iPhone SE Refresh

[jm31828]

Yeah, I've been hoping this SE does really well for that same reason. I'm gong to buy one if they don't do a 4 inch flagship this fall.



That's a fair point. There would definitely be less power consumption with a small screen, but I don't know if that would be enough to help. I guess I just really hate the fact that they used that old case design. Kills me.



Indeed! I am anxiously awaiting finding out.

I love that they went back to the 5s design. To me that is the nicest looking iPhone ever made, I am still not thrilled with the plain look of my 6s.

 

[geta]

Good design can hold for many years (like MBP), thats why they kept the 5s design, refreshed the specs & rename it SE.

Im guessing if the SE sales well, it will get update every second year (in the ’S’ cycle) for many years, unless they will cut it down in favor 3 flagship models with the same specs and design (4”, 4.7” & 5.5”). Even if it will happen in the end, i hope they will keep the SE design around as an entry model for long time…

 

[Cakefish]

I think the SE will get annual upgrades every spring. This is Apple's way of spreading out product launches to ensure there are no big sales dips throughout the financial year.

Big iPhones in September. Little iPhone in March.

 

[steiney]

I love that they went back to the 5s design. To me that is the nicest looking iPhone ever made, I am still not thrilled with the plain look of my 6s.

I like the 5/5s design a lot, but I think the current design is the best yet, followed by the 1st gen design, then 5/5s, then 4/4s, then 3/3s. The 3/3s was terrible, in my opinion. Awfully shaped and plastic-y.

Good design can hold for many years (like MBP), thats why they kept the 5s design, refreshed the specs & rename it SE.

Im guessing if the SE sales well, it will get update every second year (in the ’S’ cycle) for many years, unless they will cut it down in favor 3 flagship models with the same specs and design (4”, 4.7” & 5.5”). Even if it will happen in the end, i hope they will keep the SE design around as an entry model for long time…

That would make a lot of sense. If the 4 inch phone does well, they might make a flagship version and keep a trimmed down version for emerging/poor markets.

I think the SE will get annual upgrades every spring. This is Apple's way of spreading out product launches to ensure there are no big sales dips throughout the financial year.

Big iPhones in September. Little iPhone in March.

Now that is a very interesting point. They've got so much cash, though, and are good enough at predicting their numbers at this point that I wonder if it really makes a difference to them about when the cash comes in.

 

[PDFierro]

Now that is a very interesting point. They've got so much cash, though, and are good enough at predicting their numbers at this point that I wonder if it really makes a difference to them about when the cash comes in.

Well for shareholders it does. You want every quarter to be a great one. A way to ensure that would be to spread out product launches.

 

[steiney]

Well for shareholders it does. You want every quarter to be a great one. A way to ensure that would be to spread out product launches.

Good point. Fair enough.

 

[maxsix]

I don't think the SE will be consistently updated. The SE is functioning as a budget phone.

You've said it best

 

[DMVillain]

The fact that the iPhone upgrade program isn't available for the SE tells us how often Apple plans on updating it.

 

[maflynn]

Who thinks Apple is going to release a "flagship" 4 inch iPhone with their fall refresh this year?

Won't happen, consider the overhead in needing to tool the manufacturing for the SE, they now need to change that over 6 months later? Also consider the negative feedback from those who bought the SE, now. They did that once before with the iPad Air, and got a lot of negative press over it.

If they were intent on making a flagship 4" phone in the fall, they would have released one in the fall and not did it in March

 

[Q-Dog]

Have to disagree with you Mike. Apple had very little to change to produce the SE. The entire screen assembly is the same. All the buttons are the same. They even reduced a step or two by eliminating the polished beveled edge on the housing.

 

[steiney]

Have to disagree with you Mike. Apple had very little to change to produce the SE. The entire screen assembly is the same. All the buttons are the same. They even reduced a step or two by eliminating the polished beveled edge on the housing.

Yeah, I noticed the edges looked just the slightest bit different. Did you read that somewhere or can you just tell from the pictures?

 

[Porco]

Probably wishful thinking, but it would be nice if they added a 128GB option (happened with the 4th Gen iPad).

