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Discounted $249 iPhone SE Once Again Back in Stock on Apple's Clearance Site
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it would be nice to have that $8 mandatory shipping charge back. Oh, well. I am thinking this is the last sale for the SE.Today, the shipping has gone back to zero!Nice.
Maybe this helps those on the wall.
Well, they’ll probably want a little space between the last sale and the introduction of the SE2 at the March event.
But I agree. Unlike the original carrier free unlocked clearance phones which came in batches, these all likely had to be collected and organized to present to the carriers to get them all unlocked in one pass, so they’re done with these.
That said, we haven’t seen any Sprint phones. Maybe one more round from them? That’s a different model of course, and maybe one without much excess in the US. Also, I wouldn’t write off another batch of carrier free phones given these seem to offered as groups are assembled and readied, so no reason to think Apple has processed them all. Though, the timing does makes sense, to liquidate these over the course of one month and get them off the books before the close of the 2nd quarter in March.
If the SE is highlighted in March, this place won't be fit to post in save for the SE loyalists.Well, they’ll probably want a little space between the last sale and the introduction of the SE2 at the March event.
But I agree. Unlike the original carrier free unlocked clearance phones which came in batches, these all likely had to be collected and organized to present to the carriers to get them all unlocked in one pass, so they’re done with these.
That said, we haven’t seen any Sprint phones. Maybe one more round from them? That’s a different model of course, and maybe one without much excess in the US. Also, I wouldn’t write off another batch of carrier free phones given these seem to offered as groups are assembled and readied, so no reason to think Apple has processed them all. Though, the timing does makes sense, to liquidate these over the course of one month and get them off the books before the close of the 2nd quarter in March.
You may be right about one last batch. I don't expect we will see Sprint, as there system is so screwed up, it requires a customer to call or go to the store to get a new phone added, even if it is unlocked.
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If the SE is highlighted in March, this place won't be fit to post in save for the SE loyalists.
You may be write about one last batch. I don't expect we will see Sprint, as there system is so screwed up, it requires a customer to call or go to the store to get a new phone added, even if it is unlocked.
That’s too bad about the Sprint. I use my old SE when I travel internationally, and the Sprint model would be ideal for that situation. No wonder my data speeds are so slow on my SE now when I travel. If the Sprint model did come up for sale, I’d buy one instantly for that purpose.
I just took a look at StraightTalk and even though they sell the 32GB Sprint SE for $139, I’d have to wait a year and pay a minimum of $360 to get it unlocked.
I can see that being a decent deal for someone who doesn’t have a cell phone, but they’re not going to sell a lot of 128GB models for that price, so one wonders if Apple doesn’t clear them out, just exactly how they’re going to get rid of them...
I just looked on Apple’s Clearance site and all the TracFone models are gone ... were they the A1723 Sprint model? Or were they the same A1662 model? Seems odd if they weren’t the A1723 model — isn’t TracPhone only on Sprint’s network?
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I just bought the same iPhone (T-Mobile SIM) on the same sale.
IOS was 10.2 and the battery arrived dead. It charged ok.
I see. It’s StraightTalk and Simple mobile that’s on Sprint? Both WalMart and Target show the A1723 being sold on those services, which are all subsidiary brands of TracFone.
I would have been upset if I’d missed out on buying a new 128GB A1723 at these prices ...
My iPhone
My iPhone 6S had a shutdown and started throttling performance at 91%. So Apple only replacing them under warranty at 80% doesn't put my mind at ease.
Did they actually tell you they would go ahead and replace the battery just because it's old? Or does it still have to meet the 80% threshold?
My iPhone 6S had a shutdown and started throttling performance at 91%. So Apple only replacing them under warranty at 80% doesn't put my mind at ease.
Did they actually tell you they would go ahead and replace the battery just because it's old? Or does it still have to meet the 80% threshold?
Apple doesn’t want any more trouble with batteries. Chances are if your battery is underperforming there won’t be any questions asked. You have 14 days to return, so take it in and have a talk about yours. If you don’t like their answers just let them keep it and walk away ...
Well... not exactly. I went back and read the transcript of the chat. It went like this:
Me - “So then on to my question. If my SE I ordered was new in 2017 and hasn’t been charged will the battery have suffered?”
Apple Specialist - “That’s a good question. I am sure it was put into quality test prior to being put on sale on the clearance section.”
Me - “Oh. That’s good to know. You can appreciate my concern. But if I want a new battery I can have it replaced by Apple correct? Do you by chance know how much that costs?“
Apple Specialist - “Battery replacement for iPhones under warranty will be free of charge.”
So it’s vague. He did mention the SEs in the Clearance section are all new and not refurbished. So I’m not so sure about that “quality test” comment. The last thing he did was point me to the battery replacement page which doesn’t mention the 80% deal and does say free under warranty and $49 out of warranty.
[doublepost=1551049102][/doublepost]Since my ordered SE was built in 2017 I would be okay with paying $49 for a fresh battery if that were an option. Which given the $49 out of warranty price seems possible. I’m going to charge it, check the Battery Health and likely do the mail-in battery replacement deal and see what happens. That rather than waiting till later since I won’t miss the phone now but would once I am using it.
