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Apple officially released new products such as the iPhone 14 series. Widespread price hikes outside the U.S., and the changes have sparked discussions. At the same time, some foreign media have also noticed that at a time when the United States is frequently suppressing China's high-tech industry, Apple is still closely connected to China's supply chain.

　　The iPhone 14 series mobile phones released on the 8th will be released on the 16th of this month. According to the information released on Apple's official website, the starting price of the national version of the iPhone 14 is 5,999 yuan, the newly launched iPhone 14 Plus starts at 6,999 yuan, and the starting price of the iPhone 14 Pro/Pro Max is 7,999 yuan and 8,999 yuan, respectively. Among the above-mentioned new models, the iPhone 14 Pro/Pro Max has changed the most. Its screen has changed from the previous "Liu Haiping" to the "Pill Screen" commonly known by netizens, and Apple calls the upper part of this screen "Smart Island" . According to reports, the "Smart Island" will have interactive functions, such as music playback, earphone power and other information can be displayed in this area.

　　Apple CEO Tim Cook speaks at an event at Apple Park in Cupertino, California, U.S., Sept. 7. (Visual China)

　　At noon on the 8th, a reporter from the Global Times went to the Apple store in Sanlitun, Beijing, and had not seen the iPhone 14 series. The Global Times reporter noticed that since the new model has not been officially released, there are not many customers in the store, but some people are already inquiring about the performance and price of the iPhone 14.

　　Ms. Wang, who is using an old iPhone, told the Global Times that she came to the store during her lunch break mainly to compare the difference between the iPhone 13 and the iPhone 14. "Seeing the news, I feel that the iPhone 14 has not changed much, and the new screen will cost more to buy the Pro version," Ms. Wang said. She is currently more inclined to the iPhone 13, which will be reduced in price after the new model is released.

　　A number of foreign media, including Bloomberg, mentioned a background when reporting on the iPhone 14: Apple is trying to diversify its supply chain, which is likely to bring challenges to the on-time delivery of new phones. Previously, a large part of the production of the iPhone relied on China, but foreign media recently disclosed that the iPhone mobile phone is likely to start manufacturing in India at the same time.

　　An article in the "Japan Times" on the 7th clearly stated that "the development process of the iPhone 14 still shows how difficult it will be for Apple to truly break away from China." The report quoted four people and analysts familiar with Apple's new business as saying that the full range of labor and precision components that Apple's Chinese employees and suppliers have contributed to the iPhone is unprecedented, involving manufacturing design, speakers and batteries. aspect. China's key contribution reflects the country's technological advancements over the past decade, as well as a new high level of Chinese engineers' involvement in iPhone development. According to the list of the top 200 global suppliers released by Apple in 2021, there are 96 Chinese companies (including Hong Kong and Taiwan), accounting for nearly half of the total.

　　Although the starting prices of new models such as the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Pro have not increased in China, different memory versions have their prices increased at different rates. Not only in China, iPhone 14 prices have been raised in almost all countries and regions except the United States.

　　"iPhone 14 is too expensive in the EU!" The technology information website "Sam Mobile" exclaimed that the price of the same mobile phone in the EU is nearly 30% higher than in the United States. The website says the iPhone 14 Pro starts at $999 in the U.S. and 1,299 euros in the European Union. At the current exchange rate of almost 1 to 1 between the U.S. dollar and the euro, European consumers will pay $300 more. . The US CNBC website emphasized in the title of a report on the 8th, "This is the biggest surprise of the iPhone: no price increase in the United States."

　　The "Wall Street Journal" analysis believes that while maintaining stability, Apple does not want to further weaken demand, because the risk of a deterioration in the U.S. economy has threatened consumer spending. U.S. inflation was 8.5 percent in July, close to a multi-decade high, public data showed.

　　Communication industry expert Ma Jihua analyzed the Global Times reporter on the 8th that the difference in Apple's pricing in the United States and overseas may be due to the importance of the regional market. The U.S. is at the heart of its market, and Apple needs to keep prices low to compete with brands like Samsung.