Apple Reportedly Cutting iPhone SE Production Just Weeks After Launch Due to 'Weaker-Than-Expected' Demand

[Souponastick270]

The 2022 SE just isn’t worth the price - the A15 is only there so Apple can keep pushing updates to it for the next 5-10 years - I doubt there is anyone wishing the SE had more grunt.

SE 3 is £419 here in the UK - you can still buy the 11 new from Apple for £489

Or save £50 and get the SE 2 from Amazon for £369

 

[Unami]

Over the last years I've had a few people ask me what iPhone for around €200-400 I'd recommend to them for switching from android. I then tell them that they have to spend at least €500 for a new iphone and for that money they'll still only get an 8 year old design with at least half the lenses and a smaller screen than their current android. ??‍♂️

 

[Nozuka]

As an Apple user, I hope this wakes up the powers that be that assist in the design of these devices. Consumers are growing tired of the same designs being presented in front of them as “upgrades”. Hence the reason I didn’t upgrade this year from the 12 Pro Max to the 13 Pro Max.

I hope they don't. Upgrading every year makes no sense and is wasteful. People should get encouraged to keep their devices longer.

the iPhone SE on the other hand is a whole different story with how old the design is...

 

[44267547]

The dimensions of the device are what make a phone small not the screen size.

Were you going to answer the question that I asked you or are you going to deflect? So again, What other devices are offered at 4.7 inch or under currently offered from manufacturers _and_ at that price point? Please be specific with your answer this time, versus making irrelevant responses.

 

[benwiggy]

I have one, and I'm a little underwhelmed. I got the 'very dark blue' one, and it looks like a generic Android phone. My old phone was an original SE (five years old!) and I was hoping to improve on the battery life and camera, which in fairness, are better on the new one.

The new phone is bigger, but not too big, as I can grasp it in my hand and still reach the far side with my thumb. It's a little faster. There's also just keeping up with OS updates and no doubt there's some connectivity features which are improved.

So I'm mostly underwhelmed not because it's a bad phone, but because I don't need that much of a better phone. I'm not going to be editing 4K movies on it.

 

[tomtad]

Strong rumors we’ll be getting a bigger SE in a XR body next year. ?

That’s also outdated. If Apple wants to maintain a share of this market it would be better to offer something that isn’t a years old design.

Yes keep a single camera, yes put TouchID in the side button instead of FaceID, yes don’t make it as fast or have as much storage as the flagships, I’d even be happy with a nice (lightweight and durable) unapologetically plastic back. There’s lots of ways to differentiate. But please give us a design that isn’t 5+ years old.

 

[ACG12]

No one asked for an SE2.5

What people wanted was an SE Plus based off the iPhone 8+ design. Had Apple given us that at $429, it would be sold out right now due to high demand.

 

[WLSON]

Were you going to answer the question that I asked you or are you going to deflect? So again, What other devices are offered at 4.7 inch or under currently offered from manufacturers _and_ at that price point? Please be specific with your answer this time, versus making irrelevant responses.

Are you capable of basic reading comprehension? Because it sure doesn't seem so. The dimensions of the device are what define a phone being small, period, not the screen. That's why the iPhone SE 2nd & 3rd gen do not appeal to anybody that wants a small phone. It's simply a budget iPhone, not a hard concept to understand.

 

[DelayedGratificationGene]

Coincidentally I was ready for two upgrades at the SE release date and I thought about the SE for one of them but quickly dismissed it and bought two 13 pro max.

 

[44267547]

The dimensions of the device are what define a phone being small, period.

Ok….so Wlson refuses to answer the question and do some basic research of answering a question that was asked of you twice of what other smart phones are offered under 4.7 inch and at what price point. It really isn’t that difficult of a request, is it?

You made a statement, I asked for some source(s), you refuse to provide them, and then you reply with unrelated frivolous tangents that has nothing to do with your original post that I asked of you. Got it.

 

[LFC2020]

No one asked for an SE2.5

What people wanted was an SE Plus based off the iPhone 8+ design. Had Apple given us that at $429, it would be sold out right now due to high demand.

The SE plus would eat into  flagship iPhone sales.

Timmy boy ain’t having that.

 

[vault]

Over the last years I've had a few people ask me what iPhone for around €200-400 I'd recommend to them for switching from android. I then tell them that they have to spend at least €500 for a new iphone and for that money they'll still only get an 8 year old design with at least half the lenses and a smaller screen than their current android. ??‍♂️

This is why the notion of this phone being an entry point into iPhone ecosystem seems silly to me.
I think the only audience for SE are hardcore Touch ID fans.

 

[walnuts]

I don't buy this particular rumor. Apple isn't stupid- the SE isn't designed to be a door-buster, everyone goes out and get it on day one type device. Its meant to fill a hole in the line-up and have steady sales over time. This refresh just keeps it in the appropriate slot. As such, there's no way they immediately know it isn't doing as well as expected and need to scramble to change production. Plenty of reasons for the rumor confusion- maybe production was shifted to fill other needs, address other COVID problems, etc. but no way Apple thought there was an army of people waiting at the door to buy this phone that mysteriously didn't materialize.

