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New Low-Cost 'iPhone SE' Could Launch as Soon as Tomorrow

Michael Scrip said:
Here was my point...

Right now the iPhone lineup looks like this:

iPhone 8
iPhone XR
iPhone 11
iPhone 11 Pro

And soon it will look like this:

iPhone 9
iPhone XR
iPhone 11
iPhone 11 Pro

Apple is simply upgrading the entry-level iPhone because it's the oldest iPhone in the lineup. I don't see a problem with that.

All the people with 6, 6s, or 7 who were thinking about getting an iPhone 8 will be MUCH better served by the iPhone 9. Newer processor, better cameras, longer service life, etc.

Or... Apple could do nothing and keep selling the 30 month old iPhone 8 until this Fall.

Think of it this way... does the iPhone 8 deserve a spot in Apple's iPhone lineup today?

If yes... then wouldn't a better version of that phone be... uhh... better? :p
Click to expand...


Ffs stop calling it the iPhone 9. It's the most stupid idea for naming possible. It will be called SE cuz it nicely follows on from the 2016 SE model.
 
Austin Chow said:
Ffs stop calling it the iPhone 9. It's the most stupid idea for naming possible. It will be called SE cuz it nicely follows on from the 2016 SE model.
Click to expand...

I don’t know that they’ll call it the 9, but… it’ll be a successor to the 8 that’s not quite like a X. Therefore, 9.
 
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PostApple2016BrainWash said:
<snip>
Nope, the original SE is about form factor with 80% of flagship device feature. Apple did not view it as a budget model and people who want a bigger device pick 6s over SE rather than the price difference.
Click to expand...
The original SE was all about price. They took a 2.5 year old phone and popped in a A9/2GB SoC, and updated the rear camera. That’s it. Few other features in common with the flagship 6s.

The SE was inferior to the 6s in many areas, and the differences were due to using older tech to keep the price down.
  • Screen: only 800:1 contrast ratio, vs 1,400:1
  • Cellular: no LTE Advanced on the SE
  • Front camera: 1.2MP vs. 5MP
  • WiFi: no MIMO vs 2x2 MIMO
  • TouchID: slow first generation vs. faster second generation
  • No 3D Touch/Taptic Engine on the SE
  • No barometer on the SE
With the A9/2GB platform and the flagship rear camera, the SE was a great budget iphone, which still performs well.
 
PickUrPoison said:
The original SE was all about price.
Click to expand...

To be fair, that's not at all how they marketed it.

Apple® today introduced iPhone® SE, the most powerful phone with a four-inch display, in a beloved compact aluminum design that has been updated with matte-chamfered edges, a color-matched stainless steel Apple logo, and four gorgeous metallic finishes, including rose gold. iPhone SE offers exceptional performance with the same 64-bit A9 chip offered in iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus for blazing fast speeds, longer battery life, faster wireless, a 12-megapixel iSight® camera featuring Live Photos™ and 4K video, and Touch ID® with Apple Pay®.

[..]

The Most Powerful Phone with a Four-inch Display
iPhone SE takes a beloved iPhone design and reinvents it from the inside out, giving customers a powerful, full-featured iPhone no matter which model they choose.
Click to expand...

They did basically say "this takes several 6s features and puts them in the 4-inch form factor", literally calling it "a beloved iPhone design".

And I think that's exactly what they'd do with this new SE as well. Sales-wise, the 6/6s/7/8 form factor was way, way bigger than the 5/5s/SE form factor ever was, so the same pitch works.

PickUrPoison said:
The SE was inferior to the 6s in many areas, and the differences were due to using older tech to keep the price down.
Click to expand...

And/or to save space! Which was precious.
 
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Michael Scrip said:
Here was my point...

Right now the iPhone lineup looks like this:

iPhone 8
iPhone XR
iPhone 11
iPhone 11 Pro

And soon it will look like this:

iPhone 9
iPhone XR
iPhone 11
iPhone 11 Pro

Apple is simply upgrading the entry-level iPhone because it's the oldest iPhone in the lineup. I don't see a problem with that.

All the people with 6, 6s, or 7 who were thinking about getting an iPhone 8 will be MUCH better served by the iPhone 9. Newer processor, better cameras, longer service life, etc.

Or... Apple could do nothing and keep selling the 30 month old iPhone 8 until this Fall.

Think of it this way... does the iPhone 8 deserve a spot in Apple's iPhone lineup today?

If yes... then wouldn't a better version of that phone be... uhh... better? :p
Click to expand...

No arguments with that, replacing the 8 with a 9, SE 4.7", or whatever (as long as it's powered by a A13 CPU) would be a great upgrade for the people who would refuse to buy an 8 because it's a 2.5 year old phone is a logical decision.

As well as upgraders from really old Apple phones (I contend these people could even be using SE or 5s) I would say there's an argument that certain Android users may switch if they recognise that it's a 'new' phone being offered rather than a 'old' phone from 2 years ago.

Despite what Apple would like to sell you, there will be a number of buyers who won't touch a phone because it's a year or two behind the bleeding edge. Apple might like to squeeze a few more years of sales out of existing models to amortise the costs but they must realise they then miss out on the consumers who would rather pick and choose from recently refreshed phones.

In September the iPhone 11 may drop into the niche occupied by the Xr while the space above will be filled by the new 12 variants. That's quite a leap up from a 4.7" phone that could cost $399 to $449 to a phone that could cost $599.
 
