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Why does the 6S cost $250 more than the SE?
- Thread starter vistokid
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I has the same thought after the SE announcement. If Apple can price the SE at $399, given its specs, is it possible the iPhone 7 would be priced less when it is released?I'm trying to wrap my head around what could possibly make the 6S cost almost 65% more than the SE. Does this mean the 7 will have a lower price point? I just can't see Apple dropping the price on their flagship phone.
Can't believe I'm saying this but is the SE TOO CHEAP???
Spring 2016
16GB SE: $399
16GB iP6: $549
16GB iP6s: $649
Fall 2016
16GB SE: $399
16GB iP6s: $499
16GB iP7: $599
I'm no analyst, so this is pure speculation (wishful thinking?) on my part. Apple could also release a 32GB (or even 64GB) base model iPhone 7, which would give them a reason to keep the starting price at $649.
(Also, I don't know which is more likely: a lower priced-flagship iPhone, or a higher-capacity base model.
)Anyway, thanks for indulging my rambling post.
I'm trying to wrap my head around what could possibly make the 6S cost almost 65% more than the SE. Does this mean the 7 will have a lower price point? I just can't see Apple dropping the price on their flagship phone.
Can't believe I'm saying this but is the SE TOO CHEAP???
You're comparing the entry-level model to the top of the line model. You're ignoring the fact that for years there have been three price tiers - entry-level (2-year-old model), mid-priced model (1-year-old model), and top of the line. Traditionally, there's a $100 difference between each tier. The only meaningful comparison is the price differential between this entry-level model and the previous entry-level model - $50.
The SE fills a particular market niche/price point. It's the one sold, with whatever the minimum amount of storage may be, to the most price-conscious buyers. The people who want a free phone with their two-year contract. The one sold to late-adopters moving from a flip phone. The "I want an iPhone, but I can't afford the latest model" crowd. It's the Emerging Economies model. (There are also the "I like a smaller phone" people, but at this point, I'm not sure they're a niche any phone-maker cares to pursue.)
While it's at least conceivable that Apple might respond to market conditions by dropping the price of the 7... it seems less likely. The top end of the market is just not as price-conscious as the bottom end. People who want the best/newest are still willing to pay for the privilege.
This is about trying to make sure the customer leaves with an entry-level iPhone, rather than an entry-level Samsung or Huwei. It's about capturing an Apple customer for life. The SE is potentially a far more compelling lure, and an analysis of the cost of producing an SE vs. continuing to produce the 5s may show there's a remarkably small difference in cost.
The diff between the SE and other entry level iPhones is that the SE has the same chip as the flagship iPhone. That hasn't happened before.
Some folks seem to either be forgetting or ignoring the fact that while it has many of the 6S internals, the 6S is now 6 months old. This is not a new phone with new specs. Come Sept it's already outdated.
It is also the exact design of the 5/5S apart from the home button on the 5 and gold color option. It's a 4 generation old design requiring few tweaks in production.
Finally, it is missing 7 features the 6S has. So while at first it seems like this amazing deal, because honestly compared to the 5C I feel it is, I still think the 6S is in a league of its own in comparison.
It is also the exact design of the 5/5S apart from the home button on the 5 and gold color option. It's a 4 generation old design requiring few tweaks in production.
Finally, it is missing 7 features the 6S has. So while at first it seems like this amazing deal, because honestly compared to the 5C I feel it is, I still think the 6S is in a league of its own in comparison.
They didn't have to design a new enclosure, just re-use old 5 manufacturing line, major savings.Can't believe I'm saying this but is the SE TOO CHEAP???
It's not the kind of distinction that the vast majority of iPhone buyers would even make. Processors, GPUs, RAM... these are things that PC users learned to obsess over, based on the marketing practices in the PC industry. Despite the fact that iPhones and iPads certainly are computers, they are not being sold like computers. Different features and capabilities are being highlighted. While Apple's certainly touts their CPUs, it's not to justify up-selling iPhone buyers (upgrade your iPhone 6s from a duo-core 3.8GHz i5 to a 4-core 3.4GHz i7), it's to distinguish iPhones from the competition, like "Intel Inside."
Ask anyone who produces chips - once the factory line is moving, there's not a lot of difference in cost between making an A7 and an A9. If the die size is roughly the same, if the reject rate is roughly the same, if the development costs and tooling have been fully recovered... the cost is roughly the same.
In the end, Apple is selling capabilities, not components. Some of those capabilities cannot be delivered by the older CPUs. If Apple wants a certain set of capabilities to be available on every new iPhone, then they may have to be "generous" with the CPU. If they want a particular model to last more than a year in its niche (and the numberless naming indicates to me that they do), then they may have to build it for the long haul.
So isn't the Barometer meant to be the kit that powers the health apps and the waking trackers? The SE does not have it right? SO why does my SE count my steps everyday?
Or am I 100% off base with this one?
I went from a 6S to a SE as I couldn't get used to the size for carrying around etc, I never used 3D Touch anyway and for some reason mine didn't do NFC very well.
This SE is perfect. I sold my 6S and for an SE and a now lower priced 42mm Watch and still had change for a pizza and a beer
[doublepost=1460127377][/doublepost]
It's more of a convenience for me now. Plus. and this is a big plus for me. Having recently having my wallet stolen and having to have all my cards re issued. I only have to carry my phone around with me now (and some cash in case I get the random periodic "do a Chip and Pin" saga)
I wouldn't be surprised if at some point it leaks out... that the iPhone SE was purpose built to be a cheap affordable model.
