Buy now or wait? Apple's new iPhone SE vs. the rumored 'iPhone 7'

It's one of the most common questions any prospective smartphone buyer asks: Should I buy now, or wait? The launch of the iPhone SE — an uncharacteristic-for-Apple mid-cycle upgrade — makes the answer slightly more complex this year.

If you prefer smaller phones, now is the time to buy the iPhone SE. If you want a larger screen and you can hold out, at this point you're probably better off waiting until September for the "iPhone 7" and skipping the iPhone 6s (or getting it at a discount).

It's been more than six months since the launch of the iPhone 6s. And while the iPhone 6s is a fantastic phone, we're now closer to the anticipated debut of an "iPhone 7" than we are to last year's launch of the iPhone 6s.

That puts prospective iPhone buyers in somewhat of a gray area. And for some, the launch of the iPhone SE may have muddied the waters even further.

For those unsure what to do, here's a helpful guide to deciding what's right for you.

Yes, there will still be an "iPhone 7" this fall

The launch of the new 4-inch iPhone SE has generated some anxiety that Apple may not launch a new flagship model this fall. Don't worry: All indications are that a full-fledged "iPhone 7" and "iPhone 7 Plus" are still in the cards.

What's it expected to have? The real selling point for most could be an all-new design. Apple has historically introduced an entirely new chassis with number upgrades, and this year it's expected to continue that tradition.

Inside, you can expect the usual array of enhancements, including a next-generation "A10" processor. The larger 5.5-inch "iPhone 7 Plus" is also expected to have more RAM for even greater performance.

The cameras will also see an upgrade, with rumors suggesting Apple is working on a dual lens design that could greatly improve stability and image quality, while also potentially adding an optical zoom function.

In all, the "iPhone 7" is expected to be a healthy upgrade from the iPhone 6s and the iPhone SE, which feature many of the same components.

Sizing up your options

The newly launched 4-inch iPhone SE will likely remain in Apple's lineup for awhile — Apple isn't expected to revamp that form factor this year. And it may not even touch it next year either.

So if you were holding out hope for a new 4-inch iPhone, right now is the time to buy. Apple's latest update is powerful and competitively priced, and it's expected to remain as-is through the end of 2016 and beyond.

You'll also save a fair amount of money: The iPhone SE starts at just $399, while it's likely the "iPhone 7" will carry Apple's typical entry price of $649. Saving $250 and getting a phone six months sooner is nothing to sneeze at.

But if you prefer a larger phone or you're a bleeding-edge type of user, the issue is a little more complex. Apple is expected to launch its new "iPhone 7" in September, putting us currently smack dab in the middle of the iPhone 6s cycle.

Timing, timing, timing

If you can wait, and you prefer larger (and better) screens on your iPhone, you probably want to put away your wallet and be patient. The "iPhone 7" is expected to be a big upgrade — the biggest since the iPhone 6.

Why wait? Well, if you're looking for the best in mobile technology, and you've already made it this long without an iPhone 6s, you'll be happier if you hold off.

Of course, not everyone can wait. Maybe your old iPhone 5s finally bit the dust. Maybe you dropped your iPhone 6 in the ocean and the cost of repairing it is prohibitive, but you still need a smartphone for the next six months. Maybe you don't really care about the latest and greatest.

For those buyers, the iPhone 6s is a great choice. You'll be happy with it. Just don't develop a sense of buyers' remorse come September, because there's always something new around the corner.

The headphone factor

Finally, let's touch on one persistent — but unconfirmed — rumor about the "iPhone 7." Namely, that it won't have a 3.5-millimeter headphone jack.

Even here, we think it's best to wait. If the "iPhone 7" truly does launch without a headphone jack, and that's a dealbreaker for you, the current iPhone 6s will almost assuredly drop in price by at least $100.

By waiting, you'll have the benefit of choosing between a new "iPhone 7," or a more affordable iPhone 6s. Given Apple's track record, that's likely to be a win-win situation.

Just remember: Patience is a virtue.


Source:appleinsider

Apple iPhone SE: 7 things you need to know

A look at the iPhone SE's size, memory, and other features to get an idea of whether an upgrade is worth your money.

Apple announced its newest iPhone this week, a 4" model called the iPhone SE. Many rumors and predictions turned out to be true, but a few missed the mark. We look at its size, memory, and other features to get an idea of whether an upgrade is worth your money.

Honey, Apple Shrunk the 6s

The iPhone SE is essentially a 6s in 5s' clothing. It includes the same A9 processor, which could provide amazing gaming capabilities for a 4" handset. It also offers support for the always-on "Hey Siri" function, adding hands-free accessibility to the personal assistant. The SE will also boast the same 12-megapixel camera of the 6s, as well as the ability to take Live Photos and 4K video.

