First Impressions Roundup: iPhone SE and 9.7" iPad Pro

[stanman64]

It is no problem at all, i love the iPhone 5 design, and prefer it to the 6.

I'm not refuting either claim, each person is entitled to their own opinion. The 6/6s design is my favorite. But I have heard from a few of my "non-techie" friends already, "why would I get that? It looks just like my old 5/5s."

What I'm saying is, I'm wondering if the old design will have any sort of impact on the average consumer (i.e. people who mentally tune out whenever they hear words like "RAM" and "processor" because they don't care), since everyone has been conditioned to expect the "new iPhone" to look "new." But.. it is the only 4-inch smartphone option right now (and arguably the best), so in the end it would have to come down to how bad you want the smaller screen size.

 

[Gix1k]

What a waste.

 

[skinned66]

"The good news: The iPhone SE gives you everything great about the iPhone 6s for $250 cheaper."

Does this confirm it has 2gb ram? That's one of the major features of the 6s.

I have yet to see a reputable answer for this but I'd err on the side of margin and assume 1GB until proven otherwise.

 

[iReality85]

They should have kept the 5S design going forward. The iPhone 6/6S looks like trash in comparison. Definitely one of Apple's best designs, along with the 4/4S. All they needed to do was slim it down.

 

[geoff5093]

I love how Apple never gives out useful specs like how much RAM or the battery capacity their devices have. Yet, they go into great detail about the number and size of their transistors, the technology behind variable refresh rate displays, micron size of the pixels in the camera, color gamut, and many other things that the average or even tech inclined user has no idea what they are talking about.

 

[Supermacguy]

I love that they kept the design exactly the same. The 5s physical design was perfect. Right size, right thickness, and the beveled square edges were easy to hold. To me, a 6-series feels 'slippery' b/c of the rounded sides. I like that I can keep my 1/8 audio adapters for a few more years, and same case/protector! I would have liked force touch, but it's not a great loss.
I think that 'changing the design' every year is a waste- there is almost no design to a small rectangular brick. Beveling or rounding edges, a stripe or not across the back is not design, its detail.

 

[magbarn]

"SlashGear also received time to test the smaller iPad Pro, and declared "it's enough to make you throw your iPad Air 2 into the trash."

Really?! I guess somebody is shilling for Apple and doesn't want to lose their 'early access'. Too bad it'll take you over 3 hours to fill that 256gb PP 9.7 up as Apple crippled it with a 15 year old USB 2.0 interface while outfitting it's larger brother with a proper USB 3.0 interface.

 

[4jasontv]

People need to calm down.
We got a great update with the 9.7 inch iPad. I don' t know what people were expecting. It is still a great design, a bit updated, it is still very portable and got some serious new upgraded hw. If it had been offered in 16gb for 499, and 64 for 599, no one would complain.
Now, it is 599 for 32gb , and it is offering 4g/LTE with all models, contrary what most people expected.

And about price moaners: Apple offers a high end 4 inch iPhone for 399. It has never been so cheap.
And now people moan about the old design.

Apple customers/enthusiasts are just the most difficult type of people.

I haven't moaned yet, but it isn't about the old design. My issue is that they seemed to have thrown Apple Pay and a A9 in a 5S and said "we listened, woo!" They didn't. What they really did was provide some two year old tech at a slightly less premium price. I wanted a flagship device with a 4" screen. I want the high end cameras, extra ram, and brighter displays that can fit comfortably in my hand.

I am ready to consider a S7, however it's the same size as the 6S. At least it got an update over the prior year.

 

[mountain]

Wasn't impressed with yesterday's announcement.

 

[NT1440]

I have yet to see a reputable answer for this but I'd err on the side of margin and assume 1GB until proven otherwise.

Not saying its not possible, but setting up a whole different manufacturing line to put less RAM sounds like a logistical mis-step.

The fact that it can edit two 4K videos at ones makes me think it's more than 2GB.
[doublepost=1458651913][/doublepost]

Wasn't impressed with yesterday's announcement.

As a "get all the little things out of the way before WWDC" event, I was. I've been holding off on a new iPad for two years (I have a first gen mini) and they've announced EXACTLY what I'm looking for out of my next 4 year iPad.

