The 14 is the smallest phone on the market right now.
If people left iPhone for Android, they’d be going to larger phones.
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iPhone SE 4 Launch is Imminent - What to Expect
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If people left iPhone for Android, they’d be going to larger phones.
I'm on a 4½ year old SE2 currently so I want to upgrade. I'm torn between getting a 14 and an SE4.
Price should be about the same but a refurbed 14 will be cheaper. I'd probably prefer one more iPhone with a lightning port as I have loads of lightning cables but that's not a big factor. The SE4 won't have as good a camera as the 14 though.
I want something to last me 4-5 years (I previouslt had a 6S for a similar amount of time).
What should I get?
Price should be about the same but a refurbed 14 will be cheaper. I'd probably prefer one more iPhone with a lightning port as I have loads of lightning cables but that's not a big factor. The SE4 won't have as good a camera as the 14 though.
I want something to last me 4-5 years (I previouslt had a 6S for a similar amount of time).
What should I get?
Why would Apple want that? It’s an entire extra production line, requires more deals with more manufacturers, needs a lot of R&D, extra support. Their entire business model is to keep all those factors as simple as they can get away with and charge premium prices for the products they do sell to off-set conquering the entire market against low profit margins.
Apple could get into the business laptop market too, easily, but then they’d ruin their reputation as premium laptop builders so instead of catering to 95% of the markets, they just up the profit margins on the devices they do sell and are still doing better than all other laptop manufacturers combined.
“Well enough to make a profit” is not what Apple wants to be known for amongst shareholders.
SE4 will have a better main camera than the 14, especially for macro photos (caveat — that’s assuming Apple includes macro mode, which I can’t see them not).
I’d much rather have a phone that has longer support and more RAM. To me the SE4 is probably worth $50-$100 more than the 14.
But we’ll see when it’s officially launched.
I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I think the notch looks better in some ways.
I picked up a discounted iPhone 16 Pro last week and still deciding on whether or not to keep it.
I didn’t realize how large and distracting the Dynamic Island is. Maybe it’s because the Pro’s bezels are so thin now, that the Island sticks out like a sore thumb. But it seriously needs to come down in size.
That said, I’m coming from an iPhone 12 mini which also has a notch and oh so comfortable in hand.
I picked up a discounted iPhone 16 Pro last week and still deciding on whether or not to keep it.
I didn’t realize how large and distracting the Dynamic Island is. Maybe it’s because the Pro’s bezels are so thin now, that the Island sticks out like a sore thumb. But it seriously needs to come down in size.
That said, I’m coming from an iPhone 12 mini which also has a notch and oh so comfortable in hand.
iPhone 17 Mini or good bye iPhone after 18 years.
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Blame sales if they sold well they would update it. I am guessing there will not be any more mini iPhones.
One of the reasons the mini didn't sell as well? Because they didn't offer a "pro" feature set; lots of folks (myself included) want the extra features. Yes maybe the mini can't quite fit all of them like the Pro Max due to space, but they could at least find a middle-ground between pro and non-pro.
I replaced my iPhone 8 with a 12 Pro (not the Max) because it had more features. The stupid thing was too big to effectively operate one-handed, which was a hard habit to break, and I started having incredible pain in my hands. I replaced it with the 13 mini as soon as it came out, and I love it. I'd actually prefer it slightly >smaller< but overall it's a good size.
I bought it specifically for the size. I would have gotten a mini Pro if such a thing existed.
And if Apple comes up with a new mini, they could cram some Pro features in it, and charge a premium for it and every one of us clamoring for a new smaller phone would gladly pay it.
There's clearly pent-up demand for it. Apple wouldn't even have to release a new mini annually; they could do it every few years similar to the way they do the SE. That'd cut down on development and production costs while satisfying a good chunk of their user base.
Cuz honestly, I'm holding onto this mini as long as I can - I'm about at the point where I'd switch to Android if it meant I could get a reasonable form factor.
Where are you going to go? What current smartphones are offered in "mini" size?
the answer is none
unless you want some random Chinese spyware phone with 3 weeks of software support.
The 12 mini and 12 Pro were essentially the same phone minus 1 camera and LiDAR.
I don’t buy this theory.
I hope I am wrong, but there certainly is a history of SE not exactly matching the current mid-tier on either RAM or (baseline) storage:
- 2016 SE was 2/16 versus 2/16 in iPhone 6S
- 2020 SE was 3/64 versus 4/64 in iPhone 11
- 2022 SE was 4/64 versus 4/128 in iPhone 13
Knowing how SE is commonly lower spec'ed than the current mid-tier(s), it seems much more likely that iPhone 15 gets lowered to $599 and that SE 4 only gets 6/128 but then keeps the $429 price. Without 8GB RAM, neither will run Apple Intelligence.
Keeping SE 4 at 6/128 is a good upgrade compared to the 4/64 SE 3 but will leave plenty of incentives to spend more and get an $599-$699 iPhone 15 instead, like (far superior) rear dual-cameras, Dynamic Island, (more) premium "infused glass" finish, U2 Ultra-Wideband chip, brighter display, and more.
Again, I hope I'm wrong. The 8/128 SE 4 with AI is just too much value at <$599-$699 compared to a 6/128 $599-$699 iPhone 15 without AI. The line-up falls apart with that much value/$ in the budget, SE option.
The GOAT 🐐
(To me anyways, except the chamfered edges of the 5S were better)
😍
5S below 👇
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I woud like to have both, Face ID and Touch ID.
I had some issues with Face ID not working as expected in the bright sun.
Apple has effectively abandoned smaller iPhone market at this rate. The ship has sailed a very long time ago.
Hold the phone to see the prompt, and move away the phone until it unlocks.
Or wear glasses during Face ID creation so Face ID will recognise it.
It's so depressing
They could make a really great smaller-ish phone if they tried and saw value in serving the market
(not all markets have to be huge and yes there are folks ... plenty ... who prefer smaller phones, it's just not GANGBUSTERS numbers that Apple now demands for every single thing)
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Wish that was an option, but there aren't any "premium" small Android phones anymore either.
The lack of a smallish phone and the refusal of companies to resolve the PWM issue really causes a dilemma for some users.
I haven’t read the whole thread, so I may have skipped someone’s comment about it. That said…
A foldable phone will not replace the mini. The mini is about a device can be used with a single hand (and at 13 mini’s size, it’s barely usable). Anything bigger than the mini requires two hands.
A foldable phone will not replace the mini. The mini is about a device can be used with a single hand (and at 13 mini’s size, it’s barely usable). Anything bigger than the mini requires two hands.