The Cheapest New iPhone — Ever

Analysts theorized that the starting price for the iPhone SE would match that of the 5s, at $450 for a 16GB model. However, it appears Apple is discontinuing the 5s entirely, replacing it with the SE as the latest "budget-friendly" iPhone. Furthermore, the 16GB model of the SE is, at $399, $51 cheaper than what was predicted. And according to Apple, that's the "most affordable [introductory] price" ever for an iPhone.


You'll Still Want the Expensive One

Instead of a 32GB model, the SE jumps from 16GB to 64GB, the latter of which costs $499. If price isn't a huge factor for you, it's worth it to pay $100 more to gain four times the storage space. After all, iPhones are known for their lack of expandable storage.

No 3D Touch, Which is No Surprise

The event made no mention of 3D Touch, but did highlight Live Photos as a feature on the SE. It's safe to assume Apple would've emphasized 3D Touch if it were indeed going to be utilized to capture Live Photos on the SE. It's likely that users will have to use the "long press" that was theorized leading up to the new iPhone's announcement.

Answering the Call For Smaller iPhones

A huge group of consumers still prefer a tiny iPhone. Apple noted that they sold 30 million 4" iPhones (which includes the 5, 5s, and 5c models) in 2015 alone. Both the compact size and compact price tag suggest that Apple is focused on capturing upgrades from those shoppers specifically.

We've Seen Deals on New iPhones Within Days

For the iPhone 4s, it was nearly a year before we saw any real sales. With the 5, deals appeared after about 7 months. The 5s smashed those timelines, and we saw prices slashed within 6 days of its release. It's quite possible that the SE could see similarly rapid savings, but don't expect those deals to come from Apple. Rather than preordering, you should keep an eye on other retailers for price cuts.

The iPhone SE is Due for Release on March 31

As announced, preorders for the iPhone SE begin this Thursday, on March 24. The smartphone is set to be released next week, on March 31, and will be shipping the same day. It's available in two sizes, 16GB for $399 and 64GB for $499, and in the four colors that seem to be becoming standard for Apple products: Silver, Space Gray, Gold, and Rose Gold.

Readers, are you excited for the iPhone SE? Are you a fan of the smaller screen, or do you prefer the larger sizes of more recent models? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

source:csmonitor

iPhone SE: Early Testing Reveals Killer Battery Life, Beating iPhone 6s, Galaxy S7

iPhone SE: better battery life than iPhone 6s? (Credit: Apple)

The iPhone SE, which masks impressive specs under a ho-hum 4-inch exterior, may be turning out to be one of the best deals Apple AAPL -0.45% has ever offered in an iPhone. Here’s another reason to put it on your shopping list: battery life.

We already know it’s Apple’s cheapest phone (starting at $399), uses a fast A9 processor, and has the latest Apple camera tech. And now we’re getting our first indications that it has excellent battery life.

The Wall Street Journal’s early review said the “standout news is battery life.” Based on the Journal’s stress test, the SE lasted 10 hours. That beats both the iPhone 6s and iPhone 5s by two hours and is about three hours longer than the Galaxy S7, according to the Journal.

It is important to note that the iPhone SE has a lower-resolution (1,136-by-640) display compared to the iPhone 6s’ larger 4.7-inch (1,334-by-750) screen. And considerably lower resolution than the Galaxy S7′s 5.1-incher (2,560-by-1,440), as pointed out by Mac Rumors. Typically, the larger and higher-resolution the display, the bigger the impact on battery life. The iPhone SE also does not come with 3D Touch support — albeit a feature that relatively few consumers would notice.

Source: forbes

iPhone SE vs iPhone 5S: Is new model worth it?

New four-inch handset is set to replace the older version, but is it really all that different?

If you're one of the millions still using one of Apple's four-inch iPhones, then the company has plans for you.

Apple has just released a new device to replace the almost three-year-old iPhone 5S. The iPhone SE is the first of potentially four handsets the company could launch this year and bolsters up the back of the range.

As well as first-time buyers, the tech giant is targeting customers who haven't upgraded to the larger iPhone 6 handsets. Many users prefer the smaller dimensions of the older phones over the phablet-style of newer devices. Customers had "pleaded" for a new handset that bucked the trend of ever larger screens, said Apple at its keynote event on Monday.

But apart from the size, what else does the iPhone SE have to offer?

