Will Apple Keep the Old iPhone SE Around at a Lower Cost?

[jz0309]

so I seem to recall multiple articles here on MR stating that the iPhone SE is not a big seller (correct me if I'm wrong), but, if that is indeed true, why would Apple offer 2 SE models?
Besides that, at $199 it would be the same price as an Apple Watch 3 GPS only ...

well Gurman sure knows how to keep his name on the front-page ...

 

[discuit]

Considering how hard it’s been to buy an iPhone SE these last few months, I’m pretty sure they won’t keep it around.

Agreed. The shipping estimates are more than a week. Seems like a production slowdown and inventory closeout of the SE 2020

 

[ilikewhey]

in my mind there is already a 200 dollar iphone, after trade in my barely functioning iphone 7 for 800 bucks i got my 13 pro for 200 before tax 😂

 

[6787872]

because apple can't innovate for crap anymore so they just sell ancient technology well past their best days

 

[Bawstun]

This seems possible to me. The iPhone SE 2020 is already $199 on most prepaid carriers, and I’ve seen it as low as $149 when on sale in the past.

 

[Mr. Dee]

I would buy it for my mom who only needs the basics.

 

[Apple_Robert]

No way Apple sells it for $199 in the U.S.

 

[tt061282]

Apple dropped the price of the original iPhone SE to $349 when the iPhone X was released. At that time they had the SE, 6S (Plus), 7 (Plus), 8 (Plus) and iPhone X.

Meaning that if Apple sold the 2020 SE for $199 that would be $150 cheaper then any other iPhone they’ve ever sold new and $200 more than the 2022 version of the iPhone SE that looks EXACTLY the SAME (supposedly).. the target audience for iPhone SE would just pay the $199 and be ok with it instead of putting out DOUBLE the money for 5G and a new SOC. That’s illogical for Apple to do.

$299 is more of a possibility, but I believe it gets dropped.

 

[StupidOpinion]

i'm sure it'll get dropped from the US apple store but maybe other stores will sell it for a while. for the majority of people in this world, they wouldn't notice the difference between the two phones unless if you run benchmarks. maybe the old phone makes sense in places without 5g

 

[JPack]

This seems possible to me. The iPhone SE 2020 is already $199 on most prepaid carriers, and I’ve seen it as low as $149 when on sale in the past.

SIM locked and subsidized by the carrier. Yeah, that's quite a bit different.

 

[paradox00]

Maybe they keep it in production for low income markets (low probability), but 0% chance for the US.

 

[kenaustus]

I bought an SE when it first came out for the wife. She has small elegant hands and that original size is still m ore comfortable for her than anything else Apple has come up with. That means even the original can be updated and sold based on comfort for smaller hands. Maybe a $199 price point for lower memory, with $299 for memory upgrade. Processor should be current for easy upgrades. There would be sufficient sales to make both of these price points profitable and that is what counts.

Looking around the world it is easy to project that the Ukraine when freed of Russian influence orc troops will be an exceptional market for helping those who have survived - especially ally for the split families. CEO Cook is capable of bringing a suitable program for Ukraines. Maybe even something for the Russians if they get rid of Putin.

 

[tridley68]

Send it packing we don't need SE models

 

[44267547]

It’s a nice thought, but Apple is all about profit margins. And after boxing/materials, marketing and the cost of the phone itself, how would they make any money off a $200 phone? I’m not saying it’s not ‘doable’, but that’s very un-Apple like when you look the pricing segment for this phone.

 

[svish]

At $199, it will be fantastic. Will help Apple to increase sales in certain regions

 

[xbankaiz]

Some of the comments here regarding developing markets are so off the mark thinking that folks there are jumping to the Apple bandwagon in the lower price points. The SE2 when originally launched in India was priced at INR 42,500, which is approx 570 USD, a complete non-starter when at that price and at that time, the upper mid-range Android market offered the OnePlus 8, Samsung S9, etc. Once Apple realized that they weren't gaining any market share with that ridiculous price, they lowered it and now it retails around INR 30,000, which is 400 USD. Even then it was sort of a flop as the reviews came in about the terrible battery and the small screen so Flipkart (India's largest retailer) almost had it one "sale" every other month but the price was constant at the brick & mortar stores and Amazon India. Even then, the sales figures showed that Indians preferred to buy either the iPhone 11 or wait for the sale of the iPhone 12/12 Mini rather than get the "old design".

Although someone already posted what one can buy for 199 USD in India, they forgot to factor in that USD price =/= Indian prices, despite it being produced in the country itself, so no, there are no import taxes that Apple has to pay for the SE, 11 and certain 12 models in India. I doubt it would be any cheaper than INR 20k (~270 USD) and at that price range, the competition from OnePlus Nord series, Xiaomi's Redmi and Poco line of phones, RealMe, Motorola, Oppo, Samsung etc are just too dominant.

 

[ksec]

I have…extensive thoughts. Long story short, I believe they’ll keep the 4G SE at $299 (not $199 like Gurman hopes) with the new 5G SE at $399. Then, if the SE Plus ever drops in 2023/2024 it will come in at $399 while the old 5G and 4G SE will lower another $100. View attachment 1966309

You are missing the 14 Max. What is likely to be $899 Along with the possibility of pushing Pro to starting price of $1099, likely starting with 256GB.

 

[ksec]

Bill-of-material estimates from two years ago pegged the hardware cost of the iPhone SE at around $200,

That is why you shouldn't trust Gurman on anything supply chain. You can only trust him on Apple inside information.

The BOM cost of iPhone SE is not $200 FFS.

 

[jackietreeh0rn]

Don't think a $199 iPhone SE can make any impact, especially with that dated form factor. At that price you can find dozens of bezel-less Android phones which the price conscious customers are more likely to prefer.

 

[abowlby]

At $199 I’d get one and drop the insurance off the phone plan. Anyone who breaks their phone will be partying like it’s…the year the iPhone 8 came out.

 

[Virinprew]

Apple, please replace the lightning port with usb C. MacBook can be charged with usb-C. iPad is usb-C. Why do I need to carry around a lightning cable in addition to usb-C? Everyone else is already on usb-C. Come on.

 

[ian87w]

At $199, it will be fantastic. Will help Apple to increase sales in certain regions

I don't think Apple has any problem selling their iphones despite the prices. When the 13 lineup was launched in my country, the preorders were sold out, despite the higher prices than US MSRP.

 

[swingerofbirch]

Given that you have to have an iPhone to use (and thus buy) an Apple Watch, AirPods, and whatever other wearables Apple will come out with, it might make good business sense for them.

 

[B-Mc-C]

$299 is somewhat more credible than $199. Still doubt it, but it's possible.

Btw, I'm sure Apple would increase the iPhone 14 Pro prices this year, and introduce an iphone 14 Max for $899.

Agree with you guys. Gurman’s $199 prediction was a little moronic IMO. The next logical step is $299. They have probably gotten the BOM down to about $149 by now. For those worried about the $299 price point hurting their image or cannibalizing sales of the new SE, they could choose to just offer this previous gen SKU in emerging markets, like India. Cut the storage in half to allow for an even lower price, but I don’t think it goes as low as $199.

 

[vmistery]

I could see it replacing the iPod touch then if that’s really true. I’d want a lot more than just 5G and the new chip though if I was choosing between the two if the 2022 is double the cost so either the 2020 will be more expensive (perhaps $299) then the 2022 $100 more or there are bigger upgrades.