iPhone SE Estimated to Grab 16% of U.S. iPhone Market in Launch Quarter

[iamgalt]

If Apple makes any kind of updates to the SE in September when they release the 7, I'll be seriously considering getting that rather than the 7. I like the smaller screen, but a 128GB version would be most desirable. A 64GB version might work. That's what I have now on my 6.

 

[nutmac]

From what I can gather, 4" iPhones' market share:

• September: 15%
• December: 11%
• March: 5%
• June: 20%

 

[wizard]

They severely underestimated demand
And and they priced it low expecting not to attract customers away from the flagship phones. This is bad for apple as it lowers their average selling price. I think they thought they would have a small number of sales that was similar to how the 5s was selling. This was a mistake for sure and it shows in their early inventory struggles. Should have priced it higher.

I agree. They underestimated demand but I have to wonder how they managed to get so out of touch with the market. Pretty damning of the marketing group.

I'm not sure this pulled a great deal of customers away from the larger phones. It appears from this article that people upgraded from older models to this one because it is of similar size.

As for pricing this is where I have to disagree. Apples hardware is too expensive, even Tim Cook has said as much. They need to be more price sensitive as the market isn't the same as the PC market. To sustain volumes they need a wide spread in device capabilities and prices. This is not a business where Apple can afford to loose market share.

 

[Jsameds]

4.7" display in a smaller housing please. The SE is practically perfect apart from the display size.

 

[RichTeer]

Why does anybody need more than 16gb? I'm genuinely curious to understand the usage model. I still have 5.8gb available on my 16gb iphone 5.

Thanks for asking, Phil. For me it's quite simple: my 64 GB iPhone 5s has 38 GB of uncompressed audio, 7 GB of photos, 4 GB of apps, 4 GB of docs and data, and 1.25 GB of other stuff. That leaves me with a paltry 1.5 GB free, and I've already deleted a few apps and many albums I'd like to keep on my phone but can't for lack of space. And before it is suggested, no, iCloud is not a viable option for me.

The only thing that's keeping me from switching to the SE is the lack of a 128 GB storage option (I don't want a bigger screen), and secondarily, lack of Touch ID 2 (or whatever it's called).

 

[kiranmk2]

Makes it look like even more of a mistake not to include Force Touch on the SE now. With iOS10 it looks like Apple is positioning Force Touch as a major component of the system under the belief that 'most' people will have either a 6s from last year or upgrade to a 7 this year. The big numbers for the SE puts a big hole in that theory and when Force Touch becomes more widespread in September with iOS10 there could be growing numbers of users wondering why their <6 month old phones don't support it!

 

[Benjamin Frost]

If Apple makes any kind of updates to the SE in September when they release the 7, I'll be seriously considering getting that rather than the 7. I like the smaller screen, but a 128GB version would be most desirable. A 64GB version might work. That's what I have now on my 6.

Same here.

I'd be on a 128GB 4" iPhone 7 in a heartbeat, as long as it had a headphone jack. 256GB would be better still.

 

[ActionableMango]

Well, yeah. It's cheap. iPhone attracts the youth and senior citizens. Both of these groups don't have much money.

16GB is fine. I can certainly afford more, but I don't understand what I'd do with the space.

• I have every photo and video taken since the iPhone 3G stored locally.
• I just counted and I have 81 applications. Is this a comically small amount?
• I stream videos and music, so those don't need to be stored locally and a streaming library is far larger than even the biggest phone could hold.

Sure, give me 32GB and I'll probably find a way to fill it. Maybe I'll install 200 applications I don't use instead of having only 81 applications that I don't use.

I honestly don't know what the 128GB people are doing. Well, I suppose if you can't do streaming because you aren't around Wi-Fi and don't have an unlimited data plan, then you'd want to store as much locally as you could. So streaming might be the big difference between 16GB and 128GB people.

 

[LordVic]

16GB is fine. I can certainly afford more, but I don't understand what I'd do with the space.