Design

iPhone 5S users will find little in how the phone looks to tempt them to upgrade. It's not because the SE is unsightly, but rather its design is practically identical to the older device. The only differences are a matte finish on the bevelled edges and a new rose gold colour option.

Both phones feature aluminium cases measuring 4.87ins x 2.31ins x 0.3ins with round volume buttons, flat sides and glass caps top and bottom. The SE is a fraction heavier, at 3.99oz to the 5S's 3.95oz.

Display

Again, there's no real change here. Both devices use a four-inch LCD screen with a resolution of 1136 x 640 and a pixel density of 326ppi, although Apple says the SE's screen is up to three times brighter than the 5S's.

Pre-reveal, some touted that the iPhone SE would get Apple's pressure-sensitive display, allowing it to have 3D touch capabilities as on the iPhone 6S. The rumours were quiet ones, though, and rightfully so – for now, 3D touch will remain an option on flagship iPhone models only.

Camera

While the design and display is virtually unchanged – maybe not such a vital thing, considering Apple is selling much of this phone on its size – the hardware is new, with much of it plucked from the iPhone 6S.

The iPhone 5S uses an eight-megapixel rear-facing camera with a 1.2-megapixel setup on the front. On the SE, this is bumped up to a 12-megapixel camera capable of 4K video recording. It has a wider f/2.2 aperture, too, meaning it should outperform the 5S in low light. Also new are the 240 frames per second (fps) slow-motion capabilities and Live Photos.

The SE retains the 5S's 1.2-megapixel front-facing FaceTime camera but with the addition of Retina flash, which also allows for better photos in low light.

Hardware and internals

Inside the identical casing is an iPhone 6S-inspired overhaul. The iPhone 5S uses Apple's A7 chip mated to 1GB RAM. This is bumped up to the A9 chip from the iPhone 6S and 2GB RAM. Apple claims the new phone has double the processing power and four-times the graphics performance of its outgoing entry level phone.

The iPhone SE also has an NFC chip, bringing ApplePay to all iPhones in the current range, and the battery has been upgraded. Gone is the 1560mAh cell used in the iPhone 5S and in its place is a 1642mAh unit. Combined with processor upgrades, Pocket Lint reckons users should see a decent leap up in battery life.

Specs-wise, the SE retains the 16GB entry level storage option. A 32GB phone is off the cards – the only other choice is a 64GB handset.

How much is it?

SIM-free prices for the Apple SE start at £359, a £20 drop on the price of the iPhone 5S. The 64GB option weighs in at £439.

Tesco Mobile has the cheapest deal of the networks who have announced their tariffs so far. The £26.50-a-month offer for the 16GB model gives 1,000 minutes, 5,000 texts and 1GB of data, with no additional costs.

You can get the same model at Carphone Warehouse on its iD network for a one-off fee of £99.99 and a monthly cost of £21.50 over 24 months, giving you 300 minutes, 5,000 texts and 500MB of 4G data.

If you don't fancy any upfront payments but want more data than just the standard 500MB, USwitch.com recommends grabbing the handset from EE for £29.99 a month. This tariff comes with 1GB of data, 500 minutes and unlimited texts.

The 64GB iPhone SE is markedly more expensive on all UK networks.

Of course, if you're not convinced by Apple's new offering, the 16GB iPhone 5S is now available from all the major networks for around £18 a month with no upfront handset cost.

Verdict

Full reviews are yet to surface, but early hands-on impressions suggest Apple has added a compelling smartphone to the bottom of its range.

According to Slashgear, the SE presents a familiar experience but with optimised hardware that really makes a difference. It feels "significantly faster" and introducing some of the latest machinery means it's been fairly future-proofed. The SE and the 5S are in "different leagues", it adds.

Engadget is also impressed, saying the iPhone SE feels like a "compelling blend of old and new" and that Apple's entry level option no longer feels like a second-rate device.

However, not everyone is convinced. Kate Knibbs, writing for Gizmodo, says the SE is more a "shrewd marketing strategy" than a new handset, arguing that there's nothing fresh in terms of design and software and that the phone is just an 5S with a "moderate gut upgrade".

As such, Apple really has to market the hardware if it is to encourage iPhone 5S users to upgrade – although the SE could be a bit of a coup for first-time buyers, who are getting an iPhone 5S with iPhone 6S goodies at a slightly cheaper price.                                           

Source: theweek         

iPhone SE: thoughts on going back to a smaller phone

New iPhone SE hands-on

I’ve been using the new iPhone SE for a couple days now, after having a 6s for a while, and I have to be honest: going back to using a small phone feels weird. I’m convinced that Apple has to be aiming this new phone at people who either love small phones or want a reasonably-priced upgrade from a three-year-old iPhone.

