iPhone SE

[blankslate]

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?

I know and that is still borderline ripping off their customers for the 16GB storage option on their other phones.

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

There's a difference between offering value for your customers dollar and taking advantage of their lack of knowledge about a product... You don't have to be a charity do the former... but ok I guess I don't expect you to be bothered by anything Apple does.


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[Rakehellion]

There's a difference between offering value for your customers dollar and taking advantage of their lack of knowledge about a product...

The average smartphone user only has 5 apps on their device. 64GB is overkill for that.

but ok I guess I don't expect you to be bothered by anything Apple does.

I'm more bothered by your narrow-minded hyperbole and dearth of any evidence to support your claims.

 

[Commodus]

I don't think Rakehellion is saying that 16GB is perfectly fine. It's that he can understand why Apple wouldn't want to increase that capacity.

Me, I'd prefer that Apple bump it up to 32GB, but I can also understand why it wouldn't -- $399 is already a $50 drop in price over the outgoing 5S for a much more powerful device, and it's probably worried about both hurting its profit margins and the eventual upsell to an iPhone 7 lineup where 32GB is probably the minimum.

As it stands, I think 16GB is okay (not great, but okay) in the segment Apple is targeting. The big beef many of us have is that the 6s has a similar capacity despite the much higher price, and a focus on more demanding users that are likely to want extra storage.

 

[lifeblood]

I suspect this phone will cannibalize ebay and craigslist more than the 6S or mid-range Android sales. My wife and daughter prefer 4" phones (they are using 4S now) and when Apple quit supporting the 4S I was going to get used 5S's for them, but now I get to buy new SE's (yay me).

 

[Subyman]

I wish they would have updated the styling to look more inline with their newer phones. I'd have a hard time buying a phone that looks exactly like my current phone.

 

[purbeast0]

i currently own an iphone 6 and i just got back an iphone 5s from a developer who has left a project and i'm taking over his responsibilities, and damn, the iphone 5 is like the perfect phone size imo. the thing i do have problems doing on it right now though are typing. i keep fat fingering everything because they keyboard is smaller.

i doubt i'd go back to the SE from my ip6 any time soon (if ever), but damn, the ip5 just feels like the perfect size phone for me.

 

[poofyhairguy]

i currently own an iphone 6 and i just got back an iphone 5s from a developer who has left a project and i'm taking over his responsibilities, and damn, the iphone 5 is like the perfect phone size imo. the thing i do have problems doing on it right now though are typing. i keep fat fingering everything because they keyboard is smaller.

i doubt i'd go back to the SE from my ip6 any time soon (if ever), but damn, the ip5 just feels like the perfect size phone for me.

Steve Jobs would agree.

 

[s44]

Steve Jobs would agree.

I'm sure he'd love this rumor:

http://9to5mac.com/2016/03/26/apple-iphone-amoled-wireless-charging/

 

[Commodus]

People always trot out that Steve Jobs quote, but there are a couple of important points:

1. Steve Jobs would change his mind on subjects. What was that Emerson said about a "foolish consistency?"

2. Many of the larger phones at the time were fairly unwieldy due to both the underlying technology and ill-conceived designs. Remember the Dell Streak? It was only a 5-inch phone, but it makes a 5.5-inch iPhone 6s Plus seem efficiently shaped in comparison. An original Galaxy Note from 2011 is awkward to hold; a Galaxy S7 Edge with a larger screen is comparatively pleasant.

 

[poofyhairguy]

Remember the Dell Streak?

Hell yeah I do. One of the better "what ifs" of the mobile business IMHO was what if they got that Streak on an AT&T subsidy plan? They could have been the one to push everyone to large phones a whole year before Samsung. Maybe Dell would still make phones today. Fascinating to think about, I love products that are ahead of their time.

 

[rh71]

Steve Jobs would agree.

I tried the other day but I couldn't find the YT video of Apple's commercial poking fun at large phones... it wasn't about being awkward to hold. They showed how wide or high a human thumb can reach, etc. so apparently it didn't make sense why large phones even exist.

 

[purbeast0]

I tried the other day but I couldn't find the YT video of Apple's commercial poking fun at large phones... it wasn't about being awkward to hold. They showed how wide or high a human thumb can reach, etc. so apparently it didn't make sense why large phones even exist.

i know exactly what commercial you mean. and even in that commercial, the way the guy is holding the phone so that his thumb can cover the whole screen, is not the way that any normal person regularly holds their phone.

 

[s44]

Dell didn't really even know what they had, and they didn't know how to pitch it.

Still, the dimensions are amusing...
Streak: 152.9 x 79.1 x 10 mm (6.02 x 3.11 x 0.39 in); 220 g (7.76 oz); 5" 800*480
Note 1: 146.8 x 83 x 9.7 mm (5.78 x 3.27 x 0.38 in); 178 g (6.28 oz); 5.3" 1200*800
Nexus 6: 159.3 x 83 x 10.1 mm (6.27 x 3.27 x 0.40 in); 184 g (6.49 oz); 6" 2560*1440
iPhone 6+: 158.1 x 77.8 x 7.1 mm (6.22 x 3.06 x 0.28 in); 172 g (6.07 oz); 5.5" 1920*1080
S7 Edge: 150.9 x 72.6 x 7.7 mm (5.94 x 2.86 x 0.30 in); 157 g (5.54 oz); 5.5" 2560*1440

The only phone even close to the weight of the Streak was the One Max:
164.5 x 82.5 x 10.3 mm (6.48 x 3.25 x 0.41 in); 217 g (7.65 oz); 5.9" 1920*1080

edit - also, the battery in the huge/heavy Streak was 1530mAh! The Note had 2500 and obviously modern big devices go up from there.

