iPhone SE

[Capt Caveman]

All those die hard iPhone people hated on larger screen phones and said those small screens were the perfect size until Apple made large screen phones. Now that Apple made a fairly modern small screen phone, you can almost guarantee none of those people are going back to 4".

Lots of my female friends who have iPhone's are excited for the iPhone SE b/c it's a smaller phone.

 

[sweenish]

It's weird how many guys here are assuming they know how other people, especially *most*, think and act.What makes you the spokesperson for the human race? People who live different lives than you have different priorities,, why is this difficult to understand? Some want to save money, some want a small phone, some want a large screen. My wife, for example, likes itty bitty hand bags and the 6s plus she bought was a miscalculation. I for one like a big phone but miss playing candy crush one handed on the subway so see the appeal for city dwellers (especially since skinny pants are more popular here). I for one like choice, what the fucks wrong with that?

Funny it's just my point of view about "most" people under attack.

I also never stated it as fact, or denied that a market smaller phones exists. AS I'VE SAID BEFORE. My contention is the size of the market, and what these people think they want versus what they'd actually be perfectly fine with. And my claim is that price is going to drive more sales than size. It's not a difficult concept. You're obviously free to disagree, but no one has provided anything outside of "Well I..." or "my friends say..."

I at least have the lack of runaway success of Sony's compact line at my back.

If you're going to get all bent out of shape over what I've repeatedly stated to be my opinion on the matter, I can't help you there. Apparently there's nothing else to say, because again, I just end up repeating myself.

It would have been nice if the Nexus lines were equally spec'd. They had the best opportunity to actually get a feel for the size of the smaller smartphone market, and they blew it so hard.

Apparently we can't talk about anything like adults online.

 

[Eug]

It's amazing.

Your anecdotal personal use case has completely negated their general stance.

More seriously, there's literally a "market" for any preference. The big question is always the size.

And there's never a way to know this market size because there's always something muddying the waters.

Apple's attempt is, spec-wise, better than Sony's I think. But that price will muddy the waters.

My friend is a web designer who freelances for large international companies. You've probably know most of the companies he's worked for. He still designs for 640p phones and IIRC 1024x768 laptops.... but the sites will look nice on larger devices and will scale appropriately. And those websites are great.

If developers were all like him, I'd buy an iPhone SE.

But they aren't. It's like my workplace. They hired someone to design a web interface for a database, and it doesn't even work properly a screen that's 1280 pixels wide. In fact, you can't even reduce the window size to fit. You basically need 1440 or wider, or else you're stuck dragging the window around the screen to be able to see all of the window. It's really stupid. Yes, an easy solution is to use a bigger screen, which is what I do, but a decent developer shouldn't being making these types of design mistakes.

It's because of developers like these I will try to like the iPhone 7's 4.7" size. But I have a feeling I still won't like it, but will just have to tolerate it.

tl;dr:

If your mobile website looks OK on a 4.7" phone and not a 4" phone, then your developer is doing it wrong.

However, there are so many developers doing it wrong these days that I'm probably going to throw in the towel and try a 4.7" phone again.

 

[vi edit]

I at least have the lack of runaway success of Sony's compact line at my back.

That's as much on Sony as anything. Sony barely acknowledges there is a cell phone market in the US. You can't find their phones anywhere. And the ones we do get at carriers are usually speced behind everything else on a year delay from the rest of their product line. You have to order international devices which for 98% of all US cell phone consumers is not how they typically obtain their phones.

 

[Commodus]

I at least have the lack of runaway success of Sony's compact line at my back.

To be fair, it's hard to tell how much of Sony's sales performance is due to... well, Sony. This is a company that has a hard time landing North American carrier deals, and hasn't done the best job of promoting its devices even in countries where they're offered. That and the Z Compact series is relatively expensive compared to the iPhone SE... normally, you're looking at $499 unlocked in the US.

 

[mrochester]

The 5C was not a success, for Apple. Otherwise it wouldn't have been a one-off device.

This has been covered already in the thread, I think by poofyhairguy.

