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

[batman75]

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.

Completely agree. They shouldn't have increased the price on the iPad Pro 9.7". It should have been same as Air 2 was previously. And the fact that they couldn't be bothered to style a new shell for the iPhone SE is ridiculous. If it is an important model, why imbue it with a 3 year old design?

The company has become cynical. Before they sold aspirational cutting edge products for high prices. Now they sell recycled legacy products at high prices.

 

[AcesHigh87]

I'm happy with my 6S but my wife will probably be annoyed with this announcement. She just upgraded to the 6 from a 5C and doesn't like the new size quite as much. More power than her 6 and in a smaller frame would have been nice to get.

 

[Studioman]

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.

And what screen size and resolution? Apple is the most valuable company and successful tech company because they give people what they don't even know they need, but also know how to deliver what they are asking for. They are not interested in providing a device that will confuse people and require developers to test yet another screen size.

 

[justinhu8]

Apple confuzzle me. So you can get a SE for $399 and a 6 for $549 yet the only benefit on that $150 jump of the 6 is a bigger screen? (worse processor, older camera compared to SE)

 

[turbineseaplane]

This looks great and the price is much better than I thought they were going to do. Apple will sell a ton of these.

Totally agree!

The only thing I think they should have done is squeezed 32gb into the $399 for future considerations.

I'll bet the SE is around "as is" for 2-3 years now and that 16, which is already a problem for some, becomes even more problematic down the road as so many people buy "the cheapest one they can get" and then end up with so many frustrating storage issues.

 

[shadyman]

How is it going backwards? Just because you don't like the design, or the fact that it was designed longer ago than yesterday doesn't make it somehow "backwards".

I am *overjoyed* that the design is the same as the 5S. It is exactly what I wanted out of a 4" phone upgrade that I have been missing since the 6 was announced.

Exactly! Design is surely a matter of taste, but the iPhone 5 design is timeless, in my opinion. Therefore, it's not "backwards" just because it was introduced a few years ago.

 

[samcraig]

I'll admit that I was wrong. My bottom price was $549 if it had everything the 6s has minus 3D Touch. Apple has never shot for a low price like this before. It breaks just about every rule that they have set about being a premium company—I mean isn't this is actually kinda worrying?


I just…my brain is broken right now with this price. It's great that they could price it this low, but I'm just trying to figure out how, especially as I'm an investor. Some of the things I said above I think could justify it somewhat, but that's a pretty big cut of 38.5%. Maybe this is a long bet on their future? Bring in customers and get them hooked into other upsells like Apple Watches with different bands, iPhone cases, iPads with their pencils and keyboards, Macs, etc? This is a really ballsy move.

Maybe it's less profit margin in favor of higher volume. Maybe it's a way to create a gateway device for bigger/better iPhones. There's a pretty decent profit margin on the iPhone, no? And I imagine 4" screens aren't in nearly as high demand... so I am sure that's also one area they are saving money. As is the lower spec'd front camera.

 

[turbineseaplane]

Apple confuzzle me. So you can get a SE for $399 and a 6 for $549 yet the only benefit on that $150 jump of the 6 is a bigger screen? (worse processor, older camera compared to SE)

Yeah - The 6/6+ should have been killed today - Weird

 

[dampfnudel]

Apple now has the stuff up online and its 1.2MP
View attachment 622236

Yeah, only 1.2MP is a bummer. Now, only 1GB of RAM would be a whole different level of disappointment.

 

[Max(IT)]

No. No. Stop.

It has 2GB RAM. Don't scare me.





Please let it have 2GB RAM.

A9 and 4K video support? It surely has 2 Gb

 

[617aircav]

Not nearly as much a deal breaker as not having 2GB of RAM (as some people here are patiently waiting for that info).

Yeah if it has only one gig of ram I bet a lot of people will take back their praises. This will kill sales of the 6s just on price alone.

 

[maflynn]

Then you are wearing jeans that are too tight. I have no issues at all whether I am wearing jeans, slacks, shorts, etc.

No I'm not, I'm a 50 year old man wearing your basic blue jeans. I find the phone too big, I'm not sure why you're having trouble with that. I'm glad it fits your pants but not for me.

By the way, my dress pants I wear for work have the same issue - the phone is too big

 

[SteveW928]

It can shoot 4k. But you can't watch 4K on AppleTV.

If you have 64GB you might be.

I just find it amusing that Apple promotes 4K video recording when you can't view it on their own TV product. That's a product disconnect to me. The phone's screen isn't 4K either.

4k is for editing for now (maybe even long-term). The reason is that outside a few high-end home theatre setups, 4K is simply not necessary from the viewing point of view. You've got to get over 60" display size and be relatively close for 4K to make much of a difference. The main reason to buy a 4K display right now is for non-resolution related advantages.

Then there is the content problem. Hardly anything is 4K, and unless the telco monopolies are broken, we'll not have good enough internet to really stream 4K anyway (heck, we can't even stream good 1080p yet... not even CLOSE).

I'm sure it will happen one day. *Maybe* we'll move to over-60" being typical for displays, but as homes get smaller, I'm kind of wondering about that one. And, as more consumers buy 4K, I suppose there will be pressure to make everything 4K, just because. But, Apple probably isn't going to be an early adopter of that kind of move. They usually don't do the 'just because' type fads (or, at least they traditionally haven't).

 

[lolkthxbai]

Fixed that for you.