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I don’t think they know the situation. Someone mentioned their SE from this lot was dusty as if sitting in a warehouse. That seems a bit questionable, but regardless, in order to “quality test” the phones, they would have had to open each sealed box, charge the phone, and drain it, then replace it in the box and shrink wrap it again.
Considering the price, I seriously doubt this much effort went into the Clearance sale. Moreover, considering nobody received a fully charged phone, and most received mostly or fully discharged, I’d say they have not been “quality tested”.
Mine was also manufactured on Nov 2017(128GB SG Verizon), the battery arrived completely flat but so far is working as expected(100% capacity). Yes the chemistry of the battery may be a little old, but I can only see some slight diference of ~5mAh on the full charge capacity versus a newer SE that I received a few days back(manufactured on July 2018). I would say that is nothing to worry about.
Seriously, am I the only one who's going to have to return this thing twice? Ordered the unlocked 32GB in January. Received it with a broken headphone jack. I assumed it was just a case of bad luck, returned it. They wouldn't replace it in store, but luckily it went back on sale. This time, got a T-Mobile version. Battery came dead, but after about a week, it's doing pretty good.
I was so happy with the phone in fact that I decided to get one for my mom in rose gold. Ordered over the weekend, picked it up today. Got home, did an entire setup process (update to iOS12, restore from backup), took about 3 hrs including time needed to charge the battery which came in at 0% again. Checked the headphone jack (paranoid at this point), camera, etc. Everything was looking good to go. After that, I was just about to take the final step of putting it into a case when...of course. I peel off the back plastic thing, and immediately notice that the entire Apple logo is completely tarnished. I don't even mean just scratching which even if severe, would have been somewhat acceptable. Nope, it looked like the metal was literally corroded...like the bottom of an old frying pan. I know it's only cosmetic, and the phone is already discounted, but it's still very disappointing.
I was so happy with the phone in fact that I decided to get one for my mom in rose gold. Ordered over the weekend, picked it up today. Got home, did an entire setup process (update to iOS12, restore from backup), took about 3 hrs including time needed to charge the battery which came in at 0% again. Checked the headphone jack (paranoid at this point), camera, etc. Everything was looking good to go. After that, I was just about to take the final step of putting it into a case when...of course. I peel off the back plastic thing, and immediately notice that the entire Apple logo is completely tarnished. I don't even mean just scratching which even if severe, would have been somewhat acceptable. Nope, it looked like the metal was literally corroded...like the bottom of an old frying pan. I know it's only cosmetic, and the phone is already discounted, but it's still very disappointing.
Strange indeed, I wonder what caused it? It would seem to be a manufacturing defect. With the protective plastic, even a saltwater/coastal environment shouldn’t have caused that problem.
Seems like just a run of bad luck; definitely frustrating. I haven’t heard an inordinate number of complaints about these clearance SE’s, but I would definitely return this one as well.
It’s not just you. One of the two 128GB phones had a defect where the plastic front bezel edge was sort of crimped by the metal frame. It’s strictly cosmetic, and I’m not thrilled about it, but I’m also not going to return it for that either.
I think it´s just a manifestation of less attention dedicated on how these old devices are made, I guess since they are cheap less inspections occur during the assembly process. Nonetheless lemons exist in every production line.
I bought one from the SIM free batch and is flawless(manufactured July 2018). The other I bought recently, from the carrier batch(manufactured Nov 2017 - Verizon), curiously has some flaws. The LCD panel is way yellower(warmer white) than the SIM free one I bought earlier, and has noticeable back-light uniformity issues. Also has a small almost unnoticeable scuff on the inside part of the aluminum bezel, obviously made during the assembly process. The fear of getting in an endless exchange loop and in the end getting something worse(or nothing since the stock is limited) makes me keep this one.
Still a pretty large selection of 32GB phones available. I’m surprised any 128GB phones are left, but it’s limited to just Gold, Rose Gold, and Silver, T-mobile models. Interesting that so many T-mobile are left. Assuming people don’t fully understand that there’s are unlocked from any specific carrier, does that mean T-Mobile has the lowest interest of all the carriers, or that there were just a lot more left over T-mobile phones, or that T-Mobile customers prefer larger phones?
Retailers like Target, Walmart, and Best Buy don’t offer Black Friday specials on iPhones for T-Mobile use, which leads me to suspect that T-M is far less popular than, e.g., AT&T and Verizon. And I also think many people do not grasp the “fully unlocked” concept (I didn’t before reading posts on these forums).
Finally picked up my two orders (T-Mobile 128 GB) today at the local Apple store. Upon opening the boxes, I noticed there are no sim ejector tools in the boxes. Is this normal? An iPhone 6 that I bought a few years ago did come with one. Did anyone who bought the SE from this clearance sale get a sim ejector tool? Thanks.
nope, no sim ejector tool. Picked my SE 128 up at Apple Store, and the Genius gave me one, which I have now lost...
Variants with a carrier SIM already installed in the slot do not include the SIM ejector tool. Only SIM free variants include it.
What sort of manufacture dates are people getting with the 128GB T-Mobile in gold and silver? I got a Verizon gray 128 and it was manufactured in August 2018. Haven't opened it yet to check the battery because I might sell it if I find a newer one. Gray is sold out so I wonder how likely it is that I could get a newer unit if I order a gold or silver.