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the wealthy need to start putting their hands in their wallets more then because due to worsening economic conditions in many countries the none wealthy are having to make dire decisions, pay for gas/electric and food or buy an iphone. Whilst some will risk it all and buy an iphone i feel the majority will opt for gas/electric and food. This will obviously have an effect on the number of iphones being sold, not many in my opinion as economic conditions worsen.
 
I don't think swissmann meant that the front camera would be removed. The iPhone 13 mini has a dual lens back camera setup. If Apple turns the iPhone 13 mini into a new SE4 then one way to reduce the cost (and price) is to swap this dual camera setup for a single camera setup.

I like swissmann's basic idea. Here's how I'd do it. Take the iPhone 13 mini and do the following to make the 2024 SE4:

1. As mentioned, reduce the back camera to a single lens setup. Adjust the case size so the camera lens sits flush, and expand the battery capacity. (So it'll be a little thicker than the iPhone 13 mini.) Make the case/camera lens mounting less premium (cost reduction).

2. Remove Face ID and replace with switch-based Touch ID (like the current iPad mini and new base iPad). Adjust the size of the "notch" to compensate.

3. Remove mmWave and UWB support.

4. Bump the internals to an A16 processor (2022 "Pro" flagship but in 2024), probably underclocked compared to 2022 flagships for thermal and battery reasons. Possibly 6GB RAM but at least 4GB.

5. 128GB storage only, 2 or 3 colors only.

6. USB-C connector with USB 2.0 transfer speeds. (EU conformance.)

7. Probably keep the OLED display and 60 Hz refresh rate. That's not really a premium part any more. But if there's a suitable 60 or 90 Hz LCD, OK.

8. Obviously no in-box accessories except in countries that require them.

U.S. full retail price: $449

The problem is that implementing all these ideas would equal to a totally new iPhone, so extra R&D costs. SE iPhones have always used recycled designs, with no exceptions. This is not to say that Apple could not make the iPhone you suggest, but it will not be a SE, nor the cheapest one in their lineup.
 
First of all, SE 4? I didn’t even remember there being a 3. Second of all, speculations about 2024? Do you know how many of us might be dead by then?

Here they are, in all their glory:

6AC5DB0E-3ECC-463C-B84E-05D71ADD9499.jpeg

The second point is irrelevant, as those of us who might be “dead by then” would not be going after any smartphones, would they?
 
Never understood what is the point of SE3 for $500 (128gb) when, better in every way, 13 mini is $600. Surprised that apple is surprised with low sales.
 
using my first gen SE right now (based on the 5). enjoy using it, can manipulate it one handed, everything works well. felt the same about my 4S. i like a pocket sized device, not a phablet phone!
I just bought a refurbished SE2 to replace my first gen SE and my first impression was "That's kinda big but still small" haha so for me the size is very important and (no pun intended😅) I like em small📱
 
I think if you want a good phone for cheap, you might be better off just getting a two-year-old flagship phone. For example, while you could buy a brand new 64GB iPhone SE for $429 now, you could also get an iPhone 12 64GB on Amazon for $392 (or a 128 GB iPhone 12 mini for $394).

Or try your luck on Apple's refurbished store, though they frequently seem to be out of stock, plus their prices are ridiculously high. :eek:
 
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The problem is that implementing all these ideas would equal to a totally new iPhone, so extra R&D costs. SE iPhones have always used recycled designs, with no exceptions. This is not to say that Apple could not make the iPhone you suggest, but it will not be a SE, nor the cheapest one in their lineup.
Yes, I think part of the lower cost is minimal R&D. I would take 13 mini, stick newer processor in it, and sell it for $500. Its acceptable to increase the price a bit given the inflation and price increases of other iphones. Original SE was 2/3 of the next cheapest iphone, which now takes us to $500-550. 13 mini is already 600, will probably be 500 next year, so seems reasonable they slightly upgrade it 6 month later for the same price. Even 550-600 would be reasonable if there are more upgrades beyond the processor.
 
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the wealthy need to start putting their hands in their wallets more then because due to worsening economic conditions in many countries the none wealthy are having to make dire decisions, pay for gas/electric and food or buy an iphone. Whilst some will risk it all and buy an iphone i feel the majority will opt for gas/electric and food. This will obviously have an effect on the number of iphones being sold, not many in my opinion as economic conditions worsen.
I’m not sure anyone who has to make the choice between utilities and an iPhone counts as “wealthy”…
 
I'm looking at you SE 3, still trying to push fat bezels like it's still 2017 - considering even the iPhone 8 was a lesser model compared to the X back then, how is Apple still expecting it to move in great volumes in 2022-23 is beyond me.