Thanks but no thanks. iPhones are still premium. The 5se is just at the lower-end.

 

[nviz22]

I'll admit that I was wrong. My bottom price was $549 if it had everything the 6s has minus 3D Touch. Apple has never shot for a low price like this before. It breaks just about every rule that they have set about being a premium company—I mean isn't this is actually kinda worrying?

Maybe this price is going to be spread out over several years like the iPod Touch, so that it doesn't get upgraded very often and the components come down in price over time? Maybe they're negotiating even better prices on components? Maybe it has inferior materials such as the display, much like the iPod Touch? I'm trying to find something here. Do you think that they will be moving to an all-robotic production line? That Liam robot sure looked really advanced in what it could do taking devices apart. Why couldn't it also put the whole thing together? That could save some costs.

Maybe they will come out with the iPhone Pro line this autumn, and the increase in margins on that will offset having a lower cost option that brings more people to iOS and away from cheaper Android models? Maybe that would increase the total number of users while also increasing overall profits when averaged from high-end to low-end? It seems to be the strategy for the iPad. The iPad Pro starts at $200 more. Perhaps the iPhone 7 will also be a little cheaper, and the iPhone Pro will be a little more expensive? So $549 instead of $649 but not have all the fancy new features, but still some improvements and new design? Then the Pro model would start at like $749?

I just…my brain is broken right now with this price. It's great that they could price it this low, but I'm just trying to figure out how, especially as I'm an investor. Some of the things I said above I think could justify it somewhat, but that's a pretty big cut of 38.5%. Maybe this is a long bet on their future? Bring in customers and get them hooked into other upsells like Apple Watches with different bands, iPhone cases, iPads with their pencils and keyboards, Macs, etc? This is a really ballsy move.

Apple is probably focused about "Chindia" because both those markets are huge for non-flagships. Android One, Motorola, ZTE, Huawei, etc are focused on reaching the masses. Apple wants to get our Asian friends on the action and constantly upgrade from time to time.

 

[MrGuder]

When they said the SE will have the speed of the 6s that sold me, will order on day one. I will need to sacrifice space though, can't take all my music with me on my phone, bummer. Guess I need to make playlist or delete some artist albums from my library.

 

[ron7624]

I can't wait for the 6" version.

 

[Deeznuts.]

The SE wallpaper?

 

[lordofthereef]

Wow.............16GB....

Seriously Apple, it's really comical and sad now.

Honestly, at the price point, it's not terribly surprising to me anyway.

 

[Shanghaichica]

The only thing I'll say is that they don't skimp at all on the internals though it has a 3 year old design.

 

[JohnGrey]

I'll admit that I was wrong. My bottom price was $549 if it had everything the 6s has minus 3D Touch. Apple has never shot for a low price like this before. It breaks just about every rule that they have set about being a premium company—I mean isn't this is actually kinda worrying?

Maybe this price is going to be spread out over several years like the iPod Touch, so that it doesn't get upgraded very often and the components come down in price over time? Maybe they're negotiating even better prices on components? Maybe it has inferior materials such as the display, much like the iPod Touch? I'm trying to find something here. Do you think that they will be moving to an all-robotic production line? That Liam robot sure looked really advanced in what it could do taking devices apart. Why couldn't it also put the whole thing together? That could save some costs.

Maybe they will come out with the iPhone Pro line this autumn, and the increase in margins on that will offset having a lower cost option that brings more people to iOS and away from cheaper Android models? Maybe that would increase the total number of users while also increasing overall profits when averaged from high-end to low-end? It seems to be the strategy for the iPad. The iPad Pro starts at $200 more. Perhaps the iPhone 7 will also be a little cheaper, and the iPhone Pro will be a little more expensive? So $549 instead of $649 but not have all the fancy new features, but still some improvements and new design? Then the Pro model would start at like $749?

I just…my brain is broken right now with this price. It's great that they could price it this low, but I'm just trying to figure out how, especially as I'm an investor. Some of the things I said above I think could justify it somewhat, but that's a pretty big cut of 38.5%. Maybe this is a long bet on their future? Bring in customers and get them hooked into other upsells like Apple Watches with different bands, iPhone cases, iPads with their pencils and keyboards, Macs, etc? This is a really ballsy move.

No, I'm not worried in the least. As I posited in another post, I think this device is design for buyers on the fringe of Apple's consumer base: people that demand the legacy form factor, people that are low-turnover buyers (non-annual upgraders, which don't tend to be tech or spec addicts) and people are a deal hunters.

I would wager that very little R&D had to be done in developing the components to the form factor, so this is intended to be a moderate volume design that's intended to target the above groups, and possibly to grow the iOS install base among those still using feature phones.

 

[Domen151]

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?

 

[thomasguide]

$399 for a current tech iPhone (minus a few details) is great.

It is not great at 16GB, it's basically useless. 64GB for $499 is a more realistic price point.

 

[ROLLTIDE1]

I wear the baggiest of baggy jeans (I work in a science lab) and the 6 is too big for me. It has nothing to do with my pockets and everything to do with the 6 and 6+ being too big to comfortably carry or hold.

I have no problem with my 6S plus in my back pocket . You would look like a fool trying to stick anything like a phone in your front pockets

 

[Fried_Gold]

Looks like the SE front camera is still 1.2mp

EDIT: Also looks like it may not be the improved TouchID?