蘋果在發(fā)布新款iPhone 8和8 Plus的同時(shí),，跳過了“9”的版本，直接發(fā)布了999美元的iPhone X,。這不是算錯(cuò)了,，而是為了紀(jì)念第一代iPhone發(fā)布十周年。公司將iPhone X定位成價(jià)格高檔的頂端產(chǎn)品,，這可能會(huì)帶來一個(gè)令人驚訝的結(jié)果：799美元起售的iPhone 8 Plus將會(huì)賣得更好,。

蘋果打破命名規(guī)則推出iPhone X的原因之一，是想表明這是iPhone的轉(zhuǎn)折點(diǎn),，是預(yù)示著第二個(gè)十年即將登場的產(chǎn)品,。蘋果給予了iPhone X一切吹捧和最高的配置，希望它成為iPhone大步邁入新時(shí)代的象征,。公司沒有把iPhone X命名為iPhone 9,，是想要傳達(dá)一個(gè)信息：iPhone X太特殊了，不僅僅是下一代iPhone——它慶祝了蘋果過去十年所做的一切,，為iPhone下一個(gè)十年的創(chuàng)新鋪平了道路,。當(dāng)然，懷疑論者指出,，三星的Galaxy S8和S8+的無邊框屏幕和OLED技術(shù)都要優(yōu)于蘋果,。諷刺的是，iPhone X每英寸458個(gè)像素的豪華“視網(wǎng)膜顯示屏”的供貨商是三星公司,。

那為什么蘋果要給iPhone X定價(jià)999美元呢,？這個(gè)高昂的價(jià)格可能超出了許多有意購買iPhone的消費(fèi)者的承受范圍,。這個(gè)高價(jià)可能會(huì)讓他們轉(zhuǎn)向iPhone 8 Plus。原因在于那個(gè)被稱為“極端逆轉(zhuǎn)”的著名的消費(fèi)者決策偏向,。它的意思是：當(dāng)消費(fèi)者面前有三款產(chǎn)品,，定價(jià)分別為高、中,、低時(shí),，他們傾向于把自己的選擇從低端款提升成中端款。消費(fèi)者會(huì)感覺他們沒有買最貴的那一款,，“省錢了”,，而這款“折中的產(chǎn)品”是個(gè)好選擇，既不太貴,，也不太便宜,。

在餐廳的酒水單上，這種情況經(jīng)常出現(xiàn),。你不會(huì)點(diǎn)最便宜的酒,，也不會(huì)點(diǎn)最貴的，而是選擇價(jià)格居中的,。汽車也是如此,，售價(jià)9萬美元的道奇蝰蛇讓2.8萬美元的道奇Charger看起來很棒。

會(huì)有一些消費(fèi)者愿意一擲千金,，只為擁有一款頂尖的iPhone X。然而,，iPhone X在產(chǎn)品線上所扮演的更大角色,，恐怕是讓iPhone 8 Plus顯得更加劃算。相比699美元起價(jià)的4.7英寸iPhone 8,，人們可以“勉強(qiáng)接受”5.5英寸iPhone 8 Plus,。比起iPhone X，這能“節(jié)省”大概200美元,。頂配的iPhone X把二選一的題目變成了三選一,，帶來的光環(huán)效應(yīng)讓它身價(jià)不那么高的兄弟iPhone 8 Plus受益。這種營銷手法也部分掩蓋了iPhone 8和iPhone 8 Plus各比前一代產(chǎn)品漲價(jià)50美元的事實(shí),。

最后的結(jié)果是,，蘋果不需要賣出很多iPhone X。如果iPhone X的推出讓iPhone 8和iPhone 8 Plus的銷量比例向后者傾斜,，蘋果依然可以獲取巨大的利潤,。

蘋果明顯是在測試消費(fèi)者的忠誠度和定價(jià)邊界。有個(gè)說法認(rèn)為,，iPhone X,、以及iPhone X高昂的價(jià)格，表明這些設(shè)備在消費(fèi)者的生活中扮演了更大的角色，而不僅只是一個(gè)通訊工具,。智能手機(jī)是人們生活的中心,，人們對它們的要求也越來越多。顯然,，蘋果需要維護(hù)其高端定位,，并通過推高iPhone的平均售價(jià)獲得可觀的利潤。但這個(gè)游戲也有風(fēng)險(xiǎn),，尤其是在印度和中國這樣的大型新興市場,，蘋果在這些市場的占有率較低,，甚至還在下降,。過去，蘋果會(huì)推出低價(jià)產(chǎn)品,，努力獲取新興市場消費(fèi)者的青睞,，例如定價(jià)599美元左右的iPhone 5C就在印度表現(xiàn)出色。而這次,，蘋果選擇了相反的提價(jià)方向,，這可能會(huì)讓公司在亞洲市場陷入嚴(yán)重劣勢。