 

[Pilgrim1099]

I haven't moaned yet, but it isn't about the old design. My issue is that they seemed to have thrown Apple Pay and a A9 in a 5S and said "we listened, woo!" They didn't. What they really did was provide some two year old tech at a slightly less premium price. I wanted a flagship device with a 4" screen. I want the high end cameras, extra ram, and brighter displays that can fit comfortably in my hand.

Sorry but that will NEVER happen. Flagship translates to " Big Boy ", therefore iPhone 6 S Plus is the " Big Boy " of the bunch. Not the little 4 incher. It USED to be but not anymore. Now it's just has the current specs for that size and Apple doesn't want it to compete with the ' Big Boys ' but good enough to be a cheaper alternative and a ' starter ' device, but also for a way for those who cried for a 4 incher.

I think the SE has a very nice classic design and one they should have used with the iPhone 6. But I suspect they may be testing the waters for reaction to see if they may go ' old school ' with the iPhone 7. I think it's a very good idea because the flat edges were a lot easier to hold onto than the curved sides. Even the flat edges were easily secured on my car cradle and never slipped off. If they ever make an iPhone 7 Plus with flat edges like the SE, then that would be THE phone to get.

If Tim ' green lights ' the curved look again for the 7, I want that man GONE from Apple. Along with Williams and Schiller.

Mind you, I had a 4 inch iPhone a few years back and enjoyed it. BUT, as time went by I noticed that the keyboard was a pain in the a$$ to use with two thumbs, or even one because I happen to have " gamer thumbs " from over the years using the controllers. Why didn't Apple think of that originally? Not everyone's thumbs are of the same size to easily peck away at the keys. And secondly, the small screen made it hard to read the text. Seriously. I have astigmatism and it frustrates me that I have to hold the phone further out to read it clearly.

And third, using navigation on GPS for the 4 inch screen isn't appropriate. Trust me. When you go big with the 6, navigation on Waze, Maps or whatnot, is a beaut. You have more real screen estate to look at with more information to glean from.

And lastly, the keyboard on the 6 Plus ( which I have now ) is much more comfortable to use.

 

[TurboPGT!]

iPhone SE is a downgrade, not a upgrade

From what? You know what nevermind. Don't answer. You obviously don't get it.

 

[DEMinSoCAL]

Good grief! Some of the replies here....!

The comments from the stage about the % userbase adoption of the latest version of iOS vs the latest version of Android were the most telling. Most Android users never get the 'latest and greatest' most secure version of the OS. Most Android users don't have the facility to encrypt their phone's storage leave alone actually do so. Your average security and patch aware Android user would sell their grandmothers on ebay to have the prompt, regular OS and security patching together with storage encryption that iOS users take for granted.

Some of the jabs at Android and PC were so ridiculously comical that I'd have been embarrassed to have said them on stage, in front of millions of viewers. Very targeted, Apple must think their viewers are idiots. Marshmallow has 1% Android user base? Who knows. Who cares? Lollipop works great. Not sure why I would need Marshmallow. I'm sure there are improvements but I'm not clamoring for it. Apple forgot to mention when iOS 9 was released, it was fraught with issues, many were pretty bad, leading people to ask if Apple even tests these releases. To this day, I still have BT issues with iOS 9.2 that Apple seems reluctant to fix.

Phone encryption? Before all this FBI / Apple news, I bet 9 out of 10 smartphone users, when asked, would not know if their phone was encrypted or not. No one cared. No one shopped for phones based on encryption. Consumer to Best Buy phone rep--"Hi. I'm looking to buy an encrypted phone. What are my choices?". BB rep--Blank stare. No one cares.

Then the jab about how PC people are still using 5 year old computers? What's wrong with that? Oh, I know...Apple has designed forced re-purchase every couple years by gluing them shut and rendering them non-upgradable. It's BAD to keep a PC for 5 years? Maybe they should talk to their "new" Mac Pro users about rocking old computers? How about not a single Apple computer has a current gen Intel CPU in it? I can throw a couple hundred bucks every year at my PC to keep it relevant and meet my storage needs, how is that bad? Because I'm not handing Apple another $2500 to replace my Macbook that I've run out of storage?

Every jab at the competition was so hypocritical and hilarious I could barely stand it!!

 

[mdridwan47]

iPad Air 3 $100 more with half the storage!! Dafaq?

 

[MaxinMusicCity]

The iPhone SE is a way for Apple to test how the market responds to what is essentially a flagship 4" model. If it reacts favorably and sells well, then they would probably start releasing one every year, probably starting with the iPhone 7s. If it reacts unfavorably and does not sell well, then that's why it was a "special edition." Works either way!