 

[Q-Dog]

Yeah, I noticed the edges looked just the slightest bit different. Did you read that somewhere or can you just tell from the pictures?

The polished edge has to be done after the anodizing.

 

[shox2k2]

I don't think there's a refresh. Maybe they add a 128 option. I don't know if they could add a different color or something like that then maybe but the inside's will stay the same.

 

[HEK]

The normal convention followed here is that all iPhone refresh discussions are postponed till receipt of phone plus three months of the iPhone in question. Please rejoin this thread at the end of June. Your compliance is greatly appreciated.

 

[myrtlebee]

Doesn't "Special Edition" (SE) imply this is probably a one-time thing and not to expect yearly updates?

 

[Newtons Apple]

The updated SE will be bigger.

 

[HEK]

The updated SE will be bigger.

Right, twice as thick

 

[maflynn]

Right, twice as thick

Thick and Apple are mutually exclusive

 

[steiney]

Just updating this thread with the following quote from Apple, taken from this MacRumors article:

We're thrilled with the response that we've seen on it. It is clear that there is a demand there even much beyond what we thought. That is really why we have the constraint that we have.
​

The general consensus of this thread seemed to be that Apple would not be updating their 4 inch model anytime soon. To me, this quote is very promising news for the possibility that it will get updated with the iPhone 7 launch. They're basically saying they didn't realize there was so much demand for a 4 inch phone and presumably they're going to adjust accordingly.

Fingers crossed for the not-so-few of us apparently out there who are wanting a fully flagship 4 inch device!

 

[Channan]

I think the fact that almost all Apple Stores being out of stock of almost all variations of the iPhone SE close to a month after initial release speaks volumes about demand for a 4" iPhone. I have to wonder if Apple didn't think demand would be so high and didn't produce enough to start off with and can't keep up with demand now, or if the low(er) profit of this phone means it's not a priority to make these as fast as possible.

 

[steiney]

I think the fact that almost all Apple Stores being out of stock of almost all variations of the iPhone SE close to a month after initial release speaks volumes about demand for a 4" iPhone. I have to wonder if Apple didn't think demand would be so high and didn't produce enough to start off with and can't keep up with demand now, or if the low(er) profit of this phone means it's not a priority to make these as fast as possible.

I think the former is the correct case. That's pretty much what they said. They didn't realize it would be so popular.

I actually think their profit margin is still competitive with that of the flagship models. Yes, they charge more for the flagship models, but the SE had almost no development cost associated with it. It's just an iPhone 5s with newer internals.

EDIT: Corrected "did" to "didn't" in the third sentence of the first paragraph.

 

[Channan]

I think the former is the correct case. That's pretty much what they said. They did realize it would be so popular.

Your first and last sentence contradict each other. Did you mean the latter is correct or they didn't realize it would be so popular?

 

[Newtons Apple]

I can not see Apple doing a "Flagship" 4" phone this fall. I do not see them doing anything in the 4" size except maybe a incremental SE update in a few years.

With cell phone sales dropping globally, lets hope Apple stays on the current update cycle for the 7, 8 and 9.

 

[steiney]

Your first and last sentence contradict each other. Did you mean the latter is correct or they didn't realize it would be so popular?

Whoops! Thanks. I made the necessary correction to my comment. Changed "did" to "didn't".
[doublepost=1461786086][/doublepost]

I can not see Apple doing a "Flagship" 4" phone this fall. I do not see them doing anything in the 4" size except maybe a incremental SE update in a few years.

Considering they didn't realize the 4 inch model would be so popular, I agree with you, only because I can't imagine they'll have gotten their act together quickly enough after realizing their mistake in order to be able to push out a flagship 4 inch device. But it might make it out in time for the "s" revision now that they've realized their error. I just can't believe Apple, of all companies, didn't do good enough market research to know that a modern-spec'd 4 inch model would do really well.

And I think cell phone sales are only dropping recently because they have started to hit the saturation point within 1st world markets. The SE will help greatly with getting past that, but people within the 1st world markets clearly want a flagship 4 inch model.