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chucker23n1 said:
They did basically say "this takes several 6s features and puts them in the 4-inch form factor", literally calling it "a beloved iPhone design".

And I think that's exactly what they'd do with this new SE as well. Sales-wise, the 6/6s/7/8 form factor was way, way bigger than the 5/5s/SE form factor ever was, so the same pitch works.
Click to expand...

I find it ironic that the iPhone 12 (Pro models, maybe the non pro models too) are expected to adopt the slab sided look of the original SE/iPad Pro 11".

I can understand them re-using the iPhone 8 case because the development costs are already paid off though.
 
chucker23n1 said:
To be fair, that's not at all how they marketed it.



They did basically say "this takes several 6s features and puts them in the 4-inch form factor", literally calling it "a beloved iPhone design".

And I think that's exactly what they'd do with this new SE as well. Sales-wise, the 6/6s/7/8 form factor was way, way bigger than the 5/5s/SE form factor ever was, so the same pitch works.



And/or to save space! Which was precious.
Click to expand...
True, but I think they opportunistically marketed it to those who liked smaller screens. They were well aware there was some demand, and were happy to tack on marginal sales; why not?

But it was always meant to be a budget iPhone; there was never any pretense that it was just a smaller (near) flagship, as OP was asserting. If they had wanted to do a higher-spec’ed 4.0”, of course they could have done that, but it wouldn’t have sold for $399 (and later $349).

With the A9/2GB and current camera, it was good enough for those who wanted a small iPhone, and didn’t care about flagship features. A win for them, and for Apple.

This time the pitch is a little different, since the 5.4” iPhone 12 will actually be physically smaller—though much harder to operate with smaller hands due to the screen size.

They could target those who love their 6/6s/7 by emphasizing features that the newer iPhones don’t have, like the home button and TouchID. It’s a better, cheaper 8 that should last a good five years.

It might drop to $349 after a couple years and/or drop the 64GB and sell the other capacities for less if it follows the SE (2016) playbook; it wouldn’t surprise me at all.
 
sublunar said:
No arguments with that, replacing the 8 with a 9, SE 4.7", or whatever (as long as it's powered by a A13 CPU) would be a great upgrade for the people who would refuse to buy an 8 because it's a 2.5 year old phone is a logical decision.

As well as upgraders from really old Apple phones (I contend these people could even be using SE or 5s) I would say there's an argument that certain Android users may switch if they recognise that it's a 'new' phone being offered rather than a 'old' phone from 2 years ago.

Despite what Apple would like to sell you, there will be a number of buyers who won't touch a phone because it's a year or two behind the bleeding edge. Apple might like to squeeze a few more years of sales out of existing models to amortise the costs but they must realise they then miss out on the consumers who would rather pick and choose from recently refreshed phones.

In September the iPhone 11 may drop into the niche occupied by the Xr while the space above will be filled by the new 12 variants. That's quite a leap up from a 4.7" phone that could cost $399 to $449 to a phone that could cost $599.
Click to expand...

The original SE is about giving it a smaller form factor that people who are looking for with newer specs. The iPhone 9 is a lot bigger and Apple can give an update on both 4”/4.7” form factor with a better name scheme for the sake of choice.
 
PostApple2016BrainWash said:
The original SE is about giving it a smaller form factor that people who are looking for with newer specs. The iPhone 9 is a lot bigger and Apple can give an update on both 4”/4.7” form factor with a better name scheme for the sake of choice.
Click to expand...
The original SE was about moving downmarket: coming up with a way to sell an iPhone at the never before seen price point of $349/399. The only way to do that was using a 2.5 year old model, whatever that be.

If in 2016 Apple could have gotten to that price with a 4.7” model, there never would have been another 4.0” iPhone. People wanted bigger screens, evidenced by the smash hit of 2014’s new 4.7” and 5.5” form factors introduced with iPhone 6.

Similarly, today if Apple could find a way offer the 5.5” Plus at $399, we wouldn’t be getting another 4.7” iPhone now. Because a 5.5” iPhone at $399 would sell better than will a 4.7” iPhone at $399.

Android switchers especially don’t want small screens. They’re used to getting a large screen at $250, let alone $399. A 4.7” screen is a joke to them. In 3-4 years when the newest SE is a 5.5” screen, it’ll finally be big enough for them.
 
PickUrPoison said:
The original SE was about moving downmarket: coming up with a way to sell an iPhone at the never before seen price point of $349/399. The only way to do that was using a 2.5 year old model, whatever that be.

If in 2016 Apple could have gotten to that price with a 4.7” model, there never would have been another 4.0” iPhone. People wanted bigger screens, evidenced by the smash hit of 2014’s new 4.7” and 5.5” form factors introduced with iPhone 6.

Similarly, today if Apple could find a way offer the 5.5” Plus at $399, we wouldn’t be getting another 4.7” iPhone now. Because a 5.5” iPhone at $399 would sell better than will a 4.7” iPhone at $399.

Android switchers especially don’t want small screens. They’re used to getting a large screen at $250, let alone $399. A 4.7” screen is a joke to them. In 3-4 years when the newest SE is a 5.5” screen, it’ll finally be big enough for them.
Click to expand...


Look, you are bewilder about the original SE as a budget model and it's clearly not about the price. People are interested in SE due to the smaller form factor with newer specs.
 
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