 

[poofyhairguy]

Dell didn't really even know what they had, and they didn't know how to pitch it.

So true. I remember it had some fans back then, but I also remember people going on about it being too massive. Today 5 inches is a small screen phone, it is amazing how your perspective can change.

 

[quikah]

I tried the other day but I couldn't find the YT video of Apple's commercial poking fun at large phones... it wasn't about being awkward to hold. They showed how wide or high a human thumb can reach, etc. so apparently it didn't make sense why large phones even exist.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O99m7lebirE

 

[dainthomas]

I don't think Rakehellion is saying that 16GB is perfectly fine. It's that he can understand why Apple wouldn't want to increase that capacity.

Me, I'd prefer that Apple bump it up to 32GB, but I can also understand why it wouldn't -- $399 is already a $50 drop in price over the outgoing 5S for a much more powerful device, and it's probably worried about both hurting its profit margins and the eventual upsell to an iPhone 7 lineup where 32GB is probably the minimum.

As it stands, I think 16GB is okay (not great, but okay) in the segment Apple is targeting. The big beef many of us have is that the 6s has a similar capacity despite the much higher price, and a focus on more demanding users that are likely to want extra storage.

My daughter has a 16gb iphone 4 that I gave her to take pictures, listen to music, and play games on and it's always running out of space. No way I could use something like that as my daily driver. Unbelievable that five years later Apple still hasn't increased the base storage in their phones, especially with increasing size of apps and resolution of the camera.

 

[cronos]

I know and that is still borderline ripping off their customers for the 16GB storage option on their other phones.

My point is that Apple knows exactly what they're doing, and not just for SE series, but all of their phones (starting from iPhone 5, I think). History will record that their phones are priced 'from $x' as the entry level price, while most people would look at the 16 GB storage, passed on that one and get the version that's $(x+100) to get the 64 GB storage instead.

 

[Rakehellion]

I suspect this phone will cannibalize ebay and craigslist more than the 6S or mid-range Android sales. My wife and daughter prefer 4" phones (they are using 4S now) and when Apple quit supporting the 4S I was going to get used 5S's for them, but now I get to buy new SE's (yay me).

The 5s is still waaaay cheaper than the SE.

 

[Rakehellion]

My daughter has a 16gb iphone 4 that I gave her to take pictures, listen to music, and play games on and it's always running out of space. No way I could use something like that as my daily driver. Unbelievable that five years later Apple still hasn't increased the base storage in their phones, especially with increasing size of apps and resolution of the camera.

So buy her a new phone? Teach her how to use iCloud?

 

[dainthomas]

So buy her a new phone? Teach her how to use iCloud?

She's 9. The point was that it's pretty sad how Apple thinks their customers' storage needs haven't increased over five years.

 

[rh71]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O99m7lebirE

Thx.

So Apple no longer has common sense. Got it!

 

[QueBert]

She's 9. The point was that it's pretty sad how Apple thinks their customers' storage needs haven't increased over five years.

They offer phones with more space for people who need it. My dad had an Android phone with 8 gigs of space and once commented to me "8 gigs, wow I don't even know what I'd do with all that space. This was a few years ago. He's an old old old school techie. When I told him I had a 64 gig iPhone, he laughed and told me his computer only has 80 gigs of space and he couldn't fill that up in a million years. My dad's more in line with the average customer than someone who can easily fill up a 16 gig phone.

I know many people where even 8 gigs is more than they'll ever need.

 

[Zaap]

Please. I've heard this story too over the years.

Now flash forward a few months to the same non-techie once they actually start *using* the device:

"OMG! I can't take any more photos! I constantly have to delete the old ones because there's no space!"

"4GB for 'OTHER" !!!?? What the hell is 'OTHER' and how do I get rid of it !!?!"

"I wanted to dowload this game everyone was playing, but it said I didn't have enough space! What do I do?!"

 

[lopri]

I know and that is still borderline ripping off their customers for the 16GB storage option on their other phones.

There's a difference between offering value for your customers dollar and taking advantage of their lack of knowledge about a product... You don't have to be a charity do the former.

I agree and I would go further and say that there is no reason to be charitable to large corporations as a consumer.

Imagine if Microsoft offered a Lumia flagship with 16 GB and 64 GB. Or Samsung Galaxy S7 8 GB and 64 GB. They would be criticized and ridiculed. Rightfully, IMO.

 

[dawheat]

My point is that Apple knows exactly what they're doing, and not just for SE series, but all of their phones (starting from iPhone 5, I think). History will record that their phones are priced 'from $x' as the entry level price, while most people would look at the 16 GB storage, passed on that one and get the version that's $(x+100) to get the 64 GB storage instead.

It's clever but I do think Apple buyers are basically giving a free pass to Apple for screwing them over.

Going from 16 to 32GB base storage would increase BOM like $4. Even though everyone knows it's a margin grab by Apple to push people to higher tiers, it amazes me how often you hear people defending it. It's a completely consumer unfriendly move that only benefits Apple's profits and yet rarely a whimper of protest.

I do think Apple knows the limits of this fleecing are coming to an end and they will move the iPhone 7 to iPad Pro tiers:
32GB for $649
128GB for $799
256GB for $949