Here's a thought, it's not selling well because it does not meet customers' expectations?

Re-using the iPhone 8 design worked for the SE line once, but updating it again in 2022 was not Apple's brightest idea.
 
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The SE line has failed because Apple really doesn’t know/understand what people want outside of the pro models. Either that or they can’t accept a lower margin and go for volume.
 
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I hope this is untrue as I'm now an iPhone 11 user through the death of my 7 Plus. The SE 2022 is just too small and being sensitive to OLED PWM (eye strain, headaches), the rumour of an XR/11 body SE with LCD was going to be my only upgrade path.

A £500 iPhone SE in an XR/11 body or even an 8 Plus shouldn't really cost Apple alot to develop as they have all the tooling.
 
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They should cancel it. No one wants to buy the cheap junk. They want Pro models. You can't even sell the 14/14 Plus, so how do you expect to sell and even cheaper one?
The non-Pro 14's problem is that it's essentially the same as the non-Pro 13 from last year - save for an extra GPU core, a slightly better battery, and features like satellite SOS calls. If you owned a 13, there's no point in upgrading - if you didn't, then the 13 is slightly cheaper for almost the same feature set as the 14.

The problem with the SE 3 however is that it's a terrible device in this day and age, Apple can do better with recycling its old models (the 1st SE was great, the 2nd was meh, the 3rd is awful).
 
The SE form factor has become too outdated, so a new SE in X form factor might actually work well.

But I think also many people who don't buy new iPhones A) use their older phones for way longer (an iPhone 7 is still quite snappy), and B) just buy a used iPhone 11 or 12 for less than a new SE which works just as well, with more features.
 
With the economy going the way it is, this was set to be their only phone under $8,000…
 
Very disappointing rumor. I was really hoping for a XR style SE.

But I don't think there would be high cost for Apple to make a XR SE because Apple had sold the iPhone XR and even the 11 for $499. So pricing the XR style SE at $450 won't be that hard for Apple since the XR components would be cheaper now than it was at that time and the only components that would cost Apple is the processor and possibly an upgraded camera.

Also the XR style SE would have sold really well. A lot of people bought the OG SE and even the 2020 one sold really well. People like lower priced iPhones. So a $450 all screen iPhone with the latest processor and most importantly much better battery life would sell really well.
There must be higher costs if they’re reconsidering it. Maybe they can’t hit the 450 point with the latest basic internal upgrades that SE usually has.
 
Yes, how can he make these claims? This is a product rumored over a year in the future — how could he possibly know? I think he has an axe to grind.
Projects are started that far in advance and he could be connected with product/project teams involved this early.
 
With now several models said to have sold below Apples expectations maybe last years flagships are meant to be sold the next year for cheaper instead of the "formal" low cost model SE in the future?
 
Maybe the reason iPhone SE 3 shipments have been lower than expected is because prospective SE buyers want an iPhone that's

(1) lower priced (relative to the flagship iPhones)
(2) has a decent sized screen that's large enough but not too large
(3) small enough to easily fit pants pockets without half of it sticking out and maybe even allow 1-handed operation

View attachment 2131094


This makes the iPhone 12 mini / iPhone 13 mini the best candidate to take the next iPhone SE spot.

Does Apple have the courage to do it though?
However their previous sales numbers have apparently shown that the mini model is not generating the unit numbers they expect. So I suspect
It's hard for Apple to compete with Android on that particular segment of the market, where most people just need a large screen for a low price and don't really care as much about the rest of the specs.
i think the problem is they’re trying to cover a number of low unit market segments with limited models. android will appeal to markets like Low cost low tech market, large screen standard tech market, small screen low tech market , small screen latest tech market etc… but Apple is trying to cover all of those with 1/2devices.
 
I’m going to be stuck with my 12 mini for years I imagine… hopefully small phones get retro cool one day and they bring the design back
That's where I'm at. Would've bought a 14...if there was a Mini. I have small hands, and the Mini is PERFECT. The regular size is ok (I can deal with it) but definitely prefer the size of the Mini. I like that I can reach everything on the screen with one hand and not have to worry about dropping it.

And then there's the Plus/Max...nope, way too big. Won't even consider them.

In the grand scheme of things, me not buying a new phone has no impact on them or their decisions whatsoever, but dropping the Mini definitely took away a guaranteed sale. I would have bought that without even giving it a second thought.
 
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