Let’s face it, a new iPhone is tempting. It’s a new iPhone! But if you’ve already graduated to a bigger phone, this phone might not be for you.

I say "going back" because a few years ago I got a lot of mileage out of a smaller smartphone — quite literally, since I was able to carry the thing in hand or strap it to my arm during long outdoor runs and it never felt ridiculous. We had some good times, me and the iPhone 5s. It was nice and light, but its carved edges made it feel durable. It fit easily in my back pocket when I was carrying grocery bags, out shooting photos, or doing just about anything else that required manual dexterity.

WE HAD SOME GOOD TIMES, ME AND IPHONE 5S

Back then, I made fun of phablets. Hard. I wrote a breakup letter to the Samsung Galaxy Note 2 using the phone’s stylus, and said that another 6.6-inch smartphone would probably need to be transported in a flatbed truck. Even a 5.2-inch LG G2 felt too big for me. Who needs a phone this big?

Then things changed. It’s hard to say whether it was just the phones themselves that changed or if it was my own eventual acceptance of them; likely it was both. Overbearingly large phones have reached an elegance in design and level of technical prowess that weren’t there a couple years ago. Case in point: Samsung's Galaxy S7 Edge. "Phablets," with their long-lasting batteries and better cameras, are now widely accepted, while phones with 4.7-inch displays have become the new normal.

That’s why switching to the new iPhone SE, with its 4-inch display, feels so strange, both conceptually and practically. Size does matter for some people. In today’s culture we are imbued with the principle that "bigger" is better, and "thinner" is better, but "smaller" might not be.

When I first picked up the iPhone SE the other day and started emailing and iMessaging, I noticed a few things. First, this looks just like the iPhone 5s! Also, I could text with one hand again! And finally, I really do suck at touchscreen typing. Typing on a small keyboard again felt awkward and it took me four tries to correctly enter a password or even just send a quick response to someone. Tweeting felt… risky? All of my apps or app buckets were now squeezed into five rows per page rather than six, pushing some of them over onto the next page.

Oh, and my eyesight has gotten worse. If my recently-adjusted prescription wasn’t enough proof, the iPhone SE is, because I strained to see everything from messages to Maps to photos. (I mistook a photo of someone wearing a VR headset for someone else entirely.)

To that point, big phones are great for media consumption. I regularly watch videos, and read breaking news updates, saved Instapaper articles, and Kindle books on my 4.7-inch phone. But I'm not sure I’ll be reading books on the iPhone SE. Swiping through photos and social media on the iPhone SE was fine, but reading super-long emails on a small screen felt like I was reading them on an actual scroll.

WITH A LARGE PHONE YOU CAN DO SO MUCH, WHICH MEANS YOU ARE ALWAYS DOING SO MUCH

But maybe that has actually been the best part of going back to a small phone: I don’t feel as immersed in it as I do with a larger phone. With a large phone you can do so much, which means you are always doing so much. Yesterday, during a five-minute cab ride, I took a breather, because doing any kind of "meaningful" work on a tiny phone would be annoying anyway.

This isn’t meant to be full review of the new iPhone SE, because as I said, I still think that the people who will be most interested in this are first-time iPhone users or those who are already using a 4s or 5s. There’s still a lot more to say about the iPhone SE beyond, "It’s hard to go back." This is just my experience switching to the new iPhone SE from a larger phone, and personally, I'm likely to go back to a larger phone. But a small screen really makes you feel like you’re not quite as committed to it — and for some people, maybe that will be the point.

Source:theverge

Mossberg: the iPhone 7 had better be spectacular

One day this fall, if things occur as usual, Apple will stage a big event to introduce the next flagship iPhone. And, based on the events of this month, that smartphone better be great.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s not that I have any beef at first glance with the revamped, smaller iPhone SE that Apple unveiled this week, or with the downsized iPad Pro that accompanied it. Each makes business sense — especially the modernized 4-inch phone model, the iPhone SE. Both seemed to work well in the few minutes I had to fiddle with them, and I’ll have reviews of them soon.

I expect these products will make significant minorities of users happy. Plus, the $399 base price on the iPhone SE (compared to $650 or so for the 6s) may help Apple in overseas markets where cheaper and smaller phones are popular.

But these latest iPhones and iPads don’t break much new technology ground.They are derivative products — the iPhone SE is based on the iPhone 5 design first introduced in 2012. And its innards and features mostly, but don’t quite, match those of the current top mainstream model, the 6S, rolled out last year.

