iPhone SE Remains in Tight Supply at Apple Stores and Online

[Cwolk]

Yeah, sure, "tight supply," well I ordered a nylon band that said 4-6 weeks shipping. It shipped the same day I ordered it.
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I thought they weren't selling well?

Doesn't matter if they are or aren't. Apple wants you to think they are. Even if they really ship the product the next day, as long as they write "2-3 weeks shipping" then it'll always make you think differently.

 

[iDuel]

To all the people suggesting an intentional supply constraint, that makes no sense. This is a device introduced to draw in more users that were either stalling with older iPhones, or switching from the android flavored land of the phablets.



I have a receipt that says otherwise. They can, and will do it. My 64GB SE rang up at $549, I asked nicely for a price match to Apple's $499, and it was responded to with a "sure thing!". $50 taken off, and I walked out with a brand new SE.

Ah, I see. In my case, the sales associate gave me the okay on the price match then moments later the manager came out and blocked it and told me that they would be taking a loss on the phone if they had price matched it. Glad you were able to, though. Kind of slimy on BestBuy's part.

Nevertheless, I walked right accross the street to AT&T who was more than happy to sell me one at $399.

 

[MrGuder]

Doesn't matter if they are or aren't. Apple wants you to think they are. Even if they really ship the product the next day, as long as they write "2-3 weeks shipping" then it'll always make you think differently.

I'm not so sure about that, I believe that Apple would want to charge your credit card as soon as possible not 2-4 weeks away. You make it sound like there holding them in some warehouse so the world will think there is some demand for them. The corporate world doesn't work that way, Apple is in business to make money and charge your CC the moment you key it in...the longer you have to wait means the chance of you cancelling your order and that's the last thing Apple wants.

The demand for the SE is greater than supply at least at the moment.

 

[Smartass]

Classic Apple, lower the production and wait for initial demand. If it's high they'll just say they cant keep up with the demand and if it's low, well they'll just say its selling great.

 

[Gawjuz]

You need to really shake it to make it rattle, same for 5 & 5S.

Indeed but the button does feel loose in the housing. At least it does in my 5S. Anyway, it's coming up to retirement

 

[TallManNY]

I can't image there are still constraints for 6S parts this far out from its fall launch.

There might be when you tried to ship 5 to 10 million SEs on top of the 6s production. All we know is there are shortage of SEs in the market because many stores and Apple do not have them on hand to sell to customers. Also, I believe, that not all countries have started getting SEs yet. And there must be some demand in every country for SEs be it greater or smaller. Apple hasn't achieved supply / demand balance until all countries where iPhones are sold basically have all the stores stocked with a full selection of iPhones. Apple doesn't want to get caught with extras, but it seems they have channels that are still ready to be filled.

 

[Vilis2013]

To those searching for one, check your local Best Buy. I had good luck at mine, and while they only had a few 64GB models, they had all four colors in 16GB. They also price match Apple.

I have bought mine at Best Buy too, a 64G model. It was a Verizon model, but salesman said it's unlocked.

 

[sageimac]

Just received mine direct from Shenzhen. Woohoo 64GB. Took 18 days, but when it arrived I think it was still warm from the assembly line. I ordered it from an Apple store so I could trade in an old iphone (not the one I was currently using, or I couldn't have waited). It's exactly the same size as my 5s, slipped right into the old case. Love it. All the guts and speed in a smaller size, just like my Chihuahua. My son has a 6s and it bent in his pocket. He's considering trading it in for an SE. Don't understand why more people don't want this size. It's perfect. And it doesn't bend.

 

[pgwalsh]

I've been trying to get one, but they're not in stock anywhere and I want to trade-in my 6 Plus. Surprised they're in such short supply.

 

[sracer]

My wife and I are looking to both get SE's... she's on VirginMobile and I'm on BoostMobile. They're offering the SE at $100 discount on both capacities, but both currently out of stock.

Yeah, for $100 off they are locked to their respective carriers but we've had great experiences with both prepaid services and we're ok with that.

 

[Mac 128]

I've been trying to get one, but they're not in stock anywhere and I want to trade-in my 6 Plus. Surprised they're in such short supply.

I've been checking the local Apple Stores everyday on line, and got lucky and picked up two 64GB silver sim free SEs last Thursday in Los Angeles.

But it was totally random that two stores in the greater LA area actually had what I wanted.

 

[GoCanes]

Hi everyone
I was lucky and got my 64 GB SE on April 4. It worked perfect and the speed was super fast, compering to my old iphone 4 lol. However, I noticed rattling sound and started to google it. Found out that its normal thing but when my SE was vibrating in vertical position it was fine but when it was horizontal it rattled a lot and when I squeezed upper right corner with my fingers rattling stoped. So I decided to exchange to new, I was in 14 days. Since that time from April 16 I cant find SE in stock in my area.
What the heck apple is doing with their supply? why they launched new phone if they cant fulfill demand? does anyone know when they will restock SEs?

