Discounted $249 iPhone SE Once Again Back in Stock on Apple's Clearance Site

[Hater]

My son yet again broke his phone we’re its damaged. Hopefully there is enough SE’s in stock in Toronto so that I can buy him one.

If not then the 7 at 64/128GB will have to do.

Just grab a second hand one, he's just going to break it anyway

 

[Plutonius]

Not that it is available now, but isn't the Verizon unlocked version the most universal of the iPhones?

Adding a SIM makes this a universal GSM phone, doesn't it?

Looking at the Apple discount page, all the phones are the same SE model number.

This model of the SE is usable on AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon (not Sprint or Canada (missing the high speed band)) networks.

These iPhones are sold with a specific SIM card (AT&T, T-Mobile, or Verizon) but you should be able to use these phones on any of the three providers by changing the SIM card.
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My son yet again broke his phone we’re its damaged. Hopefully there is enough SE’s in stock in Toronto so that I can buy him one.

Be sure to check the model number of the SE to see how it works in Canada. The ones being sold on discount are model A1662. According to this article, the A1662 doesn't have band 7 which is used for high speed networks in Canada.

 

[Jerhen]

Would one of these SE’s work on my carrier which is US Cellular? If so, which one do you buy or are they tied to the listed carriers?

 

[freezelighter]

Take my 1500$ and give me the SE 2.

Please.

 

[pika2000]

I was just thinking about this, and truly it doesn't make a lot of sense based on how most people use mobile phones. A larger screen doesn't really improve texting, which is likely the predominate use of a phone. In fact it makes texting with one hand worse. Given that's most of the use, texting, facebook, e-mail ... a much larger screen doesn't really improve anything. You don't need a larger screen to listen to music, or podcasts. You don't need a larger screen for maps with turn by turn direction. Googling lists of things and information doesn't really require a larger screen. About the only functions where a larger screen is helpful is for photos and movies on the go. And for those who only have a phone as their computer, I can understand why someone would want a giant phone. It's true that holding it up one's head is getting less and less necessary, so it doesn't quite carry the stigma it once did. But for some, such large phones do present practical challenges. I saw a woman the other day at the gym wearing her iPhone XS Max around her waist like a belt buckle, and it was almost wider than her waist.

I think what perplexes me and others, is that while a large number of the population, maybe even a majority, prefer super-sized phones for various reasons, given the predominant use of phones by many, it's hard to imagine Apple won't address the segment of people who don't rely on the iPhone as their primary computer, have other devices in the Apple ecosystem to better address some needs, and/or don't use the iPhone as a significant video device, preferring instead a device that addresses their most common needs in a package that actually fits in their clothes and pockets.

To you, it doesn’t make sense, but the market has decided. Try finding an Android phone smaller than 5” screen size. Even Sony, a company that caters to niche fans, doesn’t seem to be interested in doing a compact Xperia anymore, meaning the demand doesn’t justify the cost in making one.

Do I like smaller phones? Sure. But doesn’t mean I can dictate the market, and companies like Apple cannot make a product to cater every single person. If Apple magically brings a new SE, I’ll be happy. But in the meantime, I get what I can get.
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Hell no it isn't.

This is an iPhone, you have an iPad for all that bollocks.

An iPad is not a phone. For many people, they want a one device that does all.
You can keep calling it bollocks or other profanity or whatnot to show your maturity in a discussion, but the market itself has spoken many years ago.

 

[JPack]

I was just thinking about this, and truly it doesn't make a lot of sense based on how most people use mobile phones. A larger screen doesn't really improve texting, which is likely the predominate use of a phone. In fact it makes texting with one hand worse. Given that's most of the use, texting, facebook, e-mail ... a much larger screen doesn't really improve anything. You don't need a larger screen to listen to music, or podcasts. You don't need a larger screen for maps with turn by turn direction. Googling lists of things and information doesn't really require a larger screen. About the only functions where a larger screen is helpful is for photos and movies on the go. And for those who only have a phone as their computer, I can understand why someone would want a giant phone. It's true that holding it up one's head is getting less and less necessary, so it doesn't quite carry the stigma it once did. But for some, such large phones do present practical challenges. I saw a woman the other day at the gym wearing her iPhone XS Max around her waist like a belt buckle, and it was almost wider than her waist.

I think what perplexes me and others, is that while a large number of the population, maybe even a majority, prefer super-sized phones for various reasons, given the predominant use of phones by many, it's hard to imagine Apple won't address the segment of people who don't rely on the iPhone as their primary computer, have other devices in the Apple ecosystem to better address some needs, and/or don't use the iPhone as a significant video device, preferring instead a device that addresses their most common needs in a package that actually fits in their clothes and pockets.