Odds are the sales of the "SE" will be lackluster due to it"s high overseas price, not that people don"t like it. It will probably fare best in Canada and the US.

 

[4jasontv]

Sorry but that will NEVER happen. Flagship translates to " Big Boy ", therefore iPhone 6 S Plus is the " Big Boy " of the bunch. Not the little 4 incher. It USED to be but not anymore. Now it's just has the current specs for that size and Apple doesn't want it to compete with the ' Big Boys ' but good enough to be a cheaper alternative and a ' starter ' device, but also for a way for those who cried for a 4 incher.

Thank you, you get it! This is the reason for me, and others, being very disappointed.

I think the SE has a very nice classic design and one they should have used with the iPhone 6.

Agreed.

But I suspect they may be testing the waters for reaction to see if they may go ' old school ' with the iPhone 7. I think it's a very good idea because the flat edges were a lot easier to hold onto than the curved sides. Even the flat edges were easily secured on my car cradle and never slipped off. If they ever make an iPhone 7 Plus with flat edges like the SE, then that would be THE phone to get.

Again, I agree. I just don't care as much as the tech inside the device.

If Tim ' green lights ' the curved look again for the 7, I want that man GONE from Apple. Along with Williams and Schiller.

Um... ok.

Mind you, I had a 4 inch iPhone a few years back and enjoyed it. BUT, as time went by I noticed that the keyboard was a pain in the a$$ to use with two thumbs, or even one because I happen to have " gamer thumbs " from over the years using the controllers. Why didn't Apple think of that originally? Not everyone's thumbs are of the same size to easily peck away at the keys. And secondly, the small screen made it hard to read the text. Seriously. I have astigmatism and it frustrates me that I have to hold the phone further out to read it clearly.

I don't have gamer thumbs or an astigmatism. Is it ok for me to want a 4 inch display?

And third, using navigation on GPS for the 4 inch screen isn't appropriate.

No, they want us to use a 38mm screen to do that.

Trust me.

Are you referring to the person in this post who clearly has very different needs than me?

When you go big with the 6, navigation on Waze, Maps or whatnot, is a beaut. You have more real screen estate to look at with more information to glean from.

I find the size of the screen isn't important when I am not looking at it; a behavior I do frequently when driving.

And lastly, the keyboard on the 6 Plus ( which I have now ) is much more comfortable to use.

And with virtual keyboards I don't have to worry about it being so large and heavy it falls out of my hands and leaves QWERTY across my face!


I get the justifications for big phones, I really do, but having had a 6 and 6+ I find the size of the devices as more of a detriment than a feature. I use my phone to photograph a lot of things that need high quality images. I need a fast device that can swap between 5 or 6 apps without reloading. I rarely have less than 10 safari tabs open. I also have to do most activities with one hand, and so weight and ease of access to the screen far exceed the benefits of having more content visible. Your use case may justify a larger display, and I fully support an iPhone with large displays. I just don't want to be limited in technology because Apple wants to sell the large ones more.

 

[toughboy]

Kinda disappointed that iPad Pro 9.7" is 599$ for 32gb. For a comparable "desktop replacement" computer, you'd need at least 128gb of space and a physical keyboard, which brings the end price to 900 USD. 900 bucks for lack of OSX, open file system, expansion ports, etc etc..

 

[Mackinjosh]

lol 400 dollars for a 4 inch screen and 16 gigs of memory that can never be expanded. So much power. Journalists are bigger dunces than people that look at that price and those specs and think "Hey that's a good price!"

 

[Pilgrim1099]

Thank you, you get it! This is the reason for me, and others, being very disappointed.


Agreed.


Again, I agree. I just don't care as much as the tech inside the device.


Um... ok.


I don't have gamer thumbs or an astigmatism. Is it ok for me to want a 4 inch display?


No, they want us to use a 38mm screen to do that.


Are you referring to the person in this post who clearly has very different needs than me?


I find the size of the screen isn't important when I am not looking at it; a behavior I do frequently when driving.


And with virtual keyboards I don't have to worry about it being so large and heavy it falls out of my hands and leaves QWERTY across my face!


