Apple iPhone SE Available on Apple Store Again • Hacker News Board

Re: Apple iPhone SE Available on Apple Store Again

#281

Post by zurn » Mon, Mar 25, 2019, 11:10 AM UTC

joecool1029 wrote: post #118

metildaa wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The Nokia 6 was released back in January 2017 and is still seeing major OS upgrades (most recently to Android 9 Pie). I would expect a larger, much higher volume vendor like Samsung to do more than security patches for older phones considering that a smaller player like Nokia can keep up. It isn't a herculean task! Pretty sure my next device will be a Nokia or iPhone due to the long term software support.

>Pretty sure my next device will be a Nokia or iPhone due to the long term software support. Wouldn't rule out Motorola (Lenovo) as well. They are the only manufacturer selling parts for their phones directly, have models in the android one line, and offer bootloader unlock (so you could move to a custom rom once they discontinue)

Motorola's software updates for their phones are quite bad, they lag when the phone is new and they stop completely way too soon.

For Android hobbyists the unlocked bootloader may be fun, but there is no low-maintainance (timely and reliable OTAs without wiping/reinstallnig, etc) OS option if you go that route.

Re: Apple iPhone SE Available on Apple Store Again

#282

Post by Ingon » Mon, Mar 25, 2019, 11:24 AM UTC

kanishkdudeja wrote: post #192

crooked-v wrote: post #158

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've crossed off all Macbooks from my mental map of future purchases until they fix the keyboard and either get rid of the Touch Bar or make it actually do something useful. If/when my current laptop dies, I have no idea what'd get instead. Probably some other machine with a non-terrible keyboard to turn into a Hackintosh.

The Lenovo Thinkpad X1 Carbon / Dell XPS line should keep you happy.

One thing which prevents me from choosing these is the screen form factor - I find 16:9 to be really uncomfortable for doing any kind of development work. MacBooks traditionally have 16:10, which is notably better. 3:2, as seen on MS/Huawei, is amazing, but their linux support is... flaky.

Re: Apple iPhone SE Available on Apple Store Again

#283

Post by gambiting » Mon, Mar 25, 2019, 11:27 AM UTC

AnthonyMouse wrote: post #159

dijit wrote: post #124

I’m going to add to the dogpile here and add: I am really not sure how I can vote with my wallet more than I currently do. I had a 5S; upgraded to a 6S and spent a year with it, but I really hated the size of the phone and realised that small phones were entirely gone by the end of my time with the 6S. I tried Android for a while but it was Samsung’s Android and was not for me, I was frustrated and annoyed after ever…

Selling a new small phone is a market problem for Apple. The form factor inherently makes it less expensive to manufacture. Bigger screens cost more etc. Which creates a pricing problem for them. If they price it like a small phone (i.e. lower price) they cannibalize sales of larger phones with higher total margins, and lose money. If they price it with the same total margin as the larger phones, it'd still be the lo…

>>> The form factor inherently makes it less expensive to manufacture. Bigger screens cost more etc. Which creates a pricing problem for them.

I'm not sure I agree with this at all. Traditionally smaller laptops cost more than larger ones, even for an identical or inferior spec(with the assumption that making them smaller takes more engineering to cram everything in). Don't see why this logic wouldn't apply here.

Re: Apple iPhone SE Available on Apple Store Again

#284

Post by gambiting » Mon, Mar 25, 2019, 11:30 AM UTC

kanishkdudeja wrote: post #192

crooked-v wrote: post #158

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've crossed off all Macbooks from my mental map of future purchases until they fix the keyboard and either get rid of the Touch Bar or make it actually do something useful. If/when my current laptop dies, I have no idea what'd get instead. Probably some other machine with a non-terrible keyboard to turn into a Hackintosh.

The Lenovo Thinkpad X1 Carbon / Dell XPS line should keep you happy.

I considered both, and ended up buying a Razer Blade Stealth 13 - it's literally a black macbook that happens to run windows. The quality is definitely on par if not better(mhmmmm mat screen).

