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ian87w

macrumors G3
Feb 22, 2020
8,704
12,636
Indonesia
Let's see how the Google Pixel 4a stacks the deck. That's probably the biggest threat to the iPhone SE in many markets. Sadly, Android One isn't a huge deal either.
The Pixel 4a won't be available in as many markets as the SE. It's not a threat to anything, actually. It's more of a "threat" to its own older brother the regular Pixel 4.
 
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N0ddie

macrumors 6502
Oct 23, 2011
416
98
Glasgow
Isn't the SE "cheap" in on the US? Can't remember who's video it was (Dave2D maybe?) That mentioned in less affluent territories (where Android is king) the SE is eye wateringly expensive.
 

jamezr

macrumors P6
Aug 7, 2011
15,834
18,381
US
Dedicated TouchID button.

That's one thing. What do I win?
um...except the Pixel 3a has a fingerprint sensor on the back and probably a better camera.
Then the Pixel 4a due in a couple weeks will have FP on the back and a lot better camera for the same price and a bigger display too.
 
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nfl46

macrumors G3
Oct 5, 2008
8,350
8,704
Isn't the SE "cheap" in on the US? Can't remember who's video it was (Dave2D maybe?) That mentioned in less affluent territories (where Android is king) the SE is eye wateringly expensive.
Yes, it’s a great bargain for users in the US, but not so much in other countries.

A lot of the bargain phones in other countries aren’t so popular in the US, such as Oppo, realme, Huawei, and Xiaomi.

In the states, iPhone is king and no one can remotely touch their sales. In one week, the iPhone SE will likely outsell the upcoming Pixel 4A in its whole life cycle. Then again, Google phones aren’t popular in the US. You will mainly only see tech enthusiasts with them.

 
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TiggrToo

macrumors 601
Aug 24, 2017
4,205
8,838
um...except the Pixel 3a has a fingerprint sensor on the back and probably a better camera.
Then the Pixel 4a due in a couple weeks will have FP on the back and a lot better camera for the same price and a bigger display too.

Dedicated Button? And the 3a is a year old now. Hardly recent in Smartphone terms.

And the challenge was "one thing the SE has that recent... don't have"
 

oilers780

Cancelled
Apr 15, 2020
174
101
The Pixel 4a won't be available in as many markets as the SE. It's not a threat to anything, actually. It's more of a "threat" to its own older brother the regular Pixel 4.

If market availability was the sole major determinant for the SE's competitor, then Samsung's phones would be the biggest competitors since they have a lot of mid-rangers. But given that the SE offers strong software support and good hardware, the closest comparable thing on the Android side has to be the Pixel 4a.

In major markets, such as the US or UK, the Pixel 4a has potential to compete against the SE. For $400, the Pixel 3a had one of the best cameras in a smartphone, a headphone jack, an OLED screen, and a few years of software support. You don't really get that on the Android mid-ranger side because there has to be some sort of compromise to get to the price point. Typically, it ends up being the camera.
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Isn't the SE "cheap" in on the US? Can't remember who's video it was (Dave2D maybe?) That mentioned in less affluent territories (where Android is king) the SE is eye wateringly expensive.

While it's cheap in the US, the point is that Apple made a slightly more affordable device in other territories. You don't need to drop $1379 CAD (pre-tax) to get a phone with an A13 processor and a small form-factor. $600 CAD is slightly more reasonable. It could take some market share away from other Android devices, especially if people get tempted to pay a few more bucks for Apple's support rather than going with the Xiaomi, Huawei, etc of the world.
 

mi7chy

macrumors G4
Oct 24, 2014
10,495
11,155
Dedicated TouchID button.

That's one thing. What do I win?

Question was what can it do that others can't and not what hardware specific feature it has that others don't. All phones can unlock. Even fingerprint unlock isn't special since it's on $50 phones.
 

TiggrToo

macrumors 601
Aug 24, 2017
4,205
8,838
Question was what can it do that others can't and not what hardware specific feature it has that others don't. All phones can unlock. Even fingerprint unlock isn't special since it's on $50 phones.

