Right when Apple fanboys were defending the might of the iPhone, the company decided to go with a Plus model. The results gave us a rather famous YouTube channel and a lot of flak for Apple. Years later, iPhone 14 Plus is set to become a testament to the “plus” tag of bad luck for the company, but is it?
According to Ming-Chi Kuo, the iPhone 14 Plus sales are in shambles. It is doing worse compared to the iPhone 13 Mini, which, to begin with, was at a size disadvantage. Before this, Apple tried the “plus” tag with the iPhone 6 Plus years ago, and consumers ended up with bent iPhones in their pockets.
Remember, remember, the iPhone 6 Plus September
2014 was a bad year for Apple as iPhone 6 and 6 Plus models started bending in people’s pockets. There are also theories that reveal Apple knew about the “bendgate” issue. However, videos and tweets of the iPhone 6 Plus bending in pockets went viral, and the sales were hit.
While Apple managed to solve the issue for future iPhones, the 6 Plus still sits as one of the most infamous iPhones so far. However, that’s nothing if you know about the iPhone 5c, the XR, and the current iPhone 14 Plus.
iPhone 14 Plus: The sacrificial lamb
It’s as close as I can come to describing the iPhone 14 Plus. Apple seems confused about its lineup lately and has been trying to find the sweet spot. It was the iPhone 12 and 13 Mini at first, and now it is the iPhone 14 Plus.
The 14 Plus sits in an odd place between the regular iPhone 14 and the iPhone 14 Pro. It also shares its internals with last year’s iPhone 13 Pro, making it compete against that. So Apple practically gave us an iPhone model that has a big screen… and that’s it.
By 2022 standards, the giant 6.7-inch iPhone 14 Plus misses out on a ProMotion (high refresh rate) display. While it has a large battery, there’s nothing more the 14 Plus has to its credit. Moreover, it is priced at just $100 less than the iPhone 14 Pro, which gets everything better, including the Dynamic Island pill.
So what was Apple thinking? My best guess is that the iPhone 14 Plus is the sacrificial lamb to drive potential standard iPhone 14 buyers to the iPhone 14 Pro. The plus isn’t a bad deal if all you care about is a big display. But you can get a better, brighter, more feature-packed iPhone for $100 more.
Come to think of it, the iPhone 12 and 13 Mini were similar sacrificial lambs to push users toward the standard iPhones. And just like that, getting the iPhone 14 Plus to fail is giving the user another “option” but taking the choice away.
P.S.
As an iPhone 12 Mini user myself, I dare say the Dynamic Island would’ve added amazing functionality to the Mini devices. It would’ve given the users more screen space and a better experience. But now, the iPhone Minis are gone, and the iPhone Plus will be next.
Lastly, we’re running a Telegram poll on the question of the worst iPhone so far. Do give it a try, and join our Telegram channel for more.
Let me know what you think in the comments below.