I stand by my view that the premium iPhone 6S and 6S Plus are the best smartphones on the market.

But the top-of-the-line iPhones were challenged impressively just two weeks ago by rival Samsung’s beautiful, carefully engineered new Galaxy S7 phones. A Verge test showed the Samsung’s cameras are better. Only the sadly typical software mess on those phones makes them lag behind Apple’s long-superior iPhone.

If the smartphone category is to take a leap forward, and the iPhone is to maintain its ever-thinning lead as the best smartphone you can buy, Apple needs to impress big time in the fall.

As always, rumors about the next iPhone abound online. They include new types of wireless and wired headphones, including the elimination of the standard headphone jack; a dual-lens camera that would allow for a form of true optical zooming; and even thinner dimensions.

I don’t have any inside information about the next flagship iPhone, and I don’t own any stock or have any other financial interest in Apple, or in any other company whose products I cover.

But here are seven things I’d love to see Apple do to keep moving the iPhone — and the smartphone itself — forward. Some of these items are catchups with competitors, others would be new.

First of all — and this is very tough scientifically — Apple could make a big leap in battery life. The company has long done a decent job for people who are moderate users, or who, like me, have great cell tower proximity, which keeps the phone from battery-draining tower searches. But I know too many iPhone users who are forced to recharge their phones multiple times a day or carry around bulky extra-battery cases or portable chargers. Apple even brought out such a case itself recently. Fixing battery life would be a huge win.

This might mean Apple would have to return to a slightly thicker phone, and not make the next model even thinner. But many users would take that tradeoff for a phone they could be confident would last over a long day, or even more — without a giant battery case bulge.

Secondly, and closely related, is charging. iPhones aren’t especially slow at charging, but Samsung is now faster, and there are companies working on systems that offer somewhat less battery life in exchange for ultra-quick charging that can take as little as five minutes. Plus, Apple should consider enabling wireless charging so its users can take advantage of charging pads being installed in places like Starbucks, without a special case.

Third, it’s time to banish, or seriously shrink, the large top and bottom bezels on the iPhone, and even the smaller side ones, so a large screen can be packed into a smaller phone body. Samsung did a good job with this on the S7, especially on the Edge model. The real selling point of the iPhone SE isn't the smaller screen, but the smaller body that's easier to hold. A larger screen in a smaller overall package would greatly benefit users.

IT'S TIME TO BANISH, OR SERIOUSLY SHRINK, THE TOP AND BOTTOM BEZELS

My fourth wish is for some sort of optical zoom that doesn’t require a heavy telescoping lens. The rumored dual-lens camera might provide this. Previous efforts at unobtrusive optical zooming by other phone makers haven’t been good, so Apple has a real opportunity here. The iPhone camera also needs to do better in low-light situations and to activate even more quickly — great speed is one reason Samsung’s new camera is better.

My fifth wish is for a hardier phone. What, you say, the iPhone is pretty sturdy! And its body is. But it’s never been water resistant, like Samsung phones. Its back is slippery. And its screen cracks pretty easily in common kinds of drops. That’s why the beautiful designs in Apple TV ads are rarely seen in real life because the phones are cloaked by ugly (if profitable) cases and gauzy screen protectors.

Sixth, it’s time to bundle adequate internal storage in the base model, without a price increase. Sixteen gigabytes just doesn't cut it anymore, even in a cloud-based world, and storage is cheap. The base iPhone should have 32 GB of storage, or even 64 — even if that cuts Apple’s margin a little.

Finally, as I’ve written before, Apple needs to up its game in phone software (also on the Mac, but that’s another column). Its Mail app needs to do a much better job of handling Gmail, which has a billion users, even if rival Google makes that hard. Users should be able to select their own favorite apps for core functions. Apple Maps and Siri both need much more work to be consistently reliable, and it’s time to make iMessage, which works well, cross-platform.

Your wish list may differ from mine. But I’m convinced that, for all its success, Apple needs to up its game as the premium smartphone market matures and rivals get better.

Source:theverge

The 5 best things about Apple’s new iPhone SE – and the 2 worst things

We knew practically everything there was to know heading into Monday’s big Apple event, but there were still a couple of surprises — and one of them was pretty huge. In 2015, Apple sold 30 million new iPhones that had 4-inch screens. 30 million! There are some smartphone vendors that don’t even ship 30 million total units in a year, and yet Apple’s old 4-inch iPhone models are still selling like hotcakes in many regions.

That stat alone makes the iPhone SE a bigger deal than many people thought it would be, but the phone’s appeal extends well beyond that. In fact, the new iPhone SE is a shockingly good phone, and we’ll run down the five best (and two worst) things about it right now.