Again. Dedicated Touch Id BUTTON.

You seem to be taking this all wrong. The question asked was to have one thing the SE had that no recent Android or Apple devices had.

I didn't claim it was a huge massive selling point or anything like that. I just responded to the challenge is all. You're massively overthinking this!
 
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jamezr

macrumors P6
Aug 7, 2011
15,834
18,381
US
Dedicated Button? And the 3a is a year old now. Hardly recent in Smartphone terms.

And the challenge was "one thing the SE has that recent... don't have"
then I guess the ONLY thing it has is touchid. Because most Android phones in the same price range have better features. Better camera and lost better battery life. Then the Pixel 4a will be here in 2 weeks.....so I'll loop back then.
 

ian87w

macrumors G3
Feb 22, 2020
8,704
12,636
Indonesia
If market availability was the sole major determinant for the SE's competitor, then Samsung's phones would be the biggest competitors since they have a lot of mid-rangers. But given that the SE offers strong software support and good hardware, the closest comparable thing on the Android side has to be the Pixel 4a.

In major markets, such as the US or UK, the Pixel 4a has potential to compete against the SE. For $400, the Pixel 3a had one of the best cameras in a smartphone, a headphone jack, an OLED screen, and a few years of software support. You don't really get that on the Android mid-ranger side because there has to be some sort of compromise to get to the price point. Typically, it ends up being the camera.
If one looks at price point comparison, then yes, the real competitor to the iPhone SE will be the higher end Samsung Galaxy A series (eg. The A71), the Samsung Galaxy S10 lite, and flagships from Xiaomi or OPPO.

However, I'd argue that people wanting to buy an iPhone will just buy an iPhone. They wouldn't be comparing specs with an Android phone. In my country, many people are still willing to buy older iPhones (eg. The 6s, 7 Plus) despite the dated design, simply to have an iPhone. In the eyes of consumers, the Apple brand carries a lot of weight.
 
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oilers780

Cancelled
Apr 15, 2020
174
101
If one looks at price point comparison, then yes, the real competitor to the iPhone SE will be the higher end Samsung Galaxy A series (eg. The A71), the Samsung Galaxy S10 lite, and flagships from Xiaomi or OPPO.

However, I'd argue that people wanting to buy an iPhone will just buy an iPhone. They wouldn't be comparing specs with an Android phone. In my country, many people are still willing to buy older iPhones (eg. The 6s, 7 Plus) despite the dated design, simply to have an iPhone. In the eyes of consumers, the Apple brand carries a lot of weight.

If those phones are less available and harder to get, wouldn't it be easier to get the iPhone SE 2020 rather than paying for the XR or other more pricer devices Apple offers? It seems like the grey market or discounted clearance or going second hand would be the more cost-effective way of doing so, but it would also mean more risk on the grey market or second-hand market.
 

michael9891

Cancelled
Sep 26, 2016
3,060
3,945
Why is it more risk buying imports? Plenty of places to import phones backed by full warranties.
 

oilers780

Cancelled
Apr 15, 2020
174
101
Why is it more risk buying imports? Plenty of places to import phones backed by full warranties.

The risk is higher because you could be buying a sealed phone with a blacklisted IMEI or something of that nature.

I once bought a Galaxy S7 off eBay that was supposed to come unlocked to use on T-Mobile. It turns out the phone was for Metro PCS, locked, and wasn't unlockable by the carrier.

A family member of mine bought a S9+ off the grey market and it turned out the phone had financing tied to it. I am really skeptical of buying imports, eBay phones, Swappa phones, or anything that isn't from an official channel.

I only buy from Best Buy, Costco, Apple, Amazon, or directly from manufacturers. YMMV though.
 

michael9891

Cancelled
Sep 26, 2016
3,060
3,945
The risk is higher because you could be buying a sealed phone with a blacklisted IMEI or something of that nature.

I once bought a Galaxy S7 off eBay that was supposed to come unlocked to use on T-Mobile. It turns out the phone was for Metro PCS, locked, and wasn't unlockable by the carrier.

