone 13. The biggest USP of the vanilla iPhone was that it boasted the same processor as the Pro models. The display, cameras, and a few features here and there were missing but it offered the best of Apple’s processors at a relatively lesser price. And the strategy paid off handsomely. Since the iPhone XR, the vanilla iPhone has consistently been the best-selling smartphone in the world.
However, it looks like Apple may kill this USP with iPhone 14. Noted Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo suggests that with the iPhone 14 series, non-Pro iPhones will not have the same processor as the Pro models.

Why the likely change in Apple’s strategy?

According to Kuo, “the latest processor chip will be exclusive to iPhone high-end models in the future, so a high shipment proportion of iPhone high-end models will be the norm, favouring high-end camera component suppliers.”The idea behind it would be to ensure that the Pro models are more appealing to the users. Kuo said that Apple is expected to account for about 50% of sales from the Pro models in 2022 but that estimate has been raised to 60%.
What this means is that the fastest processor will only be available on Pro models. As we mentioned that the biggest draw — for a lot of buyers — apart from the cost was the processor. You could get the best Apple has to offer — in terms of processor — without paying top dollar.
The iPhone 14 series is expected to offer four variants — two non-Pro and two Pro models. If rumours are to be believed then the iPhone 14 Pro variants will get the A16 Bionic processor whereas the vanilla iPhone
The move can help Apple sell more Pro phones but could also end up having a rather negative impact on its best-selling iPhones. As of now, this is just a rumour and nothing concrete will be known till the iPhone 14 series actually arrives.