Apple Announces New 4-Inch iPhone SE Starting at $399

[developer13245]

Pass.... Never buy an iOS device released in March... Got burned on an iPad 3... never again.
Phone looks decent, but no 128 GB so also pass.

I like the 4" form factor, but I'll wait until they rev on September cycle... that may be never.

 

[hemanwomanhater]

That's awesome, you gotta respect Apple. They can release a phone with bezels from 5 years ago and consumers will eat it up, pure genius. I wonder if consumers don't realize how much larger of a screen they should have with today's technology.

Do you just hang out on MacRumors to troll?

The point of the phone is that it has the innards of the latest and greatest while retaining an easily one-handed form factor. Not everyone wants a toast-phone. This is a big selling point for a lot of people actually.

 

[jamface]

I wonder if the naming scheme introduced with the iPhone SE will carry over to this September's iPhone release?

2016
iPhone SE (Small Edition): based on 5s
iPhone ME (Medium Edition): based on 6s
iPhone LE (Large Edition): based on 6s+

Antenna lines removed/minimized, dual-lens camera, A10, 3.5mm jack removed, stereo speakers, etc.

2017
iPhone SE 2: based on 6s, maybe new design (March)
iPhone ME 2: new design (June-Sept)
iPhone LE 2: new design (June-Sept)

New designs to mark the iPhone's 10th anniversary in June 2017 with A11, mLED and real wireless charging.

I think it has this new name precisely to distinguish it from the number/S convention, and thereby exempt it from the expectation of having a yearly upgrade. SE phone will last two years with a price drop after one year. Other phones will continue as normal, in order to compete more strongly in the higher priced market. That's my prediction anyway.
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I wonder if the naming scheme introduced with the iPhone SE will carry over to this September's iPhone release?

2016
iPhone SE (Small Edition): based on 5s
iPhone ME (Medium Edition): based on 6s
iPhone LE (Large Edition): based on 6s+

Antenna lines removed/minimized, dual-lens camera, A10, 3.5mm jack removed, stereo speakers, etc.

2017
iPhone SE 2: based on 6s, maybe new design (March)
iPhone ME 2: new design (June-Sept)
iPhone LE 2: new design (June-Sept)

New designs to mark the iPhone's 10th anniversary in June 2017 with A11, mLED and real wireless charging.

I think it has this new name precisely to distinguish it from the number/S convention, and thereby exempt it from the expectation of having a yearly upgrade. SE phone will last two years with a price drop after one year. Other phones will continue as normal, in order to compete more strongly in the higher priced market. That's my prediction anyway.

 

[maflynn]

They defiantly said 5 mega pixels on the stage with the two tone flash.

I missed that point, I'm not disagreeing with you, but I don't recall the details of the front facing camera.

 

[iphoneclassic]

It is cheap because of Lima or whatever the recycling robot. If Apple reused 5S logic board layout, there is not much spent on engineering and tooling even for new builds.

They can slap on 3 new chips to old 5S logic board, new camera, new screen voila, we may see refurbished SEs even at cheaper price.

 

[ephemeralreason]

I wasn't talking about 3D Touch. I mean that after the 7 is announced the SE will start to be a gen behind. If they wanted a small phone with the latest features they'd just call it the 6 mini or something. Apple is really giving us the middle finger on this.

After the next phone is announces every other phone is behind. Why is that a middle finger?

 

[howyalikdemapls1]

1. Take $199 iPhone 5S.
2. Upgrade internal specs slightly
3. Add a new color
4. Charge $399

Huh? The iPhone 5S was $449. The SE is $50 cheaper! Perhaps you're thinking $199 subsidized with a 2 year contract? I've been reading that the SE will only be $50 with a 2 year contract. So again, this is a better phone for cheaper.

 

[SteveW928]

Eh, I personally think it's gorgeous, in the same way that a classic 'vette is. It's a much-loved iPhone design that was popular enough to sell millions of iPhone 5s units even just this past year.

I think the 6 and 6s were kind of trying to copy the direction of some of the Android phones, but I wasn't happy with how it turned out. I'm just glad they didn't do a curved screen yet! LOL

The one thing I'm not sure about is hand-feel, as the sharper vs more rounded design might have an advantage there. But, in terms of elegance and the 'look' IMO, there's no comparison. The 5s is just beautiful, and this follows that lineage.

I think the 32 Gb will be the new base starting from the next generation. iPad are opening the way.

You're probably right. If they'd started it with the SE, the outcry would have been too great from previous phone buyers. They have to move the 7 first, for sure. Heck, the Apple TV already opened the way! (they just pulled it off because it's in such a different market segment and few paid attention.... but when you think of it... $1000 phone has 16GB while a $150 TV box has 32GB? Heh.)

It's a bummer, but shouldn't be a make or break in reality, so an upgraded 5S is all what the 4" form factor fans wanted. They got the best mobile processor, best Apple camera, best Apple smartphone design, and some cool software features.

Yea, I agree, not a make or break, but kind of a disappointment. I doubt it mattered from a tech point, so probably done as a point of differentiation. I'd rather have paid an extra $50 or $100 and gotten closer to feature parity. But, yea, not make or break... the previous gen worked fine from my understanding.

 

[mhornback2]

The Watch has been out for a year now. Isn't it normal for Apple to lower the price of devices after the first year? I suppose the surprising thing is that they didn't update the watch. I imagine we'll see a new one soon enough.

No 128GB.

Same giant bezels.

Wish Apple would give us a flagship 4" iPhone. Hanging onto my iPhone 5 for another year.

