I finally shutdown and stored this phone about 5 months ago after using it as a backup second and third phone for more than 7 years. Good iPhone.
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Apple Says Original iPhone SE is Now 'Obsolete'
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You (and everyone one else rushing to defend the honor of small phones) refuse to answer the question why no one makes small phones, then. Surely, if this market is there, ready to buy, some enterprising company would capture it? We have JitterBug phones for seniors! We have anachronisms like keyboard phones racking up Kickstarter wins!
Well?
Wages haven't been increased, though, so for those in this situation, the prices has increased by a lot.😂
Pricing & Availability
iPhone SE will be available in space gray, silver, gold and rose gold metallic finishes in 16GB and 64GB models starting at $399 (US) from Apple’s retail stores, Apple.com, Apple Authorized Resellers and select carriers.
It's successor, the iPhone 16e starts at $599.00 for 128GB. That extra $200 gets you 8GB memory vs 2GB, a much faster SoC, a bigger display, etc.
$399 in 2016 is approximately $540 today when adjusted for inflation, so in reality, you're paying $60 more for the iPhone 16e in 2016 dollars.
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Holy cats, nice find! And cheap, too. Well, small phone fans, there you go. It does exist!
Not exactly true. Economic data shows that post-pandemic inflation (2020-2021) out-paced wage growth, but that has reversed since 2023 and wage growth, particularly among low and high wage earners, is ahead of inflation. One source, among many. (blah blah blah, depends on individual circumstances, tariffs are a wildcard here, economic policy, blah blah and so on and so forth... but in general, wages are keeping pace.)
For anyone that needs to hear this ...
You don't need to come into these threads and try to get everyone who loves smaller phones to stop talking about them.
You don't need to come into these threads and try to get everyone who loves smaller phones to stop talking about them.
Planned obsolescence my…
This phone received 7 iOS updates (the same thing Google & Samsung have recently promised but have yet to deliver) and a further 3 years of iOS 15 security updates for 9.5 years of support.
The Galaxy S7 was also released in March 2016 and only received 3 Android versions (shipped with 6 and got up to 8) and was fully cut off from getting updates in March 2020 for a total of 4 years support.
The Pixel/XL launched October 2016 and were promised 2 years Android and 3 years security updates. While they did get Android 10 (an extra version) they were cut off in December 2019 for barely over 3 years support.
This phone received 7 iOS updates (the same thing Google & Samsung have recently promised but have yet to deliver) and a further 3 years of iOS 15 security updates for 9.5 years of support.
The Galaxy S7 was also released in March 2016 and only received 3 Android versions (shipped with 6 and got up to 8) and was fully cut off from getting updates in March 2020 for a total of 4 years support.
The Pixel/XL launched October 2016 and were promised 2 years Android and 3 years security updates. While they did get Android 10 (an extra version) they were cut off in December 2019 for barely over 3 years support.
Oh relax. It's a discussion forum. I mean no ill-will toward anyone who wishes Apple, in particular, still produced Minis. I'm sorry they don't, for you and everyone else. The potential reasons why are interesting to parse, though!
I actually really liked that boxy, two-tone design that started with the iPhone 5 and carried over to the original SE. I don't miss the size, personally, but to each their own, of course. Anyway, I've made my points, in deference to you and others, I'll stop.
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I'm sure you can replace the battery with a third party service, maybe they'll run out of spares (I'm sure they're third party too) eventually, but I just checked a few, and it's still avg €30 a pop.
Unihertz Jelly series phones have been around for several years. They're very small, with the Jelly Max being just a hair bigger than the original SE.
I've thought about buying one for myself as I don't use my phone for content consumption or games, but just haven't done it yet.
Jelly Series
Shop Jelly series smartphones and their accessories from Unihertz now! Running Android OS, these palm-sized smartphones can meet your daily needs while sparing more space for your pocket or handbag! They're also designed for outdoor activities thanks to their light weight and tiny size. Shop...
www.unihertz.com
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My thoughts on why Apple (and other smartphone makers like Samsung, Google, Motorola, Xiaomi, Oppo, etc) no longer offer a smaller display phone is not because there isn't demand. It's because they're trying to achieve max unit sales. Apple did keep the iPhone mini around for 2 generations so there obviously was demand. But the Apple bean counters probably saw how well the larger display iPhones were selling and thought to themselves "Hey, let's replace the mini with a Plus-sized iPhone. That should sell even better... maybe as well as the iPhone, iPhone Pro and iPhone Pro Max."
But guess what? The Plus iPhones did about as well as the mini iPhones. Apple then pivoted to the iPhone Air because someone thought the market wanted large but also thinner phones. So far, that demand is about as much as for the mini and Plus iPhones.
In 2 years, we'll probably see Apple try again with a replacement for the iPhone Air, not because there isn't demand, but because Apple wants to achieve higher unit sales. Higher unit sales means Apple can ask their parts suppliers for bigger discounts since Apple will be placing larger volume orders on parts. This helps their bottom line. In the end, that's all Apple cares about.
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well, your market-knows-best fever seems to have affected your basic reading comprehension skills, and nobody here cares about your keyboard phone on kickstarter - this is about an iPhone made by Apple. did Apple make a loss on the 20m second gen SE units it shipped? are you perhaps their CFO? if not, then you're just ranting out of your arse.
I mean, you're not wrong. All very well stated. I would probably argue that for a company of Apple's size, the demand for any of those phones—Mini, Plus, Air—isn't sufficient to make it worth Apple's effort and why the first two were dropped and the Air may suffer the same fate. TBD, of course.
But that makes the situation even worse for someone who wants a small iPhone in particular. If what you say is 100 percent accurate, it demonstrates not only why Apple doesn't make a small iPhone, but shouldn't. Scale, at Apple's size, is both a blessing in terms of efficiencies and a curse in terms of focus.
Speaking as an OG iPhone SE and Mini enjoyer: have you tried an Air? They're for sure not for everyone, but it's the first big-screen phone I can comfortably use one-handed--in part because it's thinner and lighter and in part because the plateau makes it harder to drop.
Unfortunately, if someone wants to wear an Apple Watch, they need an iPhone. I was sad when I discovered that my 1st gen iPhone SE would not support my then new Apple Watch Ultra, so got the 13 mini.
I miss having bezels so I can actually hold the dang phone without pressing something on the screen.
stubbornly clung onto this thing until the 12 mini came out. iPhones haven't felt/looked as good since.
"Everyone who wants a smaller phone can go screw themselves"
- Apple today
- Apple today
I purchased 2 brand new SE3 iPhones a couple months ago - the end of an era (best era)
Funny you mention that. I tried all the new phones when they were refreshed, and I definitely found myself preferring the Air, because it felt the easiest to hold, but I still think it's too big. I'll probably hold out another year or two, and if Apple doesn't refresh the mini, I'll get an Air on clearance?
I miss my SE second-gen - badly. We were forced to upgrade to iPhone 16's and it's a pretty poor experience in comparison. 😢 Seems like every non-moving tap registers as a small swipe and apps don't launch until I tap them twice or three times. 🥴
Well this is the exact thread and forum that one should bring up opinions about small phones, so let's not criticize people for doing so in this thread.