Size

We now know beyond a shadow of a doubt that there are still plenty of people who want smaller iPhones.

The lower price is certainly a draw as well, but many people simply don’t want a bigger phone. The iPhone SE fits comfortably in just about any small or average-sized hand. It’s a tried and true design, and the display is still stunning despite being so compact.

Size is also what sets the new iPhone SE apart from the rest of Apple’s lineup as well as most Android phones. Even affordable mid-range Android handsets are fairly large these days.

Power

This is key. Early rumors suggested the iPhone SE might be a somewhat minor upgrade compared to the iPhone 5s it would replace. More recent reports leading up to the event stated it would have many of the same internal components of the iPhone 6s though, and that ended up being the case.

Put plainly, the iPhone SE is far too powerful and capable a smartphone to also be so affordable. Once released, it will be the best value in the world and people no longer have an excuse to buy a mid-range Android phone.

Camera

All those internal components from the iPhone 6s also include the camera from Apple’s latest 4.7-inch smartphone. It might not be the best camera in the world, but it’s pretty darn close and it’s now available in Apple’s most affordable new smartphone ever.

Users shopping in this price range don’t have a single other option that comes anywhere close to matching the camera on the iPhone SE. Not one.

iOS

The iPhone SE has something else that other comparably priced mid-range smartphones don’t have: iOS and the surrounding app ecosystem.

I really want to ditch my iPhone and switch to the Galaxy S7, but there’s no way I can leave iOS at this point. It’s just too good. The third-party apps are better, the overall user experience is better, and now it’s all available in a surprisingly powerful but compact package at a shockingly low price point.

And about that price point…

Price

$399? That’s an incredibly low price for such a solid new phone. The base price will be a bit higher in some markets, but Apple obviously did its homework and made sure to price the new iPhone SE within reach of the customers it hopes to address.

Worst things

Nothing is perfect and there are plenty of things people will gripe about on the iPhone SE. For me, two things in particular stand out.

First, Apple took all these great new components from the iPhone 6s but it kept the old Touch ID sensor from iPhone 5s. The company built such a phenomenal overall experience with the SE, and having the lightning-fast new Touch ID scanner would have really helped to keep everything on that high level. The sensor from the iPhone 5s is still faster than some other options and Apple likely tried to cut costs here, but it won’t deliver the same great experience as the iPhone 6s.

And lastly, the design.

The iPhone 5 was a great phone in 2012, and the iPhone 5s has been doing well for the past few years since its introduction in 2013. But wouldn’t Apple have attracted even more new buyers if the SE featured a fresh new design?

Sticking with the iPhone 5’s design makes sense in some ways and it certainly helped Apple keep its R&D and production costs low, but it will definitely be disappointing to some potential customers. In fact, it might be the biggest mistake Apple make with the iPhone SE.

Source:bgr

Apple’s new iPhone SE unlikely to make a splash in Asia despite low price

Apple’s newest addition to the iPhone family may be its cheapest phone yet at $399, but the four-inch iPhone SE isn’t likely to move the needle in emerging markets, where the lion’s share of growth in the handset industry lies.

A report from Gartner found that global smartphone sales have reached their slowest growth rate since 2008 as smartphone saturation sets in, particularly in Western markets. That general slowdown, which has been impacted by China, has sent many phone companies in search of growth potential in nascent markets like India, Southeast Asia and Latin America — regions were consumers are particularly price sensitive but smartphone volumes are rising.

Apple has faced many calls from investors and industry watchers to release a more wallet-friendly device to capture new users in such growth markets, but the iPhone SE is not that phone. Apple is never likely to move into the mass market bracket of places like India, where the majority of handset volume is sub-$100, but the new release does offer something new.

The iPhone SE marries the innards of Apple’s top-of-the-range iPhone 6S, including the same 12-megapixel camera and 4K video capture, with a four-inch form factor at snip of the $549 starting price of the 6S.

That’s unlikely to make a dent in China, where the market has long moved to larger, “phablet”-sized devices which are preferred for video, entertainment and other such activities. Apple’s previous stab at a mid-range phone — the ill-fated iPhone 5c — didn’t go down well in China where it was perceived as cheap. The iPhone SE has evoked a similar reaction in China, where users of microblogging site Weibo have christened it ‘The Red iPhone,’ in homage to Xiaomi’s Redmi sub-$100 affordable range, the Wall Street Journal reported.

An iPhone For India?