A family member of mine bought a S9+ off the grey market and it turned out the phone had financing tied to it. I am really skeptical of buying imports, eBay phones, Swappa phones, or anything that isn't from an official channel.

I only buy from Best Buy, Costco, Apple, Amazon, or directly from manufacturers. YMMV though.
I'm not talking about eBay or second hand places. Wonda Mobile for one is a highly reputable and popular place to buy imports with warranties at great prices.
 

Steven-iphone

macrumors 68000
Apr 25, 2020
1,953
16,490
United States
If the Google Pixel 4a comes in at $399 - it will be interesting to see how it does against the SE - especially with 3-years of Android updates (against the SE predicted 4-years). The size of both phones are estimated to be similar - the Pixel about a 1/4 inch taller - with a 1-inch bigger screen size.
 
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nfl46

macrumors G3
Oct 5, 2008
8,350
8,704
If the Google Pixel 4a comes in at $399 - it will be interesting to see how it does against the SE - especially with 3-years of Android updates (against the SE predicted 4-years). The size of both phones are estimated to be similar - the Pixel about a 1/4 inch taller - with a 1-inch bigger screen size.
Against the iPhone in terms of what? Specs? Sales?
 

nfl46

macrumors G3
Oct 5, 2008
8,350
8,704
In terms of sales
The iPhone SE will likely be the top selling North American smartphone in 2020. The iPhone XR was last year.

Google smartphones don't sell well. I can see the Samsung A51 selling more than the 4a in 2020.

 
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ian87w

macrumors G3
Feb 22, 2020
8,704
12,636
Indonesia
Why is it more risk buying imports? Plenty of places to import phones backed by full warranties.
In Indonesia, the government enacted a law to only allow whitelisted IMEIs to be compatible with the local carriers. This means only phones sold officially in the country that have been registered with the country's IMEI database can be used. Self Imported phones that are not registered will not be able to use the local SIM cards.
 

Shanghaichica

macrumors G5
Apr 8, 2013
14,642
13,143
UK
The iPhone SE will likely be the top selling North American smartphone in 2020. The iPhone XR was last year.

Google smartphones don't sell well. I can see the Samsung A51 selling more than the 4a in 2020.

It’s interesting how the iPhone is so dominant in North America, but in Europe it’s only the mid range iPhones that get a look in. Also Samsung dominate with the midrange phones in Latin America and the Middle East.

I think the U.K. stands apart from the rest of Europe as we have about 50% iPhone users.
 

nfl46

macrumors G3
Oct 5, 2008
8,350
8,704
It’s interesting how the iPhone is so dominant in North America, but in Europe it’s only the mid range iPhones that get a look in. Also Samsung dominate with the midrange phones in Latin America and the Middle East.

I think the U.K. stands apart from the rest of Europe as we have about 50% iPhone users.
Price plays a big part in it. Outside of North America, the iPhone is really expensive (taxes) in comparison to its competitors.
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Wold say about the A70
Solid device; however, you can find a flagship (S10, S20, etc) for around the same price if you look around. That's the beauty of Android devices -- the resell value drops very quickly.
 

ian87w

macrumors G3
Feb 22, 2020
8,704
12,636
Indonesia
Solid device; however, you can find a flagship (S10, S20, etc) for around the same price if you look around. That's the beauty of Android devices -- the resell value drops very quickly.
Well, that's the beauty for those looking for deals, but not so much for those buying phones right at release date. :D
 

nfl46

macrumors G3
Oct 5, 2008
8,350
8,704
Well, that's the beauty for those looking for deals, but not so much for those buying phones right at release date. :D
That’s true. If they wait around 3 months after it’s released, they will likely find a much better deal. That’s why I stopped buying phones at release date.
 

mi7chy

macrumors G4
Oct 24, 2014
10,495
11,155
The iPhone SE will likely be the top selling North American smartphone in 2020.

The iPhone SE 2020 will sell well not because it's good but because Walmart, many carriers, etc. are offering it for $200 where it's often sold out. At $200 I'd consider picking one up for testing apps but need reliability like 24/7 hotspot so wouldn't use it as a daily carry.
 
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