I get the justifications for big phones, I really do, but having had a 6 and 6+ I find the size of the devices as more of a detriment than a feature. I use my phone to photograph a lot of things that need high quality images. I need a fast device that can swap between 5 or 6 apps without reloading. I rarely have less than 10 safari tabs open. I also have to do most activities with one hand, and so weight and ease of access to the screen far exceed the benefits of having more content visible. Your use case may justify a larger display, and I fully support an iPhone with large displays. I just don't want to be limited in technology because Apple wants to sell the large ones more.

I understand what you're saying. I'm only saying that the GPS part is based on my experience. In fact, I have an old school Garmin GPS which still works and is reliable. Never fails me. It's almost 4 inches in size. I once had to go to Fort Ticonderoga last spring on a fencing tournament because the mountains between Vermont and NY can cause signals to be cut off. I used my phone to get there with no problem. BUT, on the way back, the signal died out so I had to switch to my Garmin and voila! The satellite picked it up and guided me back home with precision. That's one of the biggest weakness I think that smartphones have in not having ' true ' GPS nav while relying on the carrier network to do so.

As for referring to the person, I'm only saying that my needs differ than what you may have experienced. Different philosophies, different work flows.

On driving, I always put the phone on the cradle plugged in when I need to use Siri. And being hard of hearing, I have to focus on the road while using the navigation on my long drives. But it's handy when someone tries to text me so I can see what's going on without touching it.

I don't mind the virtual keyboards but the design of the keys were so closed in together that made it difficult to type in. I waited years until Apple went the 6 inch route which made it better. I find high quality images important to me since I'm in the creative industry and the camera app allows me to capture visuals or archive them.

Plus, the large screen size makes a great portfolio presentation tool for me. Even when watching Twitch. Or using FaceTime. I never needed the ' force touch ' features to upgrade to but the iPad Pro's Pencil was tempting despite the fact I own a Wacom tablet which gets the job done.

Again, if Apple goes with the flat edges for iPhone 7, that would be a step in the right direction.

 

[RobbieTT]

Apple have made a phone that is perfect for me. I don't even have to buy any new accessories or yet-another-case when I replace my 5S.

I thought Apple had 'moved on' from selling products that would appeal to me; perhaps it was just a pause.

 

[ValO]

I haven't moaned yet, but it isn't about the old design. My issue is that they seemed to have thrown Apple Pay and a A9 in a 5S and said "we listened, woo!" They didn't. What they really did was provide some two year old tech at a slightly less premium price. I wanted a flagship device with a 4" screen. I want the high end cameras, extra ram, and brighter displays that can fit comfortably in my hand.

I am ready to consider a S7, however it's the same size as the 6S. At least it got an update over the prior year.

It has 2gb of ram , same a9 and the same 12mp camera and 5mp frontcamera as the 6s.
You are not well informed.

 

[magbarn]

Kinda disappointed that iPad Pro 9.7" is 599$ for 32gb. For a comparable "desktop replacement" computer, you'd need at least 128gb of space and a physical keyboard, which brings the end price to 900 USD. 900 bucks for lack of OSX, open file system, expansion ports, etc etc..

iPad Air 3 $100 more with half the storage!! Dafaq?

Only Apple has the hubris to raise prices on rapidly declining sales. I guarantee these will be going for $100 off plus $50 GC come black friday.

If anything, the iPP 9.7/ipad Air 3 has a cheaper BOM compared to the Air 2 on its release day, the body style is the same requiring minimal re-tooling, no 3D touch, and NAND prices have crashed since...

 

[pappy53]

It has 2gb of ram , same a9 and the same 12mp camera and 5mp frontcamera as the 6s.
You are not well informed.

Front camera is 1.2mp.

 

[cliffster82]

I think the SE is great. Ok... so, anyone looking to sell their mint 5s for cheap?

 

[lah]

I don't get all the reactions here. Why would Apple have a new design (5C wasn't that great) when they are not launching a flagship phone. I have an Iphone 5 and I love the design, now I can upgrade with the same design and amazing specs for that price!

Exactly. This is just a refresh to an existing product. This is not their flagship iPhone, but an attempt to recapture the 4in iPhone market and possibly get more into emerging markets with a lower price point. The 4in phone market is probably pretty small these days and I'm sure they've done plenty of research to minimize the manufacturing cost of a product that will not sell at a large scale. Let's be honest, this is a niche product, it's a bit naive for everyone to expect them to redesign an entire phone that will not sell at the same levels their larger flagship phones. At the end of the day Apple is a public corporation whose main goal is to turn a profit.