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Apple resumes selling iPhone SE at lower $249 price on its clearance store

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Re: Apple resumes selling iPhone SE at lower $249 price on its clearance store

#241

Post by rado »

vinay_ys wrote: post #222
lostlogin wrote: post #77

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not only is this something I’d love, it’s also a comment that gets a lot of upvotes on Hackers News every time it’s made. Do HN readers have an unusual like for ‘small’ phones or is it just an unserved market?

It's because everyone here has a bigger screen (laptop) and hence wants a smaller screen phone. For vast majority of the world, phone is the only screen they own. And hence they want bigger screen.

Makes sense, but the problem is AAPL gives us no choice. It’s only big, bigger, huge.

Re: Apple resumes selling iPhone SE at lower $249 price on its clearance store

#242

Post by mdorazio »

thedays wrote: post #145
twblalock wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, the demand really is that low. People who want a smaller phone in 2019 are a very small yet very vocal minority. If there was a large untapped market for smaller phones, then the limited number of small phones on the market would be selling a lot better than they actually are. Somebody would notice and start making more of them. Like phones with physical keyboards, phones with small screens have become a niche p…

> Yes, the demand really is that low. Do you have any evidence for that? There are virtually no, modern, reasonably-specced and reasonably priced phones with smaller screens available currently, so it's no wonder they're not selling. In the Android world, there's only a couple of low-end Nokia phones (Nokia 1 - 4.5" screen and Nokia 3 - 5.2" screen), low-end Samsungs like the Galaxy J3 and the high-end and expensive…

In 2016, 4 inch Apple phones accounted for only 16% of total iPhone sales (see bottom of [1]). The market clearly shifted to favor bigger screens. Personally, I love the SE form factor and will only begrudgingly get a bigger phone when this one dies, but every time someone sees it they inevitably comment to the effect of "why is your phone so small?" The general market expectation is now that bigger = better, unfortunately.

[1] https://www.businessinsider.com/apple-iphone-se-review-retro...

Re: Apple resumes selling iPhone SE at lower $249 price on its clearance store

#243

Post by d--b »

whitepoplar wrote: post #81
lostlogin wrote: post #77

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not only is this something I’d love, it’s also a comment that gets a lot of upvotes on Hackers News every time it’s made. Do HN readers have an unusual like for ‘small’ phones or is it just an unserved market?

I like small phones because I feel that they're a better tradeoff between form + functionality. I want a premium phone, and I'm willing to pay a lot for it, but I also want to spend as little time on my phone as possible. A smaller screen gives me all the benefit while being easy to carry and handle, and the small screen keeps me from using it too much. I also happen to think small screens feel more elegant. The prom…

Totally agree. HNers do understand the tradeoffs better.

It's like when they started making laptop screen reflective. All my non-tech relatives were saying: "wow that screen is super nice" while I was thinking: "holy crap, the matte screen is disappearing, how I am going to work?"

Re: Apple resumes selling iPhone SE at lower $249 price on its clearance store

#244

Post by etatoby »

dmortin wrote: post #230
vinay_ys wrote: post #222

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's because everyone here has a bigger screen (laptop) and hence wants a smaller screen phone. For vast majority of the world, phone is the only screen they own. And hence they want bigger screen.

I doubt the majority of people have only a phone. Unless it's a poor 3rd world country, most people have some kind of computer at home, or at least a tablet. There's a difference between having a mobile device with you in the city and using a device comfortable at home where most people prefer a bigger screen.

You would be surprised. Even if you control for income (rather than blanket exclude "3rd world countries") I bet the majority of the population, across all age groups, could not proficiently use a traditional computer, let alone own one. While more and more are getting used to smartphones every day.

Re: Apple resumes selling iPhone SE at lower $249 price on its clearance store

#245

Post by nkristoffersen »

d--b wrote: post #243
whitepoplar wrote: post #81

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I like small phones because I feel that they're a better tradeoff between form + functionality. I want a premium phone, and I'm willing to pay a lot for it, but I also want to spend as little time on my phone as possible. A smaller screen gives me all the benefit while being easy to carry and handle, and the small screen keeps me from using it too much. I also happen to think small screens feel more elegant. The prom…

Totally agree. HNers do understand the tradeoffs better. It's like when they started making laptop screen reflective. All my non-tech relatives were saying: "wow that screen is super nice" while I was thinking: "holy crap, the matte screen is disappearing, how I am going to work?"

Although I would argue you should not want the matte screen. They get washed out from ambient light and thus have poorer contrast than reflective screens that can reject ambient light (at proper angles).

Re: Apple resumes selling iPhone SE at lower $249 price on its clearance store

#246

Post by stedaniels »

linuxftw wrote: post #74
kbrackbill wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do you have any insight as to why? I'm part of that minority and small phones seem better in so many ways. My hands are relatively big I think, but even with "small" phones now I can barely use them with one hand. The smaller screen uses less battery. Larger phones don't fit in pockets very well and result in a spot that wears through on my jeans where the corner of the phone pokes out from my pocket. I'm really stru…

Clothing should have a certain amount of utility, IMO. Perhaps it's the jeans that need to be updated. I'm pretty happy with the size of my phone currently, not sure it qualifies as small or large. Largest phone I had was for work, Iphone 6+, that thing was unwieldy, essentially a tablet. I wouldn't own one that big personally.

You can't just keep making bigger pockets... Your legs and hips bend in ways that a phone can't.

Re: Apple resumes selling iPhone SE at lower $249 price on its clearance store

#247

Post by anongraddebt »

lsc wrote: post #182
lostlogin wrote: post #77

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not only is this something I’d love, it’s also a comment that gets a lot of upvotes on Hackers News every time it’s made. Do HN readers have an unusual like for ‘small’ phones or is it just an unserved market?

My theory is that big phones are best for single device users. Most of my social circle has a computer at home and at work, and they often carry a laptop or tablet. The phone, in that case, really is a mobile device, and especially if you are carrying around a bunch of other crap, a small phone is awful nice. My theory is that big phones dominate because a lot of people don't have reliable/maintained computers other…

Bought my first smartphone in college and with each upgrade felt the need to continue increasing the screen size. As screen size increased, I spent more time on my phone for both leisure and productivity. This roughly decade long experiment has resulted in an aversion to doing work on my laptop. For better or worse (most likely worse), my phone has become an extension of myself and performing tasks without it - or not having it on my person - feels unnatural, awkward, and discomforting.

The only consolation is that maybe I can better understand and relate to generation Z than my peers. Not much of a consolation.

-----