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Kuo: Apple to Cancel or Postpone 2024 iPhone SE 4

Havoc035 said:
Failure for these models isn’t that hard to explain. The SE 3 features an ancient design in tech terms that goes back to the iPhone 6. The 13 mini has a small screen. The 14 plus is not a cheap device but features the same SoC as an iPhone 13.

People want cheap big iPhones. An SE in XR form factor would do great given it has an SE price.
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100% agree with you.

The SE is a crap product for the price. I'm sure I'll be downvoted but it's true. Aside from the chips set, it looks and feels dated.
 
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To some degree I don't see the problem with keeping the 8-style design of the SE2 and 3, just upping the internals and the camera a bit, slapping a USB-C port on and calling it a day. There's still a bunch of people who really, really like the home button, and its primary purpose is to fit into a price point in the lineup; if it doesn't do that, then there's not much point to the category.
 
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I think a device like the SE is neccesary, as some people want an iPhone but cannot afford the higher prices and/or don´t want a big screen. A friend of mine wanted to upgrade from the SE1 and was betweent the current SE and 13 Mini because he was confortable with the smaller form factor.

Maybe its a niche market, but it still a million units market. Some Android brands would die to sell as many phones as Apple sells SE3 or 13 Mini.
 
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sw1tcher said:
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?
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Agree.

I had the latest and greatest iPhone whatever until 2018. But in 2018, I stopped buying the latest and greatest thing that Apple put out each year. And on top of that, I hated the iPhone I had due to:
- its curved edge design
- the size
- the inability to use it with one hand
- the inability to pocket the phone comfortably and forget that it is there (always had move it to sit or bend, and always concerned that the phone itself would bend if I sat with it in my pocket -- which it did actual bend)

So I downsized to the iPhone SE gen 2 phone in 2018 (with the square edge form factor). I got the last one that my local store had in stock. Still using it today although the battery is basically shot.

Now it is time for new phone, which I will likely buy in January 2023. But I will not get the current SE (I hate the curved edges and the size). I will not get the new 14 (hate the price and the size).

I will likely get the 13 mini. I love the size and case design. I agree that if Apple wants to keep an SE phone, and if they want to keep the SE customer base, they should:
- retain the current mini as the SE.
- keep the current mini square edge form factor (removing case design from the SE cost basis & pricing formula for at least another 3 years -- many SE buyers are not moved to buy because of the latest case. Hope you understand what I am saying here. Don't change the case design for another 3 years or so, so you remove engineering and tooling costs from the price of the phone, while the profitability of the current mini square case grows with each new mini sold.)
- withdraw investment from the wizbang camera tech which many SE folks don't require. Just instal a basic camera.
- install a less robust IOS in the phone because most SE folks don't need 15-20% of current IOS functionality.
- keep the price at $400 or less.
 
The SE 2 and SE 3 as well as the 12 mini and 13 mini all took sales from each other. They released the 12 mini and SE 2 and then release better but highly similar versions of them within a short time window then are surprised that people don't upgrade. They didn't even give mini owners 2 years to upgrade before discontinuing.

Similar thing going on with iPhone 13 and 14. They need to differentiate without making everything that's not the Pro seem recycled.
 
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I can see this. An iPhone with the latest processors and a decent camera and a screen that’s the same size as the regular 14 (albeit lcd and lower res) could seriously cannibalize higher end iPhone sales. Even I would personally look at getting once since I prefer lcd and not having to worry about burn-in. I think they got away with it for the last 2 SEs because the screen size was so much smaller that it was a natural differentiator. I could *maybe* see if they based it on the mini, but the mini never sold well in the first place, and if it kept a newer processor and camera, it would still continue to just be… the mini. Not many other ways to cheapen it when FaceID and OLED are part of the package. I think the SE line might be done until the main iPhones go to a different form factor that allows for significant differentiation again…
 
If Apple would give up the SE it would give up the mass market that is a strategic key to future customers not only for phones. They must be careful to not oversize their sales numbers and profit expectations. It must be possible to build last years phone for several hundred dollars at a profit. And not all those customers will upgrade to 1000 Dollar plus phones if there is no SE anymore. They will switch to Android.
 
Bummer, I was waiting to see this one. My XS max has been running with a busted FaceID for over a year lol, and the battery is soon in that 80% zone where it falls apart more than the percent would show, but it's not worth replacing the battery as another thing on the phone is also broken.

I was wondering if it would be OLED or LCD though, I don't want to go back to their 326ppi LCD screens, the regular old 600nits OLEDs would be good with me
 
Bawstun said:
I remember buying at least 5 of the original iPhone SE’s. They were $99. I also paid $99 for the iPhone SE2.

Would never pay more than $300 for an SE. They’ve pushed it too far, too close to flagships. Of course it isn’t going to sell for those prices. And the mini was a non-starter from the get go because of the name itself. No one buys anything titled “mini” which implies that a bigger and or better version exists. The pricing of the mini was also unintelligent, $100 less than flagship? Really? No brainer.
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If we're talking about U.S. prices, the retail price of the iPhone SE hasn't changed much since the first one was introduced in 2016. A new 16GB iPhone SE in 2016 was $399. A new larger screen iPhone SE today with four times the storage (64GB) is only $30 more at $429.
 
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GMShadow said:
How is $429 “too close to a flagship”? You realize flagship phone prices are $1000+ now?
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It can depend on how one defines flagship but I assume they were referring to "flagship" phones from other brands e.g., the Pixel 7 has been on sale off and on for as little as $499.
 
Rather than making a specific SE model Apple should just adopt its current practice of keeping older generations around. Release the iPhone 15 series next year, keep the base 14 as the next step down in price, but also keep the base 13 as an even lower cost option.
 
AmazeSE said:
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.
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Just buy a Xr. Then you can even have Face ID!
 
AppliedMicro said:
Not the worst idea - but dropping the front camera is. There are people that want to get in touch with friends and family over FaceTime. Not to forget taking the oh-so-popular selfie pics to put on social media.

Fhe SE2 offering obviously fulfilled the role perfectly that it has in Apple’s lineup.

Apple have long been very good at providing attractive entry prices while somehow (16GB iPhones, 32GB iPads, 256GB on Macs, etc) making an upgrade from the entry-level choice very attractive.
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I wasn't meaning get rid of the front camera. I meant just the back camera from 2 down to 1.
 
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one more said:
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.
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Good point. Maybe it's more cost effective to keep the 13 mini design. Just lower the price and upgrade the processor from time to time between iterations.
 
coffeemilktea said:
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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It the Amazon phone “certified refurbished by Amazon”?

My mother bought a Watch Series 4 “Amazon Refurbished”, and the thing turned into a brick within 4 months.

First and last time I’m ever recommending a “refurbished” item on Amazon.
 
yellowbunny said:
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
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If you ever desire more battery, I went from a 12 mini to 13 mini and the battery life is very noticeable.
 
zero.id said:
Flagship (high end) = Expensive (very expensive)
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A "flagship" product doesn't necessarily have to be expensive as flagship can also refer to things like importance to a product line or company. Besides, one company's flagship product (even if talking about price) can actually be inexpensive relative to another company's. That's why I said it depends on how one chooses to define it.
 
sw1tcher said:
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?
Click to expand...
Didn't the iPhone SE, based on the iPhone 8, outsell the iPhone 12 mini and iPhone 13 mini combined?
 
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