 

[snipr125]

What so the phone has literally been out for 2 weeks, and the usual MR small phone haters are already out in full force with their judgements. How can any reliable sales data be gathered in such a short amount of time for Ming to say there is low demand… What a load of nonsense.

 

[tomtad]

The SE plus would eat into  flagship iPhone sales.

Timmy boy ain’t having that.

I really don't think it would. I think price is a big factor in those purchasing the SE and these customers are just going to competitors who are offering larger screens and more features in fresh packaging.

 

[LFC2020]

What so the phone has literally been out for 2 weeks, and the usual MR small phone haters are already out in full force with their judgements.

Blame Ming Chi Kuo, his dropping new tweets every 2 seconds. ??‍♂️

 

[BillyBobBongo]

I had the original iPhone SE, now I own the refreshed one. I don't see they need to move to this version yet, my phone is just a tool to me. I'll replace it when it's broken. Hopefully this version, or an improvement on it is around when I need to do that. I have no interest in buying a phone or contract, nor do I have any interest in spending large somes of money on an iPhone.

 

[RickDEGH]

Most consumers in the target market don’t care about having A15 or whatever. Heck my nearly 10 year old would pick an iPhone X over this design. Apple is over-selling the A15 in this chassis.

 

[44267547]

I don't buy this particular rumor. Apple isn't stupid- the SE isn't designed to be a door-buster, everyone goes out and get it on day one type device. Its meant to fill a hole in the line-up and have steady sales over time. This refresh just keeps it in the appropriate slot. As such, there's no way they immediately know it isn't doing as well as expected and need to scramble to change production. Plenty of reasons for the rumor confusion- maybe production was shifted to fill other needs, address other COVID problems, etc. but no way Apple thought there was an army of people waiting at the door to buy this phone that mysteriously didn't materialize.

I definitely don’t think this phone probably is going to be a massive seller for Apple, not just because it’s a ‘recycled model’, but it also lacks marketing. Consumers thrive and rely on marketing to provoke interest. And the only marketing I’ve seen for the iPhone SE has been on websites like this and direct through Apple. That’s it. Consumers aren’t used to seeing an iPhone that’s released in the beginning of spring, whereas the main stage is in September.

I’m just surprised there has been very little investment to actually promote this phone, and if anything, it’s only working against Apple, given consumers probably have no idea this phone even exists unless they visit Apple‘s website or direct through their carrier.

 

[sracer]

I don't buy this particular rumor. Apple isn't stupid- the SE isn't designed to be a door-buster, everyone goes out and get it on day one type device. Its meant to fill a hole in the line-up and have steady sales over time. This refresh just keeps it in the appropriate slot. As such, there's no way they immediately know it isn't doing as well as expected and need to scramble to change production. Plenty of reasons for the rumor confusion- maybe production was shifted to fill other needs, address other COVID problems, etc. but no way Apple thought there was an army of people waiting at the door to buy this phone that mysteriously didn't materialize.

Spot on.

Not every Apple product is designed (or intended) to appeal to everybody. This isn't rocket science.

 

[44267547]

What so the phone has literally been out for 2 weeks, and the usual MR small phone haters are already out in full force with their judgements. How can any reliable sales data be gathered in such a short amount of time for Ming to say there is low demand… What a load of nonsense.

You’re right. And I feel like two weeks isn’t really a fair scale to be using in terms of actual manufacturing numbers without knowing what they are definitively. Aside from that, the only thing that I’ve mentioned a few times so far, is absolutely no marketing for this phone. I mean, I pay attention pretty close to tech news and alike, and I may have seen one minor little advertisement, and that’s it.

 

[madebybela]

iPhone SE 2020 sold pretty well, I don't think a chip upgrade and 5G is enough to warrant an upgrade from that market lol
Remember these are the people that clung onto their 6S' to the end.
And I'm certain most people that have a modern iPhone/iPhone Pro definitely aren't in the market for this either.

 

[WLSON]

Apart from the US & a few other countries, it’s not really a budget phone at all.

Well it's Apple's idea of a budget phone. It's obviously too expensive for what it is, hence why it is not selling very well.

 

[bluecoast]

This is why the notion of this phone being an entry point into iPhone ecosystem seems silly to me.
I think the only audience for SE are hardcore Touch ID fans.

I’d say that when Apple talks about ‘traditional’ users, I think that’s a euphemism for ‘retirees’.

Are retirees going to care about 5g though? Are they going to care about smooth fast performance for games etc.?

This is a massive generalisation but ‘probably not’.

Which makes the SE3 all the more puzzling.

Sometimes I think that the Apple senior leadership are so rich that they’re losing touch with reality.

 

[Kalixt]

Had one for content creation from my past work.

Used my Galaxy S20+ instead. The phone is fast but the screen size and the OS features make it feel slow somehow. Poor battery life, camera features that didn't work with pets and stuff like that is annoying.

If Apple wanted they'd able to deliver something similar to the Google Pixel line with machine learning.

The other thing that makes me a bit wary with the Mini and a mew generation of SE is the small screen size. This can hold back the evolution of iOS and this makes me wonder how difficult is now for a dev to figure out UX for such tiny screens.

Its not tiny and its not screen size that matter. What matter is screen resolution. Dont buy small phones if you dont like them.