2023-09-15 18:57:54
Hello. The presentation of the new iPhone 15 line was, frankly speaking, boring; Apple did not raise prices; they remained at the same level in Europe and the USA. In the context of parallel imports, it was interesting to see what would happen to the prices of these devices in Russia. And now Russian retail began to show them as part of pre-order. I wrote separately about the presentation and the boringness of the models, we won’t repeat it here. MTS strives to become the retail chain that is the first to bring new smartphones to Russia; the company has done this several times with new products from Samsung, and strives to be the first to bring the iPhone. Whether this will work out or not is an open question; for all players, everything depends on the speed of certification of parties. Parallel import does not only imply customs clearance; devices need to be certified. Whoever does this first will be great. Most likely we will see sales in early October, but no one is saying exact dates yet. Devices will appear on the gray market faster, but no real shortage is expected. Moderate lack of certain colors, memory capacity, shortage in regions due to lack of great demand, all this is familiar to the iPhone. Let’s look at the prices that MTS set for the new iPhone 15 line: iPhone 15 128 GB – 124,990 rubles (iPhone 14 128 GB – 84,990 rubles, 256 GB – 89,990 rubles); iPhone 15 Plus 128 GB – 139,990 rubles (iPhone 14 Plus 128 GB – 89,990 rubles); iPhone 15 Pro 128 GB — 154,990 rubles (iPhone 14 Pro 128 GB — 122,990 rubles); iPhone 15 Pro Max 256 GB — 189,990 rubles (iPhone 14 Pro Max 256 GB — 135,990 rubles); Even compared to the previous line, the price increase looks cosmic. Of course, this is affected by the change in the ruble exchange rate, but the 14th models are also sold in such conditions, but they are not so expensive, there has been a hidden price increase. The reason is also the lack of service as such, any breakdown of the device and it cannot be repaired in Russia. A luxury iPhone turns into a brick; a broken screen cannot be replaced; such repairs are simply not possible. Therefore, all this falls on the shoulders of retail, and in each case, dancing with a tambourine begins; a simple repair procedure simply does not exist. The warranty is also available at retail and is often an exchange of the device, which affects the price; it is higher, since all the problems with broken devices are laid down. The inadequacy of prices is obvious to everyone except Apple fans and a small category of people who are used to heating their country houses with wads of money; in winter they burn beautifully. The first will take out loans and get into debt to show that everything is fine with them (70% of sales of such products are installment plans and loans), the second will simply not pay attention to such little things as 200-250 thousand rubles. But if the number of the first is declining, then the second category remains stable; there are a thousand or two such people throughout the country. This market cannot be called mass. To compare comparables, we will focus on the same store from MTS in order to have equal conditions for comparison. It’s always touching how they try to compare big retail with the gray market and Vasya Pupkin, where you don’t understand what you buy, but everything depends on your luck or lack thereof. We will compare what can be compared. Apple’s direct competitors are companies such as Samsung and Huawei, the former is more popular in Russia than the latter, but their products have the same or better quality, offer models and form factors that Apple is like walking to the moon. It’s a shame to say, but the company has not mastered flexible screens and is the only brand without such a product. And it’s very funny. Let’s start with smartphones with flexible screens, for example, Huawei Mate X3. Its cost is 169,990 rubles (it has increased since the start of sales due to the exchange rate by 10 thousand rubles). Huge flexible screen, thin body, fast charging included, 512 GB of internal memory. The closest device from Apple is the iPhone 15 Pro 128 GB, price starting from 154,990 rubles. We look at the 512 GB version and get a price of 199,990 rubles. Seriously? So we have a different form factor, an excellent set of cameras, different characteristics and such a difference in cost? Apple is trying to sell mammoth excrement for the price of a real device. And nothing can justify this. Let’s look at the prices for the Galaxy Z Fold5; the 512 GB model costs the same 200 thousand rubles. But this is a different form factor, which cannot be compared with the regular model from Apple. For some reason, many people try to compare models that belong to different classes. For example, they argue like this: Galaxy S23 Ultra is the flagship, iPhone Pro Max is the older model in the line, we need to compare them. But the Ultra has no direct competitors in the Apple line; functionally, it is a model of a different class. We had a comparison of the 14 Pro Max and S23 Ultra, Apple’s device, to put it mildly, looks pale. He’s lower class. Basic versions of the iPhone 15 Plus/Pro with half the memory capacity cost 140 and 155 thousand rubles. Which is 60 and 75 thousand rubles more. For the price of an iPhone 15 Pro you can buy two Huawei P60 Pros. And this will be a good purchase, since the device is noticeably more interesting in its capabilities, and the charger is not included in the kit. The inadequacy of prices is dictated by many factors, it does not rest specifically on MTS; prices for other players are more or less comparable, and may differ slightly. But they still remain within the same limits, the 15th generation turned out to be damn expensive. And when they ask me a question about the prospects, I just smile. Well, really, what prospects can there be with such prices? I believe that we will see victorious reports, that once again pre-orders are breaking records, an unprecedented rise in “sales”, and so on. But let’s separate PR from the real market, the second one does not accept such prices and this is a heavy luxury from Apple. Yes, in our country, for many people, the iPhone is still a status product. I will describe a scene that describes this situation well. Two friends, one with 14 Pro Max, the other with Mate X3, cafe. Apparently we haven’t seen each other for a long time. The conversation at some point went something like this: – Vasya, are things going badly, do you have some kind of strange device, is it missing an iPhone? – Enough, I like this one. -Come on, you have to make excuses, say that things are just not going well. -Okay, things are not going well. -Let me close the account then, I will be pleased. -Close it. After some time, they leave the summer terrace and go to their cars. The “poor” owner of a Mate X3, with things going wrong, gets into the latest generation Vogue, the “rich” owner of an iPhone gets into a mediocre KIA. The man in the KIA gets angry and looks askance at his friend, the latter throws up his hands. A very real story about iPhone loans that show the “status” of people. Loans, installment plans and similar simulacra of success, because they are not visible, but the iPhone, here it is, lies on the table. But with such inadequate prices, you can expect a simple thing: the audience of those who buy new iPhones will shrink. And the previous generation costs inadequately much compared to new products from other companies; they have no technology, only the ephemeral sale of air at the maximum price. PS And I really look forward to comments in the style of “they will buy them anyway,” Apple’s share in Russia has fallen threefold over the last year, in units, so they don’t buy, rationality takes over.
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