• I have every photo and video taken since the iPhone 3G stored locally.
• I just counted and I have 81 applications. Is this a comically small amount?
• I stream videos and music, so those don't need to be stored locally and a streaming library is far larger than even the biggest phone could hold.

Sure, give me 32GB and I'll probably find a way to fill it. Maybe I'll install 200 applications I don't use instead of having only 81 applications that I don't use.

I honestly don't know what the 128GB people are doing. Well, I suppose if you can't do streaming because you aren't around Wi-Fi and don't have an unlimited data plan, then you'd want to store as much locally as you could. So streaming might be the big difference between 16GB and 128GB people.

this is really waht it comes down to, is that not everyones experiences and uses are the same, especially in regions where data plans are capped and are expensive. you end up not being able to use a lot of streaming cloud services, which means having to store more data locally.

my data plan is ridiculously overpriced (Welcome to Canada's TelCo industry). Streamnig over 4G would bankrupt me , so I have my GPM set to cache / autodownload rando selection of music while on WiFi. Plus storage for my Plex syncing for movies / TV shows, and taking pictures / video in 4k.

the amount of audio streaming I do in a month alone would cause my data plan to cost over $100 /mth in overages (Bell seriously charges $2/MB over your limit).

So it means that I need more than 16gb storage. but the costs associated with the tiered storage are ludicrous and have insane markups (this is unfortunately true for most of the industry).

 

[wizard]

I'd actually question if Youth don't have much money.
Mom and Dad will buy whatever to keep them happy.

. You must have grown up in one of those liberal households that pander to ever wish from their children. Most of us didn't grow up that way. We actually worked for what we got. Whining expecting a handout just resulted in conflict you don't want to deal with as a teenager.

Petulant and sulking teenagers are a pain and terrorize families,
until they get what they want.

Or they get hit with a heavy right cross.

Wouldn't work on some, but most cave in.

PS: Looks like size does matter!

 

[StevieD100]

People store a lot of music and don't want to use data streaming it.

I have a 128gb 6s and have less than a gigabyte left. Computing is getting more mobile, so a lot of people need more storage to support their changing lifestyle.
[doublepost=1468946928][/doublepost]
I would've bought the SE if it had a 128gb option.

All the Music I want to play is stored[1[ on my 32Gb Ipod touch V4. Most of the time it is left connected in the car. My 16Gb iPhone 6 has more than 6Gb free.
[1] as well as my MBP and my Nas (for air play)

Going off topic a bit
I played drums in a band in the 1970's. My hearing has siffered because of it. Wearing in ear anything is just a bit No-no for me unless I want to bring on my Tinitus. I forsee a lot of people who re young at the moment will go deaf before they are retired. Playing heavy bass for hours at a time is according to my Audioligist really bad for the ears especially if the emitter is very close to the ear drum. I listen to a lot less music that I used to. Having nothing to hear is a real pleasure. The sound of silence is golden

 

[dannyyankou]

All the Music I want to play is stored[1[ on my 32Gb Ipod touch V4. Most of the time it is left connected in the car. My 16Gb iPhone 6 has more than 6Gb free.

Thanks for telling me you have a smaller music library than me.

 

[BuffaloTF]

It's still their best design... if I hadn't gotten a 6s at launch, I would've jumped right in.

 

[phairphan]

Why does anybody need more than 16gb? I'm genuinely curious to understand the usage model. I still have 5.8gb available on my 16gb iphone 5.

While 16GB may be great for people with low-usage needs, it's definitely constricting for even moderate use. My work phone is a 16 GB version and it's constantly low on storage. I would classify my usage of it as low-moderate: no music, no videos, and about 30 photos (mostly low-res images from the web and not taken with the phone's camera).

A 16 GB phone offers only 12.5 GB of storage once the OS is factored in. That 12.5 GB doesn't go far: Facebook (.5 GB), Excel (.5 GB), Word (.5 GB), PowerPoint (.4 GB), Mail (.35 GB), OneNote (.25 GB), Twitter (.15 GB), Weather (.15 GB), Withings (.13 GB), and Starbucks (.11 GB). My top 10 apps by storage space consume 24%, almost a quarter, of available space. That's just 10 apps. Load quite few small apps or two or three multi-GB games, and the storage space quickly evaporates.

