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Prosser: Fourth-Generation iPhone SE to Adopt Same Design As iPhone XR
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I kind of like this idea. I considered buying another XR as a second phone because I really liked it, but felt the internals were about to age out of support. Same phone with new guts would be an instant buy from me as long as it comes in red.
The XR has the same overall dimensions as the 11 but has less camera bill of materials.
Comparison of 11 SE3 and XR
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dumping the Wide angle camera and possibily keeping older front camera would be one way to drive down costs.
The 11 is a $499 (where the XR fell off the list). If Apple is shooting for $349 (or lower) then XR would be the Scrooge McDuck move.
11/13 would might go through similar process of removing cameras to whittle down the costs.
Minimally though they'll have to tweak the chassis for a USB-C socket. The case manufactures would probably need slightly new stuff depending upon how big they made the socket hole.
Folks have rumored as SE and SE Plus/Max before, but not sure Apple is going there over the long term.
Especially if bring back iPhone / iPhone Max + Pro / Pro Max bundles. Right before the 2nd iteration back iPhone falls on to the "SE" badge list the larger pairing tends to disappear. ( Apple trying to reduce overlap with the leading edge 'plain' iPhone. )
Also somewhat of a boost to Apple margins to have somewhat expensive to repair "mid range" phones. If they priced the SE in such a what that it self enough volume they could amortize designed for low end phones over more users. Instead the current model is to price the SE relatively high and since the volume is light... just mainly recycle older stuff with low cost tweaks.
"Nobody" is a bit of hyperbole. the big screen phone thing has spun out of control that's why see "flip' an 'fold' moves in the more general phone market . Phones hanging outside of peoples pockets isn't really a 'feature' for a decent size pool of people.
If lower price is essential , why did Apple increase the price of the SE3? Sales are down versus previous SEs , but shouldn't be a surprise. Price is a major factor. Just not the only one.
The Mini could easily be made incrementally more affordable. Loose the wide camera, mmWave 5G , but there are still folks who will grumble at the size.
There are some folks who don't like change either and like the home button . (didn't need an OS updates to work with a facemask on. ).
And major factor of the Mini's sales problem was the price. Apple threw stuff at it so it would push a price umbrella over the 2nd and 3rd year iPhones. The whole iPhone product structure is built around larger screen costs more ( The Plus/Max model is more) and then they do a 180 and position the mini as (pay more for less ). The mini also has problems with mixed messaging from Apple.
They will have to tweak the case regardless to put a USB-C socket on it. Once retoolled the chassis part for that it is a change. The XR is thicker so have smore slop if that gets 'messy' being a thicker connector.
The XR allows the them to both trim off OLED screen and a camera (wide) . ( and possibly keep an even older front camera ). They could remove the Wide camera from the 11/mini but bound to get review tech press grumbling loudly about that.
If Apple is chopping off camera parts to hit the lower price point ... going to be interesting longer term as they'll have no "one camera" models left to recycle without a change.
5G modems are expensive, that was the reason for the cost increase.
You are trying to retool the line, that is not a cost cutting method. Removing parts to a existing product doesn’t impact cost much. Running the same line with a few different innards is where the cost savings come. It’s also why I think the 11 is a more likely candidate since the shell and assembly is still running in the production line.
Of course I'm not talking literally. Yes, there's always somebody, but from Apple's perspective, "nobody" buys the mini.
Inflation increased the price of SE3. We won't see anything lower than $429 again. The pricing of previously-launched iPhones are locked in and Apple is currently eating the cost.
The mini could be made more affordable, but it requires a complete redesign, which loses the whole essence of the SE being a mature, low-manufacturing cost device that could be assembled in tier-2 sites like Vietnam or India. Apple can't delete the stacked logic board because there's not enough room for battery otherwise. Replacing OLED with LCD means a thicker chassis is needed.
At the end of the day, nobody wants the mini. Apple has already pulled the price lever by keeping iPhone 12 mini at $599 with no takers. There is no reason why Apple would gamble again on redesigning the mini when the XR/11 have already proven themselves.
Fundamentally, the mini costs what it costs because it doesn't enjoy economies of scale. Nobody wants to buy it which means higher production costs. It's a chicken and egg problem, which means it's not a viable product in the long term.
Unlike 6.1 and 6.7-inch, there aren't suppliers lining up to make the 5.4-inch chassis or the display, which in turn increases costs.
I am a XR user. I would be happy with an updated model with an A15 and some other spec bumps. I wouldn’t care if it was badged SE.
The screen is certainly inferior to the 12 and 13. But I don’t notice unless I hold them side to side…which I never do.