You're missing the part where consumers are spending more time consuming and interacting with media. TV viewing time is decreasing. Desktop computer time is decreasing. Guess where people are now consuming content? A bigger screen helps. It's the reason why Apple is spending $1 billion+ a year on original content in the next several years.

 

[Alessiot]

My 6 Plus broke last June and I grabbed the AT&T pre-paid 32 GB SE from Best Buy for like $120 on sale and put my SIM in it. I love it. It even came with a pre-paid SIM I sold for $20, so, great freakin deal for me.

Wow that is a great deal does it work with Verizon and do they still sell it?

 

[rwh63]

over the last black friday, i snagged two new silver 32gb SEs for $80 each through walmart. got them for family members dipping their toes into the smartphone world. need to use walmart phone plan ($25/mth) for a year before unlocking.

 

[GoodWheaties]

So many new models among refurbished. Why are they sitting in stock, and nobody is buying them? Turns out SE is not popular as few MacRumors members want us to believe.

While they may not have been as popular as the larger models, they still sold a lot of phones. I looked up the data on Statista and extrapolated from the percentages and sales figures. Statista only has data for five quarters out of the ten quarters the SE was available for. I counted 20 million phones for those 5 quarters and as the percentages stayed roughly similar I think it is safe to double it for the other 5 quarters. 40 million phones is a lot especially when it was hardly advertised. Just for reference, the Note 8 only sold about 10 million.

 

[Plutonius]

I was waiting on the rumored new iPod Touch but I finally decided to buy the SE on the discount sale.
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Would one of these SE’s work on my carrier which is US Cellular? If so, which one do you buy or are they tied to the listed carriers?

They are all the same SE model (just come shipped with different SIM cards) and would work on AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon in the US with a new SIM.

I'm not sure which network US cellular is associated with.

 

[kevink2]

Apple discontinued the iPhone SE only last September. They are not going to drop iOS support for it only one year later.

And if they are still making it for the Indian market that is another reason not to stop support. They would then be making a phone with an unsupported OS.
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Wow that is a great deal does it work with Verizon and do they still sell it?

You have to unlock it, and it takes 6 months on ATT Prepaid to do so.

 

[jow99]

To check the available quantities of any of the models, if you try to add 999 of them to your bag, the site returns a lower number (different for each model) saying the number has been changed because of quantity limits. It is still in the many hundreds for each of them. The number returned may not be exactly the number in stock, but it is interesting that a large number of them are still available.

 

[Jerhen]

I was waiting on the rumored new iPod Touch but I finally decided to buy the SE on the discount sale.
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They are all the same SE model (just come shipped with different SIM cards) and would work on AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon in the US with a new SIM.

I'm not sure which network US cellular is associated with.

Thanks for your reply. I am not sure either.
[doublepost=1550679596][/doublepost]Does anyone know if these will work with US Cellular?

 

[KPandian1]

Does anyone know if these will work with US Cellular?

Verizon network is the primary parent carrier for US Cellular; there is a partnership with King Street Wireless that is vague in detail. Basically a CDMA network.

Edit: The good news is that it is not Sprint.

Edit again: I have been corrected - they have their own network (impressive) and roam with Verizon.

 

[Anthony T]

Just snagged a 128GB space gray for T-Mobile. I'm gonna see how I feel upon getting it, because I really miss the small form factor (currently have an X). Hopefully I don't regret it, but if I do, I guess I can return it or sell it.

EDIT: Are these returnable, actually?

 

[gollum]

Sub $400 new iPhones are the new black.

 

[redfirebird08]

Verizon network is the primary parent carrier for US Cellular; there is a partnership with King Street Wireless that is vague in detail. Basically a CDMA network.

Edit: The good news is that it is not Sprint.

Sprint is a pain in the ass. Can't just swap the SIM card from old phone into new phone, have to take both phones to Sprint store and get them to switch the phone number for you. Won't even work when the phones are identical. Tried it with iPhone SE's a few days ago and the SIM locked within a few minutes.

But I'm too lazy to leave. Family plan with parents so just staying the course.

 

[truthertech]

They want to inflate the percentage of year-on-year growth in iPhone sales.

Those devious devils! You've outed them. But, a little problem with your conspiracy theory is that they don't report sales anymore or percentage growth. Oops! Another problem with your theory is that they do report ASP-average selling price, which would go down by putting more lower priced phones! Oops again! Oh well,try try again. There's got to be something evil Tim Cook is up to that you can expose!