I'm now left with 1.1 GB free and I frequently encounter situations where OS updates and occasionally app updates (looking at you Excel) won't download because there isn't enough free space to even download the update.

Granted, not everyone will have the MS Office suite installed. However, they are likely to have photos, videos, and music installed, which I don't have on my phone. 16 GB, I mean 12.5 GB, provides fairly restrictive functionality for even moderate use.

 

[5105973]

The SE has the same processor as the 6s/6S+ and the same resolution rear camera.

I recently "downgraded" from a 6S+ to an SE as I had issues carrying it in lighter summer clothes and I realise I'd forgotten how nice a small phone can be: I'd got caught up on the bigger is better mantra and really thought I needed a massive phone with me all the time. The SE has been like a breath of fresh air and I'm loving the increased portability and one handed use

I put my 6S Plus aside for the same reason. I couldn't stand trying to keep it with me another summer. I'm a woman and our pockets tend to be shallow on our shorts and skirts so I needed the SE if I wanted it close to work in tandem with my Apple Watch.

I love the SE. I wish there were a 128 GB option but I found out I can do fine on 64 even if I take a lot of videos, as long as I remember to offload them periodically. Other than sometimes wishing for more storage I think this phone is perfection and it's going to be my daily driver as long as it holds out.

I'm in the process of investigating a trade in of my 6S Plus to a Note7 just to experiment with Android. So I've started reading android forums and to my amusement I'm seeing a LOT of android loyalists complaining about how all the flagship androids are too big and they wish there was a small SE sized flagship option. If I were an executive at Apple or an Android phone manufacturer I would be taking a closer look at these comments and investigating the marketing potential there.
[doublepost=1468950094][/doublepost]

Apple is a business, and if there is pent up demand for something, or lack of inventory, it means there is money left on the table. As a fan and investor of apple I would always want them to make the best business decisions, not make the consumer the happiest, unless doing so will make them more money in the long run. is a clear case of underestimating demand for a product and underproducing and under pricing. Tim Cook himself said they underestimated demand. Good for everyone who purchased the phone, bad for maximizing profit and revenue.

I agree, but don't forget Steve's philosophy was that if you try to delight the customer the profits will follow. Tim has made some of the mistakes he has because he has been too much of a bean counter. Or so goes the perception.

 

[wizard]

Apple is a business, and if there is pent up demand for something, or lack of inventory, it means there is money left on the table.

There are lots of counter arguments to this stupidity. For one you can burn goo will with consumers. Just look at what has happened with several drug companies who decided that obscene profits where a good idea on patented drugs. It has resulted in a lot of backlash from government, investors and even consumers. The investor backlash is due to a number of issues including fear of regulation, concerns over long term viability and so forth.

The idea that you leave money on the table by reasonably charging for products has been shown to be an asinine management mantra.

As a fan and investor of apple I would always want them to make the best business decisions, not make the consumer the happiest, unless doing so will make them more money in the long run.

The long run is always important in the product sectors Apple deals with. The reality is the initial bump in demand for a new product only last a couple of months, after that pricing is very important. Effectively Apple needs to compete with other manufactures once the fan base has their hardware.

is a clear case of underestimating demand for a product and underproducing and under pricing.

Well it is a clear case of underestimating demand. All Apple would need to do is read a few of these online forums to realize there was demand. Pricing though is another issue. Long term pricing should reflect good profit margins, if Apple instituted a policy of fleecing early buyers they would most certainly generate some significant consumer hate. Pricing needs to be built around the long term goal of good sales until the product is pulled or revised.

Tim Cook himself said they underestimated demand. Good for everyone who purchased the phone, bad for maximizing profit and revenue.

Actually I suspect that this is a very profitable product for Apple. From all appearances it is using exist parts and tooling as much as possible. I really doubt Apple made a huge capital investment here.