在美國市場,，時(shí)間會(huì)證明這款被稱作新型奢侈品的iPhone X在銷量上會(huì)有怎樣的表現(xiàn),。不過如果iPhone 8 Plus才是更大的贏家，也不用感到吃驚,。（財(cái)富中文網(wǎng)）

作者莫漢比爾·S·紹尼是凱洛格商學(xué)院（Kellogg School of Management）的教授和七本管理學(xué)著作的作者,，其中包括即將出版的《有感情的企業(yè)》。

譯者：嚴(yán)匡正

Apple’s launch of the $999 iPhone X, skipping over a version “9” by also unveiling its new iPhone 8 and 8 Plus, isn’t a miscount, but commemorates the 10 years since it launched its first iPhone. By positioning the iPhone X (pronounced as “ten”) as its superlative product with the big price tag, Apple might realize a surprising outcome: greater sales for the iPhone 8 Plus, priced at $799 and up.

One reason that Apple (aapl, -0.76%) broke with the numbering scheme with the iPhone X is to showcase it as an inflection point for the iPhone—a shape of things to come for its second decade. With all its fanfare and use of superlatives, Apple wants the iPhone X to stand out as a quantum leap into a new era for the iPhone. By not calling the iPhone X the iPhone 9, Apple is trying to convey the message that the iPhone X is too special to be just the next-generation iPhone—it celebrates all that Apple has done for 10 years, and paves the way for the next 10 years of innovation for the iPhone. Of course, skeptics point out that Samsung’s Galaxy S8 and S8+ beat Apple to the market with the “edge-to-edge” display and OLED technology. Ironically, Samsung supplies Apple with the iPhone X’s gorgeous 458 pixels-per-inch “super retina display.”

But why would Apple launch the iPhone X at $999, a super-premium price point that may put it out of reach for many aspiring iPhone customers? The high price point of the iPhone X may paradoxically bring those customers to the iPhone 8 Plus. The reason is a well-known consumer decision-making bias called “extremeness aversion.” Here’s how it works: When customers are offered three products—high-priced, mid-priced, and low-priced—they tend to gravitate upward from the low-priced to the mid-priced product. They feel that they are “saving money” by not buying the most expensive product and they are getting a good deal with the “compromise product,” which is neither extremely expensive nor too cheap.

It happens in restaurants with wine lists. You don’t order the cheapest or the most expensive bottle, but prefer to choose something in the middle. With cars, the $90,000 Dodge Viper makes the $28,000 Dodge Charger seem like a good deal.

There will be some consumers who will pay a thousand bucks for the bragging rights of owning the top-of-the-line iPhone X. However, the bigger role that the iPhone X may play in the product line is to make the iPhone 8 Plus look like a better deal. Instead of buying a 4.7-inch iPhone 8 ($699 and up), people can “settle” for a 5.5-inch iPhone 8 Plus and “save” about $200 compared to the iPhone X. By going from a two-product choice set to a three-product choice set, the super-premium iPhone X creates a halo effect that benefits its less prestigious cousin—the iPhone 8 Plus. This marketing sleight-of-hand partially obscures the fact that the iPhone 8 and the iPhone 8 Plus both cost $50 more than their predecessors did.

The upshot is that Apple doesn’t need to sell a whole lot of iPhone Xs; it can still make out like a bandit if the introduction of the iPhone X into the choice set changes the ratio of iPhone 8 vs. iPhone 8 Plus sales in favor of the iPhone 8 Plus.

Apple is clearly testing the frontiers of consumer loyalty and price premiums. One argument is that the iPhone X and its high price reflect the fact that these devices play a larger role in consumers’ lives, far more than just a means of communication. The smartphone is the center of people’s lives, and more is demanded of them. Clearly, Apple wants to protect its premium positioning and make hefty profits by driving up the average selling price of the iPhone. However, this is a risky game to play, especially in large emerging markets like India and China, where Apple’s market share is low and shrinking. In the past, Apple has made an effort to court emerging market customers by launching lower-priced products like the iPhone 5C, priced around $599, which has done well in India. This time, Apple has chosen to go in the opposite direction by moving up in price, a move that might put it at a serious disadvantage in Asian markets.

In the U.S. market, time will tell how well the iPhone X, touted as the new luxury product, will do in terms of sales. But don’t be surprised if the big winner is the iPhone 8 Plus.

Mohanbir S. Sawhney is a professor at Kellogg School of Management and the author of seven books on management, including the forthcoming book, The Sentient Enterprise.