 

[harry*333]

To check the available quantities of any of the models, if you try to add 999 of them to your bag, the site returns a lower number (different for each model) saying the number has been changed because of quantity limits. It is still in the many hundreds for each of them. The number returned may not be exactly the number in stock, but it is interesting that a large number of them are still available.

Huh, thats actually quite cool

I just received mine this morning(fast shipping indeed). For any who are wondering, both were manufactured in 2018, weeks 12 and 28.

 

[Audigy]

(...)
I just received mine this morning(fast shipping indeed). For any who are wondering, both were manufactured in 2018, weeks 12 and 28.

Week 12 is a bit old, hopefully the battery is still in good shape (you can use the app coconut battery to obtain the wear and cycle information). Did they arrive with their batteries completely flat or with still some charge? Which variants did you buy? 128GB? AT&T? Verizon? Thanks!

 

[Jerhen]

Huh, thats actually quite cool

I just received mine this morning(fast shipping indeed). For any who are wondering, both were manufactured in 2018, weeks 12 and 28.

Did it also come with a sim or without since they are unlocked?

 

[harry*333]

Week 12 is a bit old, hopefully the battery is still in good shape (you can use the app coconut battery to obtain the wear and cycle information). Did they arrive with their batteries completely flat or with still some charge? Which variants did you buy? 128GB? AT&T? Verizon? Thanks!

I purchased 128GB AT&T Space Gray. I've opened the newer one; older one may go back to Apple, saved as a backup, or sold on ebay. Battery was essentially flat. Initial power-on indicated 8%, but it turned off within a minute. It's charging now so we'll see. Installed OS is 11.4.

Did it also come with a sim or without since they are unlocked?

It did come with an AT&T sim installed which I removed. I haven't inserted my activated SIM yet, which is also AT&T, so I cannot confirm that it is indeed unlocked.

 

[Audigy]

I purchased 128GB AT&T Space Gray. I've opened the newer one; older one may go back to Apple, saved as a backup, or sold on ebay. Battery was essentially flat. Initial power-on indicated 8%, but it turned off within a minute. It's charging now so we'll see. Installed OS is 11.4.

Thanks for the feedback! Just saw the serial number on the online invoice and my luck could not be worst, mine(128GB/Verizon/Space Gray) was manufactured on the second half of 2017(xxxVQxxxxxxx), week 21(so around late November). After all this time is for sure flat and gained some wear... well I will check how it performs and return if not up to par.

 

[Mac 128]

I purchased 128GB AT&T Space Gray. I've opened the newer one; older one may go back to Apple, saved as a backup, or sold on ebay. Battery was essentially flat. Initial power-on indicated 8%, but it turned off within a minute. It's charging now so we'll see. Installed OS is 11.4.


It did come with an AT&T sim installed which I removed. I haven't inserted my activated SIM yet, which is also AT&T, so I cannot confirm that it is indeed unlocked.

The only thing locking it to ATT would be the EISN. My theory for these being liquidated at the end of the no-SIM models is that they had to pull back the lock on the unsold inventory from the carries which likely took some time to sort out.

Thanks for the feedback! Just saw the serial number on the online invoice and my luck could not be worst, mine(128GB/Verizon/Space Gray) was manufactured on the second half of 2017(xxxVQxxxxxxx), week 21(so around late November). After all this time is for sure flat and gained some wear... well I will check how it performs and return if not up to par.

This actually makes sense for these models, which were probably not in the highest demand directly from Apple. I'm sure the majority sold were no-sim, unlocked models for which we've already seen 3 waves of sales.

I do wonder how this arrangement works, since Apple re-supplies based on inventory, though they would have no way to predict what the carriers expectations were, so I would think the carrier is on the hook here as well. So it looks like the carriers got it wrong, and Apple was left holding the bag on some of the carrier locked models. I suppose it was cheaper for everyone for Apple to unlock them, and just sell them on clearance rather than send them to their respective carriers to sell along with the SEs they're currently selling.

 

[harry*333]

Thanks for the feedback! Just saw the serial number on the online invoice and my luck could not be worst, mine(128GB/Verizon/Space Gray) was manufactured on the second half of 2017(xxxVQxxxxxxx), week 21(so around late November). After all this time is for sure flat and gained some wear... well I will check how it performs and return if not up to par.

ooof, that sucks. If it does not perform up to snuff, rather than return it, I'd take it to an Apple store and see if you can get a free battery replacement under warranty.