The iPhone SE may not satisfy mainstream tastes in China, but it may have more luck in India.
At the iPhone SE launch event yesterday Apple revealed that it sold 30 million iPhone 5s units last year alone, and the device — first launched in 2013 and clearly the model for the iPhone SE — performed particular well in India.

“When Apple lowered the iPhone 5s price in Q4 2014 to nearly $300 [from an initial $500], [its] contribution [to the total number of iPhone sales in India] went up from single digits to nearly 43 percent,” Tarun Pathak, an analyst at Counterpoint Research, told TechCrunch in an interview.

That rise in demand showed that Indian consumers are willing “to lock themselves into the Apple ecosystem” even if it involved buying a two-year-old phone, Pathak added.

Putting more advanced technology into that same form factor at a similarly low price could offer the best of all worlds, but Pathak isn’t quite so bullish on the iPhone SE. That’s because the big problem for Apple is price. The iPhone SE that is billed as starting at $399 will sell from around $599 in India.

Higher pricing for Apple products isn’t new in India. Thanks to taxes and other fees, India was the most expensive country to buy an iPhone 6S and iPhone 6S plus last year. Apple, which sells in India via channel partners since it isn’t permitted to run its own retail business in the country, subsequently cut costs, but, in a price sensitive market with much competition, the markup may cut into the phone’s potential.

Heaping On Costs

A highly specced iPhone at $300 may be a snip, but once a device is priced around $500 it requires a buyer with a certain level of spending power. Inevitably, at $500, that person has the capacity to spend a little more and, since many in Asia are moving towards larger devices, that means less of a need to compromise screen size for price
.
Indeed, Apple’s own portfolio could provide competition to its new phone.

“Because the price of the iPhone 6 [and iPhone 6 plus] already dropped in India, Apple is directly competing with its own phone which might be more appealing to consumers,” IDCanalyst Kiranjeet Kaur told TechCrunch, referencing the fact that, like China, Indian consumers are increasingly interested in larger screen iPhones.

The iPhone SE compared to the iPhone 6S plus

The iPhone 6 retails at upwards of $800 brand new in India, that’s not a lot more, while a pre-used model could cost hundreds of dollars less. Counterpoint’s Pathak said Apple is applying for a license to sell the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 plus refurbished in India, an eventuality that could see the devices retail from stores for around the same price that the iPhone SE currently occupies in India. (Apple has also applied for its own retail stores in India, which would give it greater price control.)

When faced with the choice of a larger phone for the same price as the iPhone SE, analysts believe aspirational consumers may choose the latter. Or, at least, that there is a decision will impact Apple’s new phone.

“In emerging countries, we are not very convinced that [the iPhone SE] will generate volume,” Pathak said. His firm, Counterpoint Research, estimates that Apple has around 4.5 million active iPhones in India, that’s nearly 15 times lower than its userbase in China and just a fraction of India’s billion-plus population.

“It may be a short growth spurt not a long-term one,” IDC’s Kaur said, slightly more optimistically of the new iPhone. “But I don’t believe it will create a new segment for Apple” in emerging markets.

There is some cause for optimism though, as part of Apple’s wider efforts.

Counterpoint’s Pathak is of the belief that the new device, while unlikely to be universally appealing, may entice some new price-conscious users to Apple.

“People in India are aspirational. Those locked into the ecosystem via a low price device may upgrade later. That’s an important market for Apple. In two, three or four years, the same young population will have increased affordability,” he said.

Western Market Potential

The device is likely to perform better in Western countries, where fewer consumers desire large screened phones and many have held on to the iPhone 5s in the face of newer product releases from Apple. The iPhone SE would give them a taste of Apple’s newest technology — such as Touch ID — without forcing them to adopt a new form factor.

But price is unlikely to be a key motivator in markets like the U.S., where consumers typically choose either high-end premium devices or budget phones. The move away from fully subsidized devices could play in the iPhone SE’s favor but, then again, U.S. consumers are adopting monthly payment plans for their phones which enables them to buy more expensive flagship devices as they do with contract deals.

Just banking primarily on small phone lovers in the West might not equate to volume either. Consumer Intelligence Research told Recode that it expects Apple to sell fewer than six million iPhone SE units in its first year, with the company’s high-end offerings likely to be more appealing to consumers.

Source:techcrunch

Apple’s Got Millions of Reasons to Make a Smaller iPhone

AFTER WEEKS OF rumors, no one was surprised when Applerevealed its latest iPhone. The 4-inch iPhone SE is essentially an iPhone 5s on the outside but with the more advanced guts of the iPhone 6S on the inside. What is surprising is that, after going all-in on bigger phones, Apple decided to go smaller again at all.

