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iPhone SE 4 Production Will Reportedly Begin Ramping Up in October
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We really need to come up with a better word for when the sale of a cheaper product results in fewer sales of a more expensive product than "cannibalise." I live in a country where cannibalism was occurring within the past few hundred years on a regular basis and the horror associated with such things needs to be preserved.
The very reasons I choose iPhone SE is because 1) it doesn’t have Face ID (Face ID makes it extremely easy for criminals to steal your phone and police officers to violate your privacy and rights and 2) it doesn’t have wireless charging (some members of my family use ICDs — pacemakers and defibrillators).
Or you can appreciate that the English language evolves and the context you choose to take of that word, doesn’t necessarily reflect others daily use.
[sarcasm]
I was disappointed that the iPhone SE 1 had the same CPU and the same main camera as the flagship iPhone at the time. I hope my hero Tim Cook does not do that with the iPhone SE 4, and instead gives it an older generation processor and older generation camera. It's more important for Apple to save money and maximize profits than to give customers an excellent user experience. Users like me are not as important (and are less human) than multimillionaire and billionaire Apple executives and Apple shareholders.
[/sarcasm]
I was disappointed that the iPhone SE 1 had the same CPU and the same main camera as the flagship iPhone at the time. I hope my hero Tim Cook does not do that with the iPhone SE 4, and instead gives it an older generation processor and older generation camera. It's more important for Apple to save money and maximize profits than to give customers an excellent user experience. Users like me are not as important (and are less human) than multimillionaire and billionaire Apple executives and Apple shareholders.
[/sarcasm]
So the iPhone 15 right now is 799 USD. The report is that this phone is going to be what 499, 599? What are they going to leave out? The sat communication? I don't think that part costs a ton. Could the casing be different? Maybe but I don't think some aluminum and glass are going to be enough to make people wanna spend 2-300 more. Lots of people I don't think even realize how to switch which lens they're using.
Don't get me wrong, I'm all for giving people a fantastic chip with a cheap price, I am. But I can't see Apple shipping an iPhone with an ugly looking screen. So if these are OLEDs they're probably still going to be pretty good OLEDs.
So where exactly do we think Apple is going to cut things out to ensure that it's a great phone for people who need the basics, but doesn't have all the features of the higher-end iPhones? Are we thinking the iPhone 17 is going to have some absolutely insane feature? I kinda doubt it. Like maybe nicer screens, nicer camera nicer this nicer that. But the things that have kept the SE from cannibalizing the other iPhones have been the fact that it has a nice but not amazing camera, a small screen, and a design that looks pretty dated compared to the other iPhones (but which lots of seniors feel comfortable with.)
I suspect part of this might be that Apple is aware that lots of the people who buy the iPhone SE end up jacking up the font to insane amounts because they can't see anything on their tiny phone screens. So I'm all for giving people who don't want to spend money on a phone bigger screens. It'll make customers happy. I can also understand why they'd want to give it an A18, especially if the A18 ends up being cheaper to produce than the A17.
But I don't buy the iPhone SE getting Face ID. I think if the SE was going to get Face ID on a 500 dollar iPhone, then the Air at 599 would have made sense to give Face ID. (Yes the screen and battery in the air are bigger but iPads also have lower profit margins.) I fully expect that if this phone is at that price with an A18 and able to do Apple Intelligence stuff, it's going to mean that Apple puts in the same power button Touch ID sensor as they use on the iPad Air. They'll probably still ditch the home button which will mean all the gestures will be the same.
There are also people who are just more comfortable with a fingerprint reader than they are Face ID. There may also be some companies that are more comfortable with Touch ID than Face ID.
But yeah, if Apple does do an iPhone SE with a super new chip, I fully expect it to not have absolute feature parity with any of the iPhone 15 or 16 models. Now, don't get me wrong. They might ditch the 15 after they release the iPhone SE. So the whole lineup could be 16, 16 Plus, 16 Pro and 16 Pro Max, + the iPhone SE. But they're not going to just release an iPhone 16 with one less camera lens and the same screen as the iPhone 15 and call it a day. There's going to be SOMETHING that makes the iPhone SE a good phone for budget conscious customers, teenagers and some other group who will especially treasure their iPhones.
