'Significantly lower than expected' iPhone 14 Plus pre-orders suggest Apple's strategy of ditching the 'mini' for a larger version of the new phone is a failure, says renowned Apple analyst

• A prominent Apple analyst said the iPhone 14 Plus's low pre-orders reflect badly on Apple's strategy.
• Ming-Chi Kuo said the iPhone 14 and 14 Plus will be in stock when they launch, showing low demand.

Renowned Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo wrote in a Medium blog post that the company's pre-orders for the iPhone 14 and 14 Plus point to a failure in its product-segmentation strategy.

Last week, Apple announced the new iPhone 14 series. They became available for preorder on September 9, and the iPhone 14, iPhone 14 Pro, and iPhone 14 Pro Max launch on September 16. The iPhone 14 Plus is available a bit later on October 7th.

Apple hasn't released pre-order numbers for the devices. However, Kuo, an analyst at TF International Securities known for a strong track record of predicting future Apple developments, looked at early indicators of pre-orders for the company's current iPhone lineup to get a sense of how demand varied.

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Notably, Apple chose to offer the base model iPhone in a standard and larger "Plus" versions — a change in strategy from the iPhone 13 base models, which were available in standard and "mini" device sizes.

Looking at availability and shipping estimates, he said the iPhone 14 Pro Max and Pro are showing "good" and "neutral" results, respectively. However, pre-orders for the two standard models — the iPhone 14 and 14 Plus — are "bad," according to Kuo.

"This new product's pre-order result is significantly lower than expected, meaning Apple's product segmentation strategy for standard models fails this year," Kuo said about the iPhone 14 Plus.

An Apple spokesperson did not respond to Insider's request for comment ahead of publication.

Kuo said stock of both the iPhone 14 and 14 Plus will be available in retail stores when they launch, "reflecting lackluster demand." Both phones are showing signs of weaker pre-orders than the iPhone SE 3 and iPhone 13 mini, according to Kuo's analysis, and the delivery time for the iPhone 14 and 14 plus is shorter than the arrival estimates for the iPhone 13 and 13 mini.

If demand for the iPhone 14 and 14 Plus doesn't improve, Kuo said Apple will likely cut shipment forecasts for both phones starting in November. If it does, Kuo said it could throw off the company's revenue growth.