Will iPhone 6 push Samsung and HTC into the mid-range market?

Apple iPhone 6 was released as scheduled yesterday morning.

Although there is no revolutionary change in technology, as far as electronic consumer products are concerned, the marketization of iPhone 6 will inevitably restart a new round of competition in the mobile phone industry. The market position of mobile phone manufacturers may be re-ranked under the influence of iPhone 6.

Although many critics are not optimistic about the innovative value of iPhone 6, there is no doubt that the hot sales of iPhone 6 are basically a foregone conclusion, especially in the Chinese market. Although China is not the first region for iPhone 6 to be launched, it does not affect the earthquake that iPhone 6 may bring to the sales of mobile phone manufacturers in the Chinese market.

iPhone 6 is a commercialized mobile phone product. Whether it is the choice of 4.7 and 5.5-inch screens, the addition of a co-processor to the computing system, the significant improvement in the camera system, and the personalized design style of rounded frames while other mobile phone manufacturers are moving towards the square design of iPhone 5, all of these are shaking the choice of Android phone users.

The scary thing about iPhone 6 is these market choices. Android phones used to laugh at the advantage of Apple phones with small screens, but with the launch of iPhone 6, this advantage disappeared instantly. And according to the experience of colleagues who attended the press conference, iPhone 6 still has excellent control performance after the screen becomes larger, which is something that Android series cannot achieve. Because of this, the environment of the Chinese mobile phone market will become extremely bloody in the future.

Samsung and HTC are bound to slide from high-end to mid-range

Judging from the fact that the three Chinese telecom operators desperately "spoiled" the iPhone 6 before the launch, all three operators will use the iPhone 6 as a weapon to compete in the Chinese 4G market. As the country tightens mobile phone subsidies, the subsidies for the iPhone 6 may decrease, but as the main model promoted by each operator, the launch of the iPhone 6 will inevitably cause the operators to reduce subsidies and promotion efforts for other high-end models.

In fact, Samsung and HTC, which are positioned in the high-end market of the Android camp, have been affected to varying degrees with their flagship models, Samsung Galaxy S5, Note3 and HTC One M8. When Samsung and HTC first released their flagship models, they were positioned to compete with the 5,288 yuan retail price of iPhone 5s. Now, at least from the perspective of e-commerce channels, the prices of Samsung and HTC's flagship products have dropped to around 4,000 yuan, and their own expectations for their brands are also further reduced. After the iPhone 6 is launched, the price of 5s will be reduced by 800 yuan, which means that not only do Samsung and HTC have no products to compete with iPhone 6 in the high-end market, but they will also have to compete head-on with Apple 5s in the mid-range market of 3,500 yuan. There is no room for Samsung and HTC in the high-end market.

It seems that the monopoly of one company in China's high-end mobile phone market is inevitable.

The mid-range market is booming

For many years, the Chinese mobile phone market has been divided into two parts: high and low. The high-end market is controlled by Apple and Samsung, and the thousand-yuan market is shared by many domestic brands. The sales volume and influence of the mid-range market positioned between 3,000 yuan and 4,000 yuan are extremely limited. This market space has always lacked a leading product and a leading brand.

With the release of iPhone 6 and the price reduction of iPhone 5s, Samsung and HTC's main models will inevitably enter the mid-range market of 3,000 to 4,000 yuan, given their current market performance. However, in this market segment, it is not just the main models of these two manufacturers and Apple's iPhone 5s that are competing.

Chinese manufacturers, who are very sensitive to market trends, have also sensed the value of this market. Huawei P7 and Mate 7 have been launched, and Lenovo's new flagship Lenovo VIBE Z2 Pro (although its price is over 4,700 yuan, the market space is extremely limited, and the price will inevitably drop after entering the mass production) will soon join the mid-range battlefield. Coupled with the addition of flagship models of some personalized small brands such as vivo and OPPO, as well as flagship models of Sony and LG, this market will become the most tragic market space.

As for the current products of various manufacturers, except for iPhone 5s, although the products of other manufacturers have many appeals, the performance differences of their products are not big in the entire Android system. In the next battle, product design and system UI optimization, battery life and control performance will become the key points of competition among various products.

Although it is too early to predict who will become the leading brand in China's mid-range mobile phone market, based on the current products on the market, Samsung, Huawei and Lenovo are likely to become the dominant players in this market space.

In the 1,000-yuan market, it’s time to test your endurance

The possible dominance of one company in the high-end market and the efforts of manufacturers in the mid-range market will cause the focus of large manufacturers to continue to move upward. Although the competition in the thousand-yuan market appears to be the emergence of new products, the competition has shifted from the marketing level to the product value level.

After Xiaomi's "fever" baptism and Hammer's "sentiment" education, after the launch of Meizu MX4, consumers and the industry suddenly discovered that what really impresses consumers is not sentiment but the value of the product.

In fact, judging from the long-standing rules of electronic consumer products, any marketing method is just a means of product promotion, nothing more. Any event where marketing is more important than the product will ultimately not be able to maintain a long-term life. After all, mobile phones are used, not bought to see the founder's feelings or to flash the phone.

As Huawei and Lenovo (Motorola) are moving their product focus towards the mid-range, the 1,000 yuan market will become a competition between old manufacturers and new brands. This market is concentrated with too many brands, including Honor, Xiaomi, Coolpad, Meizu, Nubia, OPPO and many other local brands.

Honor 3c, 3X and Coolpad F1, F2 have been in the top ten of JD.com weekly sales for consecutive weeks, which shows that the advantages of independent brands of traditional large manufacturers in supply chain and product quality control have shown their value among consumers. Compared with emerging brands, although there are still many areas for improvement in marketing, the advantages of e-commerce brands of large manufacturers in product quality and supply chain are becoming the core force of future competition.

Of course, the extreme sensitivity of this market to prices has caused the market to be extremely turbulent. Brands such as Xiaomi and Hammer, which are backed by the fame of their founders, will continue to create eye-catching excitement, but this trend will become less influential this year, but it will not disappear quickly. Similarly, the marketing methods of traditional manufacturers will become more flexible, and their channel strategies will move closer to e-commerce.

The competition between the product value of traditional manufacturers and the marketing value of new brands will unfold in this market. The result of this competition may allow the product value and marketing of China's mobile phone market to return to normal.

The launch of iPhone 6 is bound to make China's mobile phone market even more turbulent.

As a winner of Toutiao's Qingyun Plan and Baijiahao's Bai+ Plan, the 2019 Baidu Digital Author of the Year, the Baijiahao's Most Popular Author in the Technology Field, the 2019 Sogou Technology and Culture Author, and the 2021 Baijiahao Quarterly Influential Creator, he has won many awards, including the 2013 Sohu Best Industry Media Person, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Beijing Third Place, the 2015 Guangmang Experience Award, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Finals Third Place, and the 2018 Baidu Dynamic Annual Powerful Celebrity.