As the Double 11 shopping festival draws to a close, domestic and Apple phones are offering discounts on older models. Consumers can take advantage of this shopping festival to find bargains. These slightly outdated phones offer better value for money in terms of performance compared to the latest iPhones and are more practical than domestic mid-range phones.

Starting with iPhones, Apple has emerged as a winner during Double 11. The top three best-sellers on an e-commerce platform are all iPhone 16s, demonstrating its popularity among consumers. This clearly refutes claims that the iPhone 16 is not selling well or that sales have declined.

Due to the popularity of the iPhone 16, Apple has not offered many discounts. Most discounts come from e-commerce platforms, ranging from approximately 500 to 600 yuan. These discounts are similar to those offered at the time of the iPhone 16's launch, when major domestic e-commerce platforms also provided similar benefits.

Apple's discounts mainly apply to older iPhone models. The previous generation iPhone 14 has become the focus of this promotion. One e-commerce platform is selling the iPhone 14 for just 2349 yuan, half the official price of 4699 yuan set by Apple, causing this topic to trend on social media.

However, these prices come with many restrictions. To obtain such significant discounts, consumers must meet certain criteria and quantities are limited, making it more of a marketing gimmick. Without such discounts, the iPhone 14 is not worth purchasing, as e-commerce platforms list the iPhone 14 at over 4200 yuan and the iPhone 15 at over 4600 yuan. Undoubtedly, the iPhone 15 is a more cost-effective choice.

Apple has emerged as the winner of Double 11. Domestic high-end phones have been unable to challenge Apple's leadership in the high-end market. To compete for market share, domestic phone manufacturers are targeting the market below 3000 yuan by discounting older flagship phones.

Snapdragon 8G2 phones have generally dropped to around 2000 yuan, dominating this price segment. I believe these older flagship phones are more practical than domestic new mid-to-high-end models. New domestic mid-to-high-end phones priced at over 2000 yuan often have significant compromises, with inferior performance in audio, photography, and memory, relying mainly on strong chip performance. In contrast, older Snapdragon 8G2 flagship phones offer more balanced performance across all aspects and better design and manufacturing quality.

Recently, I also discovered a Snapdragon 8G3 phone priced at just over 1300 yuan, the Redmi Turbo 3. The Snapdragon 8G3's performance is absolutely powerful and will not lag for five years. While this phone has some performance deficiencies compared to other mid-range phones, it is the optimal choice for users prioritizing performance. It also has a certain level of design, weighing only 179 grams, making it quite lightweight in the current market where phones often weigh 200 grams or more.

Domestic phone manufacturers are currently going all out to preserve their market share. Many phone companies are competing in the cost-effective phone market. Vivo and Realme are competing with Xiaomi by offering stronger cost-effectiveness. Their recently released flagship phones are priced below 4000 yuan, while the Xiaomi 15 is priced above 4000 yuan. This has caused many cost-conscious consumers to switch to Blue Factory, prompting Xiaomi to launch the cost-effective Redmi Turbo 3 alongside its flagship phones.

It is evident that both domestic and Apple phones are fiercely competing for the mid-to-low-end market. Apple is using older iPhone models to compete in the domestic mid-to-high-end market, forcing domestic phone manufacturers to further compress into the market below 3000 yuan. This market has become highly competitive among domestic phone brands, which is undoubtedly beneficial for consumers. Seize the final opportunity during Double 11 to choose a phone that suits you.