You have to compare the 5C to the smartphone market as a whole, not to just Apple. The iPhone 5C was a big hit in the smartphone market. That's what counts and what we are talking about.

 

[sweenish]

In the general market, because anything Apple puts into the market sells well. That's why I don't think it's actually worth talking about in those terms. Like I mentioned, it's been covered.

And as was said, if it was such a success for Apple, this new small phone would be the next-gen 5C. You don't throw success away.

 

[Commodus]

You have to compare the 5C to the smartphone market as a whole, not to just Apple. The iPhone 5C was a big hit in the smartphone market. That's what counts and what we are talking about.

Well, yes and no. It's true that most phone makers could only dream of having the 5c's 'failure.' However, you can tell that it didn't quite live up to Apple's goals, and that a better (that is, more targeted) device might have helped Apple's sales numbers grow more than they did.

I'm really curious to see whether or not the iPhone SE bumps Apple's sales figures, and if so by how much. It won't really affect fiscal Q2 (calendar Q1), because it's only shipping at the very end of the month, but it could help Apple overcome the spring slump. More importantly, it could help shake the image that Apple only cares about its highest-end phone and only offers leftovers if you can't afford the best.

 

[mrochester]

In the general market, because anything Apple puts into the market sells well. That's why I don't think it's actually worth talking about in those terms. Like I mentioned, it's been covered.

And as was said, if it was such a success for Apple, this new small phone would be the next-gen 5C. You don't throw success away.

Yes you do. The original iPhone, iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4S and iPhone 5 all say hello.

 

[sweenish]

Now you're just being a bit dense.

Those are the main iPhone line. If you are seriously proposing that the 5C was not meant to be a new line the way the 5+ and 6+ are part of a new line, there's really no point debating with you.

 

[mrochester]

Now you're just being a bit dense.

Those are the main iPhone line. If you are seriously proposing that the 5C was not meant to be a new line the way the 5+ and 6+ are part of a new line, there's really no point debating with you.

Oh good, means we don't have to listen to your nonsense then!

 

[elitejp]

I dont care either way, its just wait and see. But if I was to make a guess I dont think this will sell very well at all. Even if we just look at the posters in this thread very few people have actually said they want one. Rather its just been debating whether or not it will actually sell good.

 

[Rakehellion]

Now you're just being a bit dense.

Those are the main iPhone line. If you are seriously proposing that the 5C was not meant to be a new line the way the 5+ and 6+ are part of a new line, there's really no point debating with you.

What is the 5+?

The 5C was intended as a direct replacement for the iPhone 5 as the low end device. They were pretty popular as far as I could tell.

 

[Artdeco]

I dont care either way, its just wait and see. But if I was to make a guess I dont think this will sell very well at all. Even if we just look at the posters in this thread very few people have actually said they want one. Rather its just been debating whether or not it will actually sell good.

We're not the target consumers.

 

[elitejp]

That's the thing. We can only guess as to who the target audience is. like I said I don't think it will be very popular.

 

[vi edit]

I would not be shocked if the SE hit 20 million sales in the next 12 months. Popular is relative.

 

[Commodus]

That's the thing. We can only guess as to who the target audience is. like I said I don't think it will be very popular.

No, we don't have to guess. The target audiences are:

- Budget-conscious buyers (particularly in developing markets like China and India)
- People who prefer small phones
- Kids

Those are pretty big audiences. They just don't happen to dovetail all that well with the tastes of people on technology forums.

 

[blankslate]

This is Apple's mid-range phone. Simple. As. That.

it's very good but offering 16GB storage as the base model with no expansion option is just taking advantage of price sensitive customers. 32GB wouldn't be so much to absorb for the most profitable tech company (thanks to tech illiterates who are image conscious)

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[cronos]

This is Apple's mid-range phone. Simple. As. That.

it's very good but offering 16GB storage as the base model with no expansion option is just taking advantage of price sensitive customers. 32GB wouldn't be so much to absorb for the most profitable tech company (thanks to tech illiterates who are image conscious)

I'm not disagreeing with your statement, but you do realize that having 16 GB capacity as entry level and then the next offering at 64 GB (skipping 32 GB) is also what's being offered on the 6, 6 Plus, 6S, and 6S Plus, right?