This keynote...protruding camera on the iPad? Ridiculous. Starting with 15 minutes of research and health was worthy, but incredibly boring. Only Phil Schiller exuded any appreciable enthusiasm. The Apple Watch is obviously selling badly; no sales figures and a 20% price drop. The iPad has been increased in price by 20%; just what is needed in the face of 8 quarters of plummeting sales. Shares are down post-keynote.

I find the death of Apple painful to watch. All good things come to an end, I guess. I'm grateful to Steve Jobs and all who worked with him for his amazing products.

 

[ABC5S]

iPhone SE costs 399$ in US and 489€ in Europe. iPad air 2 now also costs 399$ in US, but 439€ in Europe. Where is the logic on this pricing? Why does the iPhone cost 50€ more than the iPad with same base price in US?

Simple: Socialist programs, socialist taxing (VAT, etc)

 

[wxman2003]

$150 less than the old 6 with double the RAM.

 

[Sasparilla]

On price alone Apple will sell a boatload of these. This isn't just targeted at people who want a smaller phone, it's also for people who want a cheaper iPhone.

Totally agree. This is also going to give lots of incentive to app developers to keep taking care of that 4 inch form factor. I'm really astounded by the price they ran with here.

 

[manu chao]

iPhone SE costs 399$ in US and 489€ in Europe. iPad air 2 now also costs 399$ in US, but 439€ in Europe. Where is the logic on this pricing? Why does the iPhone cost 50€ more than the iPad with same base price in US?

Apple sets U.S. prices at launch and then uses exchange rates at launch (plus some looking at currency futures) to set prices in other countries. They then tend to keep the prices of every product constant during their (original) product cycle. They now reduced the price of the iPad Air 2 by $100 in the U.S., they might want to do a similar reduction in other countries (ie, 'Now €100 cheaper') even if current exchange rates would point towards a lesser price reduction. The iPhone SE, being a new product (and not a price reductions of an older one), can be introduced at a price point based on current exchange rates.

 

[mattopotamus]

I think it will be but yes, waiting on confirmation. I'm on the Apple Upgrade plan w/ my 6S so figuring out if I should just wait or if I should sell the 6S and get the SE on release. the 128gb 6S should still be able to get a really good price around $600/$650, right?

according to swappa recent sales: 16 is going for $550, 64 for $650, and 128 for $700. If you posted $600 it should be a fast sale. Now I think the SE slashes these prices by at least $50.

 

[Max(IT)]

"Incredible battery improvements..."

Please, let this be legit, no Jony Ive-ish metaphysical superlative. I'd really like to pick up one or two soon.

Same battery ... Same display ... The A9 consumes less than the A7, so I think they are not lying on that

 

[maflynn]

I like the 4" form factor, but I'll wait until they rev on September cycle... that may be never.

I don't see Apple rolling out a new SE in September, but if you can wait, then that's always the safest approach.

 

[turbineseaplane]

Changing the storage offered is something they can do at any moment. I think there is a chance that the iPhone 7 starts at 32 GB. Then in a year from now they could increase the minimum to 32 GB in the SE. Note that they added 8 GB versions to the 3Gs, 4, 4s and 5c (which were all originally released with 16 GB minimum) when these models had moved to the bottom of the lineup. They only stopped this practice with the 5s.

That's not the problem (offering new options), the problem is existing install base with storage management issues (to the point of not being able to do an OTA software upgrade sometimes)

 

[wxman2003]

Simple: Socialist programs, socialist taxing (VAT, etc)

You mean like the US?

 

[dollystereo]

For 2016, 16GB bade storage, 2GB RAM, sub 720P screen... What are we talking about? This should be no more than 299...

It's apple, they need their 50% margin =)

 

[SteveW928]

Simple: Socialist programs, socialist taxing (VAT, etc)

Heh... but that's where the happiest people are, right? (Well, we'll overlook they didn't ask them and just based it on things that might supposedly make people happy... and highest SSRI-usage... and...).

 

[CmdrLaForge]

Fantastic release. A great phone at a great price. I would buy one if I needed a new one.

 

[pat500000]

iPhone 5s with higher mega pix.... They had to resort to recycled ideas because they need milk all consumers as much as they can to fight off fbi bastards....

 

[nixfu]

I don't see Apple rolling out a new SE in September, but if you can wait, then that's always the safest approach.

umm... I am calling it now... in Sept, the iPhone SEc (in bright new colors)

 

[jamface]

I am not into the 5S/SE market, so doesn't matter to me. When I say 7.5/10, I compare it to what the 6S has and the SE has. Slight and important differences. Not to mention, a 640p display is way too low resolution.

Ah i see... sorry... it was the way you said 5S/SE upgrade instead of saying SE/6S comparison that made me think you were referring to the relative merits of the SE compared to the 5S as opposed to the SE compared to the 6S.

 

[smacrumon]

No 128GB.

Same giant bezels.

Wish Apple would give us a flagship 4" iPhone. Hanging onto my iPhone 5 for another year.

This keynote...protruding camera on the iPad? Ridiculous. Starting with 15 minutes of research and health was worthy, but incredibly boring. Only Phil Schiller exuded any appreciable enthusiasm. The Apple Watch is obviously selling badly; no sales figures and a 20% price drop. The iPad has been increased in price by 20%; just what is needed in the face of 8 quarters of plummeting sales. Shares are down post-keynote.

I find the death of Apple painful to watch. All good things come to an end, I guess. I'm grateful to Steve Jobs and all who worked with him for his amazing products.

Thank you for your critical and frank analysis. Much needed dose of reality here.