Don't get me wrong, I'm all for giving people a fantastic chip with a cheap price, I am. But I can't see Apple shipping an iPhone with an ugly looking screen. So if these are OLEDs they're probably still going to be pretty good OLEDs.
So where exactly do we think Apple is going to cut things out to ensure that it's a great phone for people who need the basics, but doesn't have all the features of the higher-end iPhones? Are we thinking the iPhone 17 is going to have some absolutely insane feature? I kinda doubt it. Like maybe nicer screens, nicer camera nicer this nicer that. But the things that have kept the SE from cannibalizing the other iPhones have been the fact that it has a nice but not amazing camera, a small screen, and a design that looks pretty dated compared to the other iPhones (but which lots of seniors feel comfortable with.)
I suspect part of this might be that Apple is aware that lots of the people who buy the iPhone SE end up jacking up the font to insane amounts because they can't see anything on their tiny phone screens. So I'm all for giving people who don't want to spend money on a phone bigger screens. It'll make customers happy. I can also understand why they'd want to give it an A18, especially if the A18 ends up being cheaper to produce than the A17.
But I don't buy the iPhone SE getting Face ID. I think if the SE was going to get Face ID on a 500 dollar iPhone, then the Air at 599 would have made sense to give Face ID. (Yes the screen and battery in the air are bigger but iPads also have lower profit margins.) I fully expect that if this phone is at that price with an A18 and able to do Apple Intelligence stuff, it's going to mean that Apple puts in the same power button Touch ID sensor as they use on the iPad Air. They'll probably still ditch the home button which will mean all the gestures will be the same.
There are also people who are just more comfortable with a fingerprint reader than they are Face ID. There may also be some companies that are more comfortable with Touch ID than Face ID.
But yeah, if Apple does do an iPhone SE with a super new chip, I fully expect it to not have absolute feature parity with any of the iPhone 15 or 16 models. Now, don't get me wrong. They might ditch the 15 after they release the iPhone SE. So the whole lineup could be 16, 16 Plus, 16 Pro and 16 Pro Max, + the iPhone SE. But they're not going to just release an iPhone 16 with one less camera lens and the same screen as the iPhone 15 and call it a day. There's going to be SOMETHING that makes the iPhone SE a good phone for budget conscious customers, teenagers and some other group who will especially treasure their iPhones.
There was that person who said if you don’t cannibalise yourself someone else will… ahh dam who was that…
If this doesn’t have a fingerprint reader I don’t really see the appeal. elderlies in my family can’t reliably use Face ID and the fingerprint reader is great for them.
I use the SE, it's all I need in a phone. I use it for phone calls, messaging, music, podcasts. That's about it. Everything else is better suited with other devices - reading on a Kindle, productivity apps on a desktop or laptop, etc.
I'm not sure I'll upgrade to this SE immediately or not. Depends on the final feature set and the price.
The SE has QI wireless charging, it doesn't have magsafe wireless charging.
I'm wireless charging my work-provided SE 2022 as I type.
If you want Magsafe, you can get a magnetic ring and stick it to the back of your phone case. They sell them on Ali Express ebay etc. I did that. Works fine.
I had all the previous 3. Then I had to buy the iPhone 14 after I smashed my SE3 as I couldn't justify buying another. If this is basically an upgraded iPhone 14 then its an instant buy, hopefully no dynamic island either.
Yes and only because my 8 Plus is stuck on iOS 16. And the SE 2022 might be my last iPhone ever, if the new one has anything in it that will permanently scan my face.
I’ve got a 2020SE as my backup phone and I bought an SE 2022 for my Grandparents. My friend has them for his kids. I don’t think many people on this forum will have them for their daily drivers though at a guess.
I hope 64GB is dead. Even the low-end Samsung A15 5G ships with 128GB standard
I have a 15 Pro, and I'm interested in the upcoming SE because Dynamic Island annoys the hell out of me.
I have the current iPhone SE, and it works great for me. It has the same chip as the iPhone 13, so I'd hardly call it outdated. I'll probably keep it for another 2+ years.
My wife has the previous iPhone SE, which also works for her. She has had a few minor issues lately, so she might end up replacing hers next year.
The iPhone SE has never been for people who constantly want the latest and greatest. It's for people like me who want a reliable phone that will be usable for a reasonable length of time.