Yes, I am one of those. I like the SE because of the home button, bezels and size. Was hoping they would keep the current SE design longer. Currently, still using the 6S and additionlly like the 3D Touch, headphone jack and LCD screen.
I gpt it because of price and TouchID in the time of masks before all the updates to unlock with a mask. I might get the 4 if it is a larger size and still has TouchID
I have no interest in the XR form factor.
This really begs the question if I should grab an iPhone SE 3 from my Mom. Her current SE 2 is absolutely fine, but it will eventually age out. I just don't know how well she would transition to not having a home button on her phone. An iPhone SE 3 with the A15 chip should be a phone that is running fine in 2027. The SE 2 could see problems getting updates by 2024 or start slowing down with iOS updates even if it can take them. Let's add that the larger form factor is bad for folks like my Mom that use the phone for very limited use cases. It is just more screen to carry around that will not get used.
You all need to get over the touch button. I switched everything from Android to Apple 4 months ago, and have a used SE2 for my daughter and a new Ipad 9th. The touch button is AWFUL compared to pretty much every Android phone with touch pad (or newer touchscreen). It is the one main aspect of the Apple design that leaves me scratching my head. My wife’s ancient S9’s touch on the back of the phone is in a completely different league than Apple Touch ID. Instantaneous. Not my Apple products. We also have an Ipad Mini 6 with side touch. Love everything else about it, but the response time on the side touch is also complete garbage. Face ID in my 11Pro is useless with masks (and my coworker finds his new 13 too arduous with masks to use) but without masks, they are pretty decent.
Apple needs to rethink the recycled phone thing for a generation, and start new. Even the budget Android phones are becoming palatable from a design standpoint (speed and cameras being the downfall).
Apple needs to rethink the recycled phone thing for a generation, and start new. Even the budget Android phones are becoming palatable from a design standpoint (speed and cameras being the downfall).
I don't understand why so many kling to this fantasy that future SEs could be any combination of features, display sizes, designs, etc., or that Apple wants to turn it into this "iPhone mini Deluxe".
Wake up! New and unique designs only happen for the mid tier and Pros. SE is the budget option and thus only gets older, non-Pro designs and a combo of new and old specs.
The single camera and no-thrills but still Face ID of the XR plus a light sprinkling of updated internals would fit the iPhone SE template well in the $429-$499 price range.
Assuming iPhone 11 is cut from the line-up at iPhone 14 launch, this would also leave the perfect spot for a new "A15 XR" to fill when it launches in Q1-Q2 of 2023.
Apple has stuck to this formula for all three iterations of SE. What reasons are there to expect anything else?
Wake up! New and unique designs only happen for the mid tier and Pros. SE is the budget option and thus only gets older, non-Pro designs and a combo of new and old specs.
The single camera and no-thrills but still Face ID of the XR plus a light sprinkling of updated internals would fit the iPhone SE template well in the $429-$499 price range.
Assuming iPhone 11 is cut from the line-up at iPhone 14 launch, this would also leave the perfect spot for a new "A15 XR" to fill when it launches in Q1-Q2 of 2023.
Apple has stuck to this formula for all three iterations of SE. What reasons are there to expect anything else?
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The SE was never about small (regardless of what Tim Cook blabbed). It's about the cheapest cost iPhone Apple can make. The size is just a coincidence since the oldest designs Apple used were smaller.
It had/has multiple purposes. Price point, size, rettaining TouchID andeven being non OLED For those who have issues with that. It isn’t just about price, which is why Apple has continued to include the most recent processor in all 3 SE releases so far.
Apple seems intent on pushing me away by trying to push their larger and larger Touch ID-less phones on me, especially if this is true.
A couple of years ago, I gave my XR to a relative and bought the SE. The things that appealed to me about the SE: Touch ID, one-handed operation, pocket-ability, and weight. Price was not a factor. Although, I got it on sale for about $200....so, it was a ridiculously good value.
I loved my iPhone XR, which I got in red. I mean, is there a way to put little hearts in a message here? If so, i would do it for the XR. Just one, thing, it was too heavy! So, I traded it in for an iPhone Pro ... the 11, not that it matters. Smaller by a bit and just as nice, except ... not red. IS there a way to put little crying tears in a message? An iPhone SE cannot possibly be an iPhone XR. That is just crazy talk. Can I put in a cross-eyed bird message? No, I can only put in a martini and a cat 🍸😹
And how far down the page is that? That's like saying water resistance is a major selling point.
Seems like you still don't get it. The headline and deck are what Apple thinks are most important. It's their elevator pitch.