Turns out, Apple has plenty of good reasons for pushing a smaller phone. Not least among those reasons: a lot of people still want to buy them. At a time when sales growth for the iPhone is leveling off, Apple looks like it’s aiming to squeeze as many sales out of the market for its phones as possible.

During yesterday’s keynote announcing the new phone, Apple vice president Greg Joswiak said that the companysold more than 30 million 4-inch iPhones last year. That may sound like a lot, but 30 million 4-inch iPhones out of 231 million total iPhones sold by the end of Apple’s 2015 fiscal year only amounts to about 13 percent. And analysts are predicting that annual sales of the iPhone SE could come in even lower—closer to 10 million to 15 million. That’s not exactly an optimistic projection, considering Apple has still never reported a decline in iPhone sales.

A set of iPhone SE handsets are seen on display during a media event at Apple headquarters in Cupertino, California on March 21, 2016. JOSH EDELSON/AFP/GETTY IMAGES

 But Apple has lately become much more realistic about nearing the end of its era of certainty—when the company could feel absolutely confident that iPhone sales would grow quarter to quarter. The company revised its guidance for iPhones downwards for the first time this upcoming quarter, saying it expected sales by the end of March to fall to between $50 and $53 billion, lower than the $55.5 billion expected by Wall Street analysts. The introduction of the iPhone SE could be a smart way to help tide Apple over until the rumored announcement of a new flagship iPhone 7 in 2017. In other words, the iPhone SE is all about diversifying Apple’s existing product line—and why not choose diversify its most mindblowingly successful product of all?

Premium Yet Affordable

To be sure, Apple has explored a similar path in the past. When the budget-minded iPhone 5c was introduced in the fall of 2013, Apple’s aim was to secure a foothold in the Chinese market, where cheap and locally made Android phones, especially from homegrown manufacturers such as Xiaomi and Huawei, were soaring in popularity. But sales of the iPhone 5c lagged behind the iPhone 5s as Chinese consumers sought out the pricier model that also carried premium cachet. After the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus were a smash hit in the country, any remaining doubts of what kind of phones China wanted from Apple seemed to be erased.

But Apple’s strategy with the iPhone SE looks markedly different. “The iPhone 5c slapped on a plastic exterior that telegraphed cheapness,” says Mark Hibben, a contributor to equity research service Seeking Alpha. By contrast, the iPhone SE’s anodized aluminum case, which mimics the color and styling of more expensive models, doesn’t send the same message, Hibben says. “I think it has the right feature set to be an acceptable iPhone, while still being affordable to manufacture, and affordably priced as a result.”

This mix of premium yet affordable—the iPhone SE costs $399 without a contract, or comes free with a two-year contract—should help Apple tap into new segments of the market that it hasn’t yet reached. No, $400 off-contract isn’t dirt cheap; the average price for an Android smartphone was about $215 by the end of last year, according to Bloomberg.

But Ryan Reith, an analyst for market research firm IDC, says the iPhone SE will still likely appeal to a wide range of buyers, from price-sensitive consumers in Apple’s more mature markets, such as North America and Europe, to higher-end shoppers in emerging markets such as India. The idea, as Apple itself said during yesterday’s keynote, is to make a phone appealing enough so that those who have never tried the iPhone before finally make the jump into Apple’s world.

Supply Chain Lessons

Hibben says the iPhone 5c may have created another problem for Apple on the backend—namely, working with a different material. The company would have had to adjust its supply chain to include an iPhone model with a plastic exterior, which may have eaten into the savings it might otherwise have enjoyed from using a cheaper material. While engineering the more expensive 5s may have cost Apple more to begin with, it now has the knowhow to produce that design efficiently at scale.

Kyle Wiens, CEO of iFixIt, agrees, pointing out that at one time, Taiwanese manufacturing company Foxconn had declared the iPhone 5 to be “the most difficult device” it had ever made. That’s not the case anymore. “It’s always going to be easier for Apple to use existing supply chains,” Wiens said. “By repurposing and reusing many components from the 5s, Apple is certainly achieving cost savings.”

No, the iPhone SE won’t cure Apple’s slowing iPhone sales growth. That will take something more dramatic—and probably bigger. But at this point in Apple’s existence, even incremental growth is still meaningful. Apple may not sell all the world’s smartphones, but it makes almost all the profits. And the iPhone SE is one more way it can extract money from a market that still craves something smaller and less expensive. “This isn’t about market share, ultimately,” says Hibben. “This is about reaping most of the industry’s profits—and I don’t think that’s going to change for Apple anytime soon.”

Source: wired