 

[Rakehellion]

This is Apple's mid-range phone. Simple. As. That.

it's very good but offering 16GB storage as the base model with no expansion option is just taking advantage of price sensitive customers. 32GB wouldn't be so much to absorb for the most profitable tech company (thanks to tech illiterates who are image conscious)

______________

Why would Apple want to absorb costs? They aren't a charity.

 

[elitejp]

No, we don't have to guess. The target audiences are:

- Budget-conscious buyers (particularly in developing markets like China and India)
- People who prefer small phones
- Kids

Those are pretty big audiences. They just don't happen to dovetail all that well with the tastes of people on technology forums.

Buyers in china are consistently buying larger phones. They probably started the trend for larger phones. Im in china and all i see is large phones, phablets unless they are still using the iphone 4 and havent upgraded and thats getting fewer and fewer.

People who prefer small phones is a given.

Dont know what age range kids would want a small phone. If they are children aged then why arent they just getting mom and dads hand me downs. If they are teenagers im thinking they also want a large screen to show off all the pictures they take in a day.

But your second point is very valid. The other 2 are just guesses.

 

[Commodus]

Buyers in china are consistently buying larger phones. They probably started the trend for larger phones. Im in china and all i see is large phones, phablets unless they are still using the iphone 4 and havent upgraded and thats getting fewer and fewer.

People who prefer small phones is a given.

Dont know what age range kids would want a small phone. If they are children aged then why arent they just getting mom and dads hand me downs. If they are teenagers im thinking they also want a large screen to show off all the pictures they take in a day.

But your second point is very valid. The other 2 are just guesses.

No, they're not just guesses. Apple said during the introduction event that a disproportionately large number of Chinese buyers get a 4-inch iPhone first. Here's a slide from that event:

It also noted that it sold 30 million 4-inch iPhones during 2015, and it's well-established that China is Apple's largest market outside of the US.

And yes, kids frequently get hand-me-downs, but not always. And it's not up to the kids to buy the phone -- it's their parents.

 

[Eug]

Buyers in china are consistently buying larger phones. They probably started the trend for larger phones. Im in china and all i see is large phones, phablets unless they are still using the iphone 4 and havent upgraded and thats getting fewer and fewer.

No, they're not just guesses. Apple said during the introduction event that a disproportionately large number of Chinese buyers get a 4-inch iPhone first. Here's a slide from that event:

It also noted that it sold 30 million 4-inch iPhones during 2015, and it's well-established that China is Apple's largest market outside of the US.

Chinese pre-orders of iPhone SE exceed 3.4 million

I'd say a pre-order number in China of over 3.4 million is pretty good.

#1 Gold
#2 Rose gold

The other good news is that the increased inventory at launch and the better pre-ordering mechanisms through Apple and 3rd-party retailers has meant that scalpers aren't making as much money off this release. (Same was true for the iPhone 6s in North America IIRC.)

 

[Oyeve]

Chinese pre-orders of iPhone SE exceed 3.4 million

I'd say a pre-order number in China of over 3.4 million is pretty good.

#1 Gold
#2 Rose gold

The other good news is that the increased inventory at launch and the better pre-ordering mechanisms through Apple and 3rd-party retailers has meant that scalpers aren't making as much money off this release. (Same was true for the iPhone 6s in North America IIRC.)

But arent china pre-orders mainly people showing an interest and not actual pre-orders? I recall someone spewing the same for Samsungs S7 launch a couple of weeks ago.

 

[Commodus]

But arent china pre-orders mainly people showing an interest and not actual pre-orders? I recall someone spewing the same for Samsungs S7 launch a couple of weeks ago.

That was me... and yes, there's just as much reason to be cautious here as with Samsung. There's no guarantee that those 3.4 million pre-orders will lead to actual sales. It's promising for a relatively low-end device (who gets excited about a 4-inch phone these days?), but the proof will come with real launch figures.