 

[ACG12]

FINALLY got lucky and a local Apple store has one in stock in 64gb. Ordered it online and just waiting for the pickup confirmation email. Gold wasn't my first choice, but I guess it's ok, it'll match my Air 2 lol.

 

[GoCanes]

FINALLY got lucky and a local Apple store has one in stock in 64gb. Ordered it online and just waiting for the pickup confirmation email. Gold wasn't my first choice, but I guess it's ok, it'll match my Air 2 lol.

what area? i saw 64 gold sim free in miami are

 

[continuity]

To be fair, there are people who don't put much on their phones at all. Not many apps, and they don't take many pictures. Why should they pay more for storage they'll never use? Likewise, it might be a good "first" iPhone for a teen. If you have a huge amount of space on a phone, you can keep buying apps or keep taking photos/videos without a second thought. If you're limited, you're more likely to buy and have on your phone only apps you really need. Likewise, you won't go crazy taking photos and videos for fear of running out of space. And you'll remove those regularly from the phone. All of this could be useful in keeping a teen frugal and a bit more careful with what they put on their phone and how they use it.

Literally the dumbest justification for keeping the 16GB configuration I've ever heard. Fanboys will twist themselves in any direction to defend Apple's plainly nonsensical decisions. Pathetic.

 

[ibosie]

Believe it. There are people who can afford to pay more but choose the smaller device - in my case for practicality. I'm happy Apple provide this choice.

 

[Mac 128]

Believe it. There are people who can afford to pay more but choose the smaller device - in my case for practicality. I'm happy Apple provide this choice.

And this is a case of Apple losing money on me. I would have happily paid $749 for 64GB 4" iPhone 6s. But Apple didn't offer it, and They did offer the SE. They seemingly priced it as low as they did because they didn't think people would buy a phone that looked like a 3 year old model, regardless of what was inside, for more than $499. Remember Apple put "last year's" model inside a new plastic case and charged $549 for a 16GB 5c. But doing the reverse they evidently thought would be a hard sell at that price. And that ultimately cost them profits. What they weren't counting on is that I would have probably paid $599 for a 64gb SE as is.

The good news is with that $399 price tag, they probably got a lot of people to upgrade that wouldn't have otherwise, and those of use who tend to upgrade every year or two may now have a new path to do just that if they release a premium 4" iPhone 7 next year. So Apple actually did make more money on us than if they waited until September to release a new premium 4" phone.

 

[MrGuder]

And this is a case of Apple losing money on me. I would have happily paid $749 for 64GB 4" iPhone 6s. But Apple didn't offer it, and They did offer the SE. They seemingly priced it as low as they did because they didn't think people would buy a phone that looked like a 3 year old model, regardless of what was inside, for more than $499. Remember Apple put "last year's" model inside a new plastic case and charged $549 for a 16GB 5c. But doing the reverse they evidently thought would be a hard sell at that price. And that ultimately cost them profits. What they weren't counting on is that I would have probably paid $599 for a 64gb SE as is.

The good news is with that $399 price tag, they probably got a lot of people to upgrade that wouldn't have otherwise, and those of use who tend to upgrade every year or two may now have a new path to do just that if they release a premium 4" iPhone 7 next year. So Apple actually did make more money on us than if they waited until September to release a new premium 4" phone.

But you could also say that all the people who now upgraded to the SE, Apple won't have that segment of the market as those people are not going to upgrade again this fall if they release another 4" iPhone with different outer design. That's why I don't think they will update again until fall of 2017 and will be SE 2. In addition, Apple spent a whole design team to get the 6s internals into a 5s shell, they are not going to throw all of that away in the fall and design another whole new outer shell to make a thinner design.

 

[Mac 128]

But you could also say that all the people who now upgraded to the SE, Apple won't have that segment of the market as those people are not going to upgrade again this fall if they release another 4" iPhone with different outer design. That's why I don't think they will update again until fall of 2017 and will be SE 2. In addition, Apple spent a whole design team to get the 6s internals into a 5s shell, they are not going to throw all of that away in the fall and design another whole new outer shell to make a thinner design.

We shall see. I will upgrade to a 4" 7 if they were to release one this fall (which they won't). So Apple ends up getting a lot more from me.

I don't expect them to keep the SE branding past this one-off model.

Also I don't expect Apple to release a brand new redesigned 4" model past next March, specifically because the longer they wait, the less time they can charge a premium from which to recoup the R&D. That's why we didn't see a redesigned 4" 6s, because in 6 months it will be last years design, and Apple could no longer charge a premium.

One year from now gives the customer time to qualify for their one year installment/upgrade plans. But it won't be a low budget upgrade. It will be a premium up-sell. The SE will drop to $299 along with the $100 6s price drop, to further expand the entry level market.