Re: Apple iPhone SE Available on Apple Store Again

#285

Post by jillesvangurp » Mon, Mar 25, 2019, 11:33 AM UTC

hrktb wrote: post #225

AnthonyMouse wrote: post #159

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Selling a new small phone is a market problem for Apple. The form factor inherently makes it less expensive to manufacture. Bigger screens cost more etc. Which creates a pricing problem for them. If they price it like a small phone (i.e. lower price) they cannibalize sales of larger phones with higher total margins, and lose money. If they price it with the same total margin as the larger phones, it'd still be the lo…

> The form factor inherently makes it less expensive to manufacture. Bigger screens cost more etc. Which creates a pricing problem for them. In this perspective it's interesting how their current "lower tier" phone, the Xr, is priced lower than the Xs for instance, but got the bigger screen and better battery. It gives them an opening for marketing smaller phones as more niche models with eventually more engineering…

It's not a cost problem but a positioning problem. I just bought a Nokia 7 plus which is about the same size of an iphone 6 plus for 295 Euros. Big does not have to be expensive. And it's an 8 core phone. It's plenty fast. I'm pretty sure Apple is doing fine in terms of cost.

The real problem for Apple is differentiating their more expensive phones when the most significant thing for end users is the screen size and the camera. Take one of those away and there's not much left to charge for. Their current model is based on artificially inflated prices for big screens. For whatever reason there's a segment of users that happily hand over the cash for what is an overpriced phone. However, it lost them the entry segment; which is why they keep bringing back the 5S/SE formfactor. Without this, they bleed users even as revenue goes up because of the increased ASP.

If they get the bigger 6/7/8 formfactor to the same price, they are cannibalizing their high end range because the difference between that and their premium XR range is mostly not that big. Worse, you can't really tell them apart easily because they have the same design. This is made worse by people using iphone covers. Status and vanity are big reasons for owning an iphone but when they all look the same, you might as well get the cheaper one.

Re: Apple iPhone SE Available on Apple Store Again

#286

Post by lowercased » Mon, Mar 25, 2019, 11:35 AM UTC

I was just about to get a new iphone se from ebay. I need one compatible with AT&T, and can't for the life of me tell which one of the ones available would work for me. They show 'verizon' and 't-mobile' - which one of these would also work with AT&T network?

Re: Apple iPhone SE Available on Apple Store Again

#287

Post by etimberg » Mon, Mar 25, 2019, 11:35 AM UTC

kinkrtyavimoodh wrote: post #151

dijit wrote: post #124

I’m going to add to the dogpile here and add: I am really not sure how I can vote with my wallet more than I currently do. I had a 5S; upgraded to a 6S and spent a year with it, but I really hated the size of the phone and realised that small phones were entirely gone by the end of my time with the 6S. I tried Android for a while but it was Samsung’s Android and was not for me, I was frustrated and annoyed after ever…

The same is going to happen for Apple's "Professional" Macbooks. 2015 I think was the last year they made a decent Macbook? Since then it's been the touch bar (annoying but functional but potentially useful) and an absolute shit-show of a keyboard.

I just bought a ThinkPad T480 to replace my 2011 MBP that had been upgraded over the years. I couldn't justify spending $3k on a laptop with such a crappy keyboard.

Re: Apple iPhone SE Available on Apple Store Again

#288

Post by mlejva » Mon, Mar 25, 2019, 11:42 AM UTC

Interesting to see so many people here prefer smaller phones over big ones.

I was using iPhone 5, 5S, and SE for over 6 years. This Christmas I switched to XR and I couldn't be happier. I feel like there are so many productivity things I can do on my phone that were annoying before. I use notes, emails, and even Google Spreadsheets much more. I started using the Kindle app for reading and I actually like it. Sometimes, I even prefer it over Kindle (mostly because of what I can do with highlights right away).

The only downside is that a pocket on my favorite jeans isn't big enough. So the phone often has to go inside my backpack.

Re: Apple iPhone SE Available on Apple Store Again

#289

Post by uptown » Mon, Mar 25, 2019, 11:42 AM UTC

I’d be happy with an SE and modern cameras updates. Don’t need dual-lens or 3D face stuff but from generation to generation Apple makes great improvements to their camera hardware and software. It’d be a shame to be stuck with inferior optics for the sake of having a smaller phone size.

Re: Apple iPhone SE Available on Apple Store Again

#290

Post by chrisseaton » Mon, Mar 25, 2019, 11:43 AM UTC

ashelmire wrote: post #271

chrisseaton wrote: post #262

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why does it have to be cheaper or have more expensive components? If people value the smaller form factor as they say why aren’t they willing to pay the same as or even more than a larger phone to get it?

Nobody likes to feel like a fool. Paying $1000 bucks for a phone when you can get a similar phone from a competitor for $100 makes you feel like a fool.

If it’s the product you want and the price is worth it to you then why feel a fool?

If the similar phone did what you want then you’d buy that instead. The extra $900 is either worth it for the missing feature or not.

Nobody’s a fool in this situation.