If the SE had a 128GB version (I have 48GB left on my 128GB 6S) and the same 5mp front camera as the 6S, it would be a no brainer for me in favour of the SE. However, it doesn't, so it isn't
Let's look at some cost saving measures:
5S screen. This means you can use any recycled 5S screen as well as any that you have from extra 5S laying around
FFC: Same as the screen
No barometer
Spare Touch ID sensors to offset having to get more
5S screen. This means you can use any recycled 5S screen as well as any that you have from extra 5S laying around
FFC: Same as the screen
No barometer
Spare Touch ID sensors to offset having to get more
I'm trying to wrap my head around what could possibly make the 6S cost almost 65% more than the SE...Can't believe I'm saying this but is the SE TOO CHEAP???
Now I've seen everything...
So isn't the Barometer meant to be the kit that powers the health apps and the waking trackers? The SE does not have it right? SO why does my SE count my steps everyday?
Or am I 100% off base with this one?
I went from a 6S to a SE as I couldn't get used to the size for carrying around etc, I never used 3D Touch anyway and for some reason mine didn't do NFC very well.
This SE is perfect. I sold my 6S and for an SE and a now lower priced 42mm Watch and still had change for a pizza and a beer
[doublepost=1460127377][/doublepost]
It's more of a convenience for me now. Plus. and this is a big plus for me. Having recently having my wallet stolen and having to have all my cards re issued. I only have to carry my phone around with me now (and some cash in case I get the random periodic "do a Chip and Pin" saga)
The barometer tracks altitude. So no step counting on the SE. Step tracking is just part of the normal M coprocessor.
I'm trying to wrap my head around what could possibly make the 6S cost almost 65% more than the SE. Does this mean the 7 will have a lower price point? I just can't see Apple dropping the price on their flagship phone.
Can't believe I'm saying this but is the SE TOO CHEAP???
It's a good point.
I think the sales of the 6s and 6s+ will greatly suffer now, as it seems far too expensive in comparison to the SE. Many will look at them and think it isn't worth paying $300 more for 0.75" of screen. I know that's not the only difference by any means, but that's how the great unwashed will think.
it's costs that much more because Apple can charge that much and people will buy it simple as.
I'm trying to wrap my head around what could possibly make the 6S cost almost 65% more than the SE. Does this mean the 7 will have a lower price point? I just can't see Apple dropping the price on their flagship phone.
Can't believe I'm saying this but is the SE TOO CHEAP???
There's no secret to it.
Part of it is that the SE is using "recycled" parts (or rather parts Apple has already committed to in its supply chain, using older 5s parts plus mixed with some 6 and 6s parts as well...so nothing new to develop unlike with the 6s, as I'm sure you know retail price takes R&D into consideration)
That is partly what brings the price of the SE lower.
The other part is, as a friend who works at Apple told me when I asked why the SE is even cheaper than the regular 6 which is by my account an inferior product to the SE, that Apple has a committed business model with carriers and if they reduced the retail price of both the 6 and 6s and their plus models half way through their respective first & second year life cycles, it would throw a wrench into carrier pricing business models currently.
As far as what makes the 6s more, it has more newer features, a different chassey using a high grade material (aluminum 7000 series), a completely different display (one that also supports 3D Touch, a larger screen size, it also has a different glass process)...these things are not as mature or cheap as the processes used for the SE with its 5s chassey (it even forgoes the polished chamfered edges which itself is an additional manufacturing process) so that is one thing to consider, beyond the different tech specs between the two devices
It was no coincidence Apple debuted the recycling and eco friendly video prior to showing off the SE in their keynote at the end of March.
I think a lot of the confusion stems from people wrongfully presuming the SE is a mini 6s, which it is not. The 6s is a different phone with many *manufacturing* and spec differences, though are there enough differences from a consumer perspective to justify the price difference? Probably not for many people. But I'm sure others will still choose to get a 6s or 6s+ over the SE for various reasons including screen size.
The SE is what it is, a repurposed "special edition" device which takes some of the best things about the last 3 generations of iPhones, mixes them together, recycling the supply chain in the process.
Again, no coincidence Apple showed off that recycling video prior to unveiling the SE. Going that route ended up with a product that is turning out to be a very smart business move, and has also resulted in a product that has made many people happy.
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Because Apple decided too, simple as that. There does not need to be any logic, it was a business decision pure and simple.
I agree with both of you on your points here. I specifically am an example, I have been rocking my 5s for the last 2 years (3 years?)... love the size, don't particularly care about a camera or the graphics. Phone, email and text, that's all I really need. So here comes Apple, realizing that there are a lot of people like me, who just don't see the numbers add up to upgrade to a 6... and they throw a lower cost (I refuse to use the word cheaper) "upgrade"... sold.
I'm trying to wrap my head around what could possibly make the 6S cost almost 65% more than the SE. Does this mean the 7 will have a lower price point? I just can't see Apple dropping the price on their flagship phone.
Can't believe I'm saying this but is the SE TOO CHEAP???
Well to help the SE out that it is too cheap, just put 250 dollar bills in your pocket with it.
Makes me feel great!
- The 6(S) doesn't cost more; the SE costs less. Apple has determined that the current flagship pricing is what the market will bear. Apple won't reduce price point of flagship device.
- SE R&D and manufacturing was long ago recouped, as both the exterior and internals are both borrowed from previous designs.
- SE is meant to be a gateway drug for emerging markets and first-time Apple buyers, to get them hooked into the ecosystem and later buy more (more expensive) products.
Lol. If the price of the 6s is higher then of course it costs more....I'm an economics major but you don't need to be to understand that.
If you can't see the nuanced difference between the two, then change majors or pay more attention in your marketing classes.
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