 

[thisisnotmyname]

Yep, the SE is a huge disappointment and failure and Steve would never have... wait... um, looks like it is doing pretty well

And yes, the 16GB is still very popular and viable, in spite of all of the crying here on the Forums

it comprises 33% of available current offerings (SE, 6s, 6s+) but makes up 16% of sales despite buzz of the new release vs the other two being on market for some time prior. "very popular"?

 

[dogslobber]

In reading some of the responses of why more than 16GB is needed in the SE, it appears to come down to storing more stuff. Things like photos and music are all things that don't need to consume internal storage. In fact, it seems to me that Apple would be well placed to EOL anything bigger than 16GB as it's simply not needed. What's needed is an ability to plug in a micro SD card to store less used data. You can pick up a micro SD card of 128GB from Amazon for 35 bucks. I think that aspect will satisfy storage hogs. Just my opinion.

 

[iShater]

My sister-in-law got one to replace her 5s, and when my wife is ready to upgrade her 5s we will go for an SE. Unless you really need the larger screen, these phones pack enough power to make them a great deal.

I opted for a 2nd hand 6 to replace my old HTC One S, even though the SE would have been a similar form factor to my old phone because I got used to my work's 6s phone.

I just wish they did go past the 16GB to make it easier to just download everything on it

 

[pat500000]

Make it 70 percent once iPhone 7 comes out.

 

[hungx]

Got my in-laws set up with two 64 GB iPhone SE's a week ago. They were upgrading from 10 year old Nokia bricks, because AT&T sent them a letter saying that those phones would no longer be able to connect to the network as of the end of the summer.

My biggest regret is not getting them iPhones with bigger screens. Their hands aren't steady... they tremble a lot and really struggle with entering passwords on the small screens. I'm hopeful that TouchID will reduce how much they need to enter passwords, but the initial setup process was very difficult for them.

I wonder... is there some super cheap keyboard that I can buy for them for just entering their passwords when that's necessary? Used is fine... I figure they can share it.

I would recommend buying the Lighting to USB camera connection kit and use a USB keyboard, or you can purchase a Lightning keyboard. You can also look into Bluetooth keyboards (I suggest you look on eBay for older Apple ones). However, you need to pair the keyboard every time you use it, so it may be a hassle.

 

[coolfactor]

Got my in-laws set up with two 64 GB iPhone SE's a week ago. They were upgrading from 10 year old Nokia bricks, because AT&T sent them a letter saying that those phones would no longer be able to connect to the network as of the end of the summer.

My biggest regret is not getting them iPhones with bigger screens. Their hands aren't steady... they tremble a lot and really struggle with entering passwords on the small screens. I'm hopeful that TouchID will reduce how much they need to enter passwords, but the initial setup process was very difficult for them.

I wonder... is there some super cheap keyboard that I can buy for them for just entering their passwords when that's necessary? Used is fine... I figure they can share it.

Any bluetooth keyboard should work. You're a good person.
[doublepost=1468951596][/doublepost]

If Apple would release an updated 4in with latest camera and processor I'd buy it in a second. Instead I'll wait for the 4.7in iPhone 8.

The SE is running the latest processor. That's the point and why it's such a charming little powerhouse.

 

[GuitarMan0121]

Anyone know what game that is on the screen?

Geometry Wars 3. Super fun game

 

[rp2011]

Next year there will be a slick new 4" iPhone 8 to go with the other two. And I highly doubt they will be free on 2 year contract or drastically reduced . They need new full fledged fully functional new phones for all theee sizes. The 4" Serve's its own use case. It's not a lesser device. It's a more mobile and smaller form factor for those of us on the go that need it. It's the all purpose size for those that use it as an iPod at the gym and for running and the camera for the hike and the camera that's always on you. The 4 is just a use case of its own and shouldn't be diminished because a few loudmouths marginilize it.

 

[lowendlinux]

There's just no market for small phones dontcha know..

Maybe this can inspire other OEM's to make small SD 8xx phones then we'd have some competition in the SFF phone market