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

Re: Apple iPhone SE Available on Apple Store Again

#231

Post by richardknop » Mon, Mar 25, 2019, 9:00 AM UTC

Double_a_92 wrote: post #174

rrrazdan wrote: post #172

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's not just a keyboard preference issue for me. The reliability is shockingly appalling. I buy computers for my startup and it feels painful to buy a MBP seeing that 50% of newer MBPs that we bought had issues with their keyboard. On a professional machine, a visit to the service centre is time and money wasted. Also I travel a lot with my computer and just thinking about all the dongles that I will have to carry m…

Why would you waste precious start-up budget on overpriced hardware?

Probably because software engineers who themselves are expensive are used to developing on Mac OS.

Re: Apple iPhone SE Available on Apple Store Again

#232

Post by carlob » Mon, Mar 25, 2019, 9:01 AM UTC

Double_a_92 wrote: post #181

princeb wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

this is literally the ONLY modern smartphone at this size. miniaturization has become so costly that no major phone manufacturer is capable of doing it at scale.

I doubt it's capability, especially since smartphones used to be smaller in the past. Average people just don't want smaller phones. So they are a nice product, and manufactures don't want to take a risk.

> I doubt it's capability, especially since smartphones used to be smaller in the past.

whooosh

Re: Apple iPhone SE Available on Apple Store Again

#233

Post by simonh » Mon, Mar 25, 2019, 9:04 AM UTC

RubberbandSoul wrote: post #205

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…

That's a dangerous strategy considering that an iPhone is the "window" to their ecosystem: App store, Apple Pay, the iOS UX experience, etc. I know many people who love Apple's ecosystem but who won't pay through the nose for a "premium" phone that's way overpowered for their needs.

Then frankly they're not in the Apple target demographic. I know that sucks, but the iPhone is a gateway for customers who are willing to pay a premium for Apple products.

The real danger for Apple would be compromising with a budget model at the entry level. It would kill their value proposition on the whole rest of their line. The closest they get is previous-year models and refurbs.

Re: Apple iPhone SE Available on Apple Store Again

#234

Post by dewey » Mon, Mar 25, 2019, 9:08 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…

> 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.

But it's about the price not the actual "size", the Xs has a OLED screen vs the LED screen of the Xr which is way more expensive.

Re: Apple iPhone SE Available on Apple Store Again

#235

Post by feross » Mon, Mar 25, 2019, 9:20 AM UTC

ritz_labringue wrote: post #184

gnicholas wrote: post #166

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The keyboards seem to be getting better. I can’t stand my 2017 MBP, but the 2018 MBP is noticeably better, and the 2018 MBA (which was refreshed after) is noticeably better than that. My hope is that the next generation MBP continues this trend. As for the touchbar, I’m not so sanguine. I can get by on the base machine though, so probably I’ll just stick with that and avoid the TB that way.

The keyboard is fixed on the 2018 MBP

Definitely not fixed.

My 2018 MBP keyboard failed on me twice already. My friend’s has failed 4 times. A third friend has had no issues.

If you get a 2018 MBP, be prepared to take it in for replacement frequently.

Re: Apple iPhone SE Available on Apple Store Again

#236

Post by Cu3PO42 » Mon, Mar 25, 2019, 9:20 AM UTC

jakobegger wrote: post #194

yakkers wrote: post #93

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I always thought of it the other way around: eSIM for primary, while using the secondary physical SIM slot for using local SIM cards while travelling. Ideally either approach would work, it’d really depend on how mobile service providers around the world adopt eSIM.

In some countries it's very hard to get a local SIM card -- eg. in Germany a few years back (before EU limit on roaming fees) I struggled to get a prepaid SIM and activate it. You need to provide name and address to activate it, and they somehow check it, so they did not accept the address of the hotel... I guess that would be easier with eSIM, because you could buy a plan that's targeted at travellers (instead of lo…

The providers don't ask for that information because they want to, they do it because they have to by law. You'll have the exact same issue with eSIMs.

The carriers could still sell you a SIM and plan, but the administrative overhead for verifying the information of foreigners is probably deemed too large to still make these short term plans profitable by their metrics.

Re: Apple iPhone SE Available on Apple Store Again

#237

Post by nerdponx » Mon, Mar 25, 2019, 9:22 AM UTC

Double_a_92 wrote: post #181

princeb wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

this is literally the ONLY modern smartphone at this size. miniaturization has become so costly that no major phone manufacturer is capable of doing it at scale.

I doubt it's capability, especially since smartphones used to be smaller in the past. Average people just don't want smaller phones. So they are a nice product, and manufactures don't want to take a risk.

Average people just don't want smaller phones. So they are a nice product, and manufactures don't want to take a risk.

I don't believe this. It looks like supply and marketing pushing demand, like the SUV trend in the 00s.

Re: Apple iPhone SE Available on Apple Store Again

#238

Post by kristianc » Mon, Mar 25, 2019, 9:27 AM UTC

josteink wrote: post #227

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…

> About the only way it would make sense is to make it a premium product. What’s the problem with that? In my mind that’s exactly what the iPhone SE is: a premium phone in a small form factor. That’s exactly what I want. That’s literally the only thing I want in my next phone. Nothing Apple currently offers interests me at all. Every option they have, even the “small” options, are way too big. Some people seem to mis…

> About the only way it would make sense is to make it a premium product.

> What’s the problem with that?

In the next sentence he literally lays out what the problem with that would be. It's an engineering problem.

Re: Apple iPhone SE Available on Apple Store Again

#239

Post by cjblomqvist » Mon, Mar 25, 2019, 9:27 AM UTC

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…

I've commented in previous threads about this. To sum up: My advice is to look at Xperia Compact. It's Android with pretty small modifications from Sony (most you won't notice really, like a bunch of their pre-installed apps). It has awesome battery time, it's small and generally good. It's not top performance, but I doubt most people need that anymore. The only downside is you don't get a top camera (although an okay one - Sony is a camera company after all).

Re: Apple iPhone SE Available on Apple Store Again

#240

Post by josteink » Mon, Mar 25, 2019, 9:27 AM UTC

kristianc wrote: post #238

josteink wrote: post #227

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> About the only way it would make sense is to make it a premium product. What’s the problem with that? In my mind that’s exactly what the iPhone SE is: a premium phone in a small form factor. That’s exactly what I want. That’s literally the only thing I want in my next phone. Nothing Apple currently offers interests me at all. Every option they have, even the “small” options, are way too big. Some people seem to mis…

> About the only way it would make sense is to make it a premium product. > What’s the problem with that? In the next sentence he literally lays out what the problem with that would be. It's an engineering problem.

They solved that once before. They can do it again.