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Nobody's talking about the fact that this is the first phone released after AT&T stopped subsidizing them. Paying full price is a big deterrent.

Depends.. is this for US sales or worldwide? AT&T wouldn't make much of a different if this is an overall world trend.

Many providers have stopped subsidies, and instead there's a 'tab' option... subsidizing is getting too expensive.
 
I understand the urge to criticize any new Apple products sales as Apple is perceived to be this company whose every new product is somehow revolutionary...

But the SE is not one of those products.

It's sole purpose is to fill a niche; people who support Apple products but who found the larger sizes of the iPhone 6/6+ untenable or their costs unaffordable. It's not unlike the iPhone 5C... which was also criticized for (comparably) low sales.

I'm not sure what analyst would have predicted massive sales of such a niche product... those of us who have accepted the larger sized phones as functional certainly aren't going to downgrade. So this product is really to entice two types of consumers... those who have older iPhones who avoided upgrading due to larger sizes, and those who don't have an iPhone but are interested in one but at the smaller sizes.

Not exactly a deep market...
 
Is this thing meant to sell like hotcakes, or is it just to grab more marketshare and more revenue from iTunes, the App Store and even potential future Mac sales once people enjoy the ecosystem?
 
The SE isn't Apple's flagship phone, or even it's standard phone, released around a half a year after.
By my thoughts the SE is a niche market phone. It's not bad or anything but I'd be surprised if the SE had great sales, most people were upgrading months ago. The SE was to fill a gap in their product line up, not to be a huge industry leading sales machine.
 
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Where are all the people that wanted a new 4 inch iPhone?
One of them is right here. For the unwashed masses that don't follow Apple trends and rumors, this announcement probably took many by surprise. It falls in the middle of the traditional iPhone refresh cycle so I wouldn't be surprised if people were not planning to get a new phone until Summer. (I plan to buy an SE within a month or two)

I'll be more curious to see sales figures for the SE after the iPhone 7 is announced.
 
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Well, as others have mentioned, I don't think this was projected to be some opening-weekend blockbuster selling phone. It seems evident that this will be slotted at the bottom of the iPhone heirarchy for a few years at least, hitting a certain segment of the market.
 
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size is a preference, but people still want their phones to be cutting edge. the se doesn't have the same features as the flagship phone and to many i'm sure was obsolete from the start. this in part is why people are bothered by the rumors of the dual camera lens being only available in the larger model

The only features the SE doesn't have that the 6S does is:
1. the screen
2. 3D touch
3. support for band 28 or 29 for LTE I believe.

The stuff that is important like the following are all why I switched. I really like the size of the phone are well the price is what pushed me ever further. It gave me the opportunity to have a 64GB phone for $499. I upgraded from iPhone 5 so its a big specs bump for me.
1. Processor
2. Memory
3. Camera
4. Better battery life
 
I don't know what defines "lackluster" sales, but I'm hoping slower sales on the SE means Apple will push the 4.7" and 5.5" screens into smaller bodies, instead of a smaller screen.
 
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Where are all the people that wanted a new 4 inch iPhone?

According to that chart, people with the small iPhone is about 1/3 of the total. I bet MANY of them are not the type who run to the Apple Store the first minute a new model comes out. I think Apple did right with this model. Time will tell.
 
Where are all the people that wanted a new 4 inch iPhone?

Sitting here with a 4.7in 6s.

I needed a new phone, seeing as they didn't release a 4in model with the 6s line, and nothing seemed to be on the horizon, I went for what was available. Had the line up included a 4in model, I'd have gone for that, but I'm not about to trade in a perfectly good phone after only six months for a lesser spec model.

This will last me a good few years, and if there's a 4in model with the same spec available on the 8,8s, 9,9s (whenever I decide it's time to upgrade) i'll probably choose that. Of course, my view may change over the intervening time period.
 
Where are all the people that wanted a new 4 inch iPhone?

I wondered the same, considering there's people here firm in the belief that the + sized phone is just "WAY TOO BIG FOR ANYONE TO USE."

It's possible those people are already on the 4.7" and either like it, or don't want to spend again to drop to the 4" size.

I mean, looking at the SE, it's a bulky 5s form factor with some upgraded internals. Most people didn't think the 5 series phone was too big, but considering we have a new form factor and staying on the old one doesn't provide any battery or performance benefits, it's like what is the point?

I feel that many people have already moved on to the 6 generation, and thus taking an SE is a step backwards. Granted, if you're trying to stay with a cheap device and don't need it to be more than a phone for calling, texting, social media browsing, and a little bit of multimedia, it's really not a bad option.
 
Uh, and other phone manufacturer (Android or Windows) would be pleased has punch if they sold that many phones in one weekend! Hey, I love what Apple is done. 90% of phone buyers just want a GREAT CAMERA, great processor, good enough screen (and the SE delivers there), and a GREAT BATTERY, good WIFI, and a good LTE modem, and a finger print reader. And the SE delivers on all accounts.

3D touch??? Yawn, 8 gazillion pixels that eat battery??? Yawn, thin as possible??? Yawn, no Headphone jack???? Yawn...
 
Where are all the people that wanted a new 4 inch iPhone?

I believe many of them, like me will hold onto their current phone, whether it be a smaller form factor or a larger form factor such as the 6S, like mine and wait to see what happens in September. If the new phone is not a major upgrade to ecosystem they may, like me decide to go to the SE.
 
Lackluster sales or overreaching analyst expectations? The SE is a great phone for 4" fans. It's not meant to be anything near a blockbuster. My guess is that those that want it will get it on there own schedule.

100% agree! And the fact that Apple also cares about those customers is exactly what one expects from them.
 
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Considering all NYC stores have been sold out since Thursday, people are clearly interested. I expected to be able to just go to a store and grab one - no luck. 7-10 day shipping currently. Just saying.
Considering how many Apple Stores there are in relation to the population of NYC, I think it's pretty obvious why anything new is sold out. Where I live, the iPhone 6 was sold out for months at the Apple Stores here, with only a few here and there in between in very specific color and size combinations. The SE was available in all colors and sizes on release day, and even still now.
 
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