If Apple remains locked out of China . . . well it will not be so sunny around Apple for a while, 4" phone or not.
While the 4" iPhone is popular with some its main selling feature would be the price.
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If Apple remains locked out of China . . . well it will not be so sunny around Apple for a while, 4" phone or not.
While the 4" iPhone is popular with some its main selling feature would be the price.
I disagree with both points.
The SE is popular in China because of the price point, not the size. So, Apple's success with the SE in China will not dictate their actions with a 4 inch flagship model in the western world.
And I don't think the price is big selling point of the SE in the west. It's the size. There are a lot of people who obviously don't consume media on the iPhone and therefore have no desire for a screen larger than 4 inches.
I remember when the first 4 inch screen came out from Apple, I got it and instantly "this is the perfect smartphone size". After having the bigger screen sizes from Apple for about two years now, I still feel the same way.
When the 6 came out some us needed to upgrade not because we wanted a larger phone but rather we just needed a new phone. My 4s was on its last leg so I bought a 6. I was never happy with the size but I had to buy either an older 5s or a new 6. I bought the 6 hoping I could get past the size difference. Apple did well that year selling phones so I presume those of us that bought because we had no other choice got lumped in with those seeking a larger device. The SE clearly shows there is a market for smaller devices. That doesn't mean the larger phones will go away. Hopefully Apple keeps the 4 inch in their lineup in the future.
"That's just, like, your opinion, man."
The larger phones are definitely not going to go away. There is a huge market for them, presumably much larger than the 4 inch phone market. It's just that Apple underestimated the 4 inch phone market.
EDIT: Added "not" in last paragraph, first sentence. I'm typing too fast today!
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Honestly, I don't even care about the size that much. I replaced my iPhone 5s with a 5.7" Moto X. It seemed huge at first, but it didn't take long to get used to. I replaced that with a Galaxy S7 Edge, which is smaller, but a little harder to use one handed thanks to the curved display.
No, the reason I bought an iPhone SE was the design. Apple nailed it with the iPhone 5's design and screwed up big time with the 6, in my opinion. I'm so glad Apple used the old 5s' design instead of the 6, because I never would have bought one.
No, the reason I bought an iPhone SE was the design. Apple nailed it with the iPhone 5's design and screwed up big time with the 6, in my opinion. I'm so glad Apple used the old 5s' design instead of the 6, because I never would have bought one.
You keep doing that. Lol
I'm betting a significant number of SE sales will be for corporate customers, and those will be strictly price driven. Two other large groups will be customers new to iOS and those who are faced with non-subsidized updates for the first time.
A 4" flagship will not sell nearly as well as the current SE. Price is why.
A 4" flagship will not sell nearly as well as the current SE. Price is why.
Haha, yeah, damn. I need to slow down my typing! At least you knew what I meant this time!
Well we're definitely different in respect to our smartphone desires. I bought an iPhone 6 when they first came out. I returned it and got my money back on the 14th day (last eligible day). I loathed the hugeness of it! And I think the iPhone 5 is a very good looking design but I actually think the iPhone 2G (first iPhone) and the iPhone 6/6s are the best looking iPhones ever made.
I still have to disagree with you. I follow your logic and think it is rational, however I just think you're wrong. I really think a large portion of the people who bought the SE did so because the screen is 4 inches and would not have bought the same phone at the same price if it had a significantly larger screen size.
Apple is not likely to ever update, or replace the SE. They will depreciate it along with the 6s over the next 3 years. What remains to be seen is by how much. I could see the SE drop to $299 next Spring, and $199 the Spring after that. And if the SE is depreciated, they will need something to eventually replace it. That's where the premium 4" model comes in. They launch a 4" iPhone 7 at $599, which depreciates until it replaces the same spot on the rung the SE presently occupies. And who knows, maybe they update it at that point, just like they did with the SE, but maybe not as much.
Since it takes a lot of resources to launch an iPhone, let alone two, I see establishing the 4" market in the Spring as beneficial toward maintaining iPhone sales through a slow period, as well as alleviating resources during the flagship launch. But releasing the premium model gives them a brand new form factor they can sell for a premium for the next 18 months anyway, before they start reducing the price. It almost doesn't matter how many 4" iPhones they sell at the premium price, since they need a new phone to eventually replace the SE, and they're not likely ever going to launch a completely new design at $399.
You don't seem to realize that designing, purchasing sub components and tooling up for finally assembly for a revised product takes longer than five months. If Apple has not been working on the product for 18-24 months it's not going to happen. We are talking about producing millions of phones, not a one off prototype.
Haha, yeah, I know. I was just quoting a line from The Big Lebowski to be funny. I hope you didn't take offense!
That's definitely a fair point. No telling at what point Apple realized their error in judgement of the 4 inch demand, but I also think a lot of the tooling up had already been done years ago with the iPhone 5, so there's not a whole lot to be done other than buying new components and cranking out some phones.
No dude, I was quoting The Big Lebowski. Not to mention nothing in that quote implies that I don't think others can express their feelings or opinions.
Thanks. I felt badly about that when I saw your comment. I should have put "-The Big Lebowski" next to it to make it clear.
I could very easily see an iPhone 8 line up with 3 screen sizes.
A new 4" release this fall is clearly out of the question. Apple needs at least a 12-18 month lead time.
There will be another 4" phone, likely with a different design but the question is how long? I'd bet minimum 1 year, likely 2.
A new 4" release this fall is clearly out of the question. Apple needs at least a 12-18 month lead time.
There will be another 4" phone, likely with a different design but the question is how long? I'd bet minimum 1 year, likely 2.
And what if a 4" flagship iPhone 7 was planned along side with the general upcoming i7 in the past months?
I don't think that planning the se took much effort for Apple. And there are many people eager to get every iPhone Apple releases, so many of the se users might upgrade if there will be i7 with 4"
I don't think that planning the se took much effort for Apple. And there are many people eager to get every iPhone Apple releases, so many of the se users might upgrade if there will be i7 with 4"
I don't think the $399 price to change next year.
The SE may get updated 2 years time but that's anyone's guess.
That's not likely because it doesn't help Apple spread out their resources and profits. It will be harder to bring a third model to market at the same time as the two large phones, and meet demand. They can barely do it now as it is. If they managed it, they would then have an even bigger spike in sales in the 1st quarter, and a huge drop in the third. Add to that the iPhone upgrade plan which provides for a 1 year upgrade, will see more users beaming eligible later in the cycle, at which time some might want to upgrade to the new 4" premium.
If Apple had discontinued the 5s, I would have said maybe they would take that course as they could have used the 5s factory to produce the 4" model. But that's where they're producing the SE. And I think before Apple commits more resources to a new 4" facility to meet launch demand with the larger iPhones, they will most likely want to see how the SE does for a full year. Maybe for the "7s" release, but then they lose the staggered product release that also boosts sales during a slow quarter.
The point wasn't what it took to get the 5SE up and going. Most of the 5se was already tooled up. The point was regarding an additionally new upgrade of a 4 inch phone for this September. Since Apple is just know realizing that demand for a less expensive and or smaller screen phone is still out there in the market place. Doing anything about it for September seems highly unlikely was my point.
I see what you're saying now. Even though the 4 inch demand has been bigger than Apple expected, I think it's still small relative to the demand shown for the regular size phone. And I don't really know what the demand is like for the "plus" models. But my point, in consideration of what you're saying, is that possibly the demand is small enough that Apple can handle adding it in with their current production runs. I could easily be way off on the estimations I'm making, though, in terms of demand sizes.
I can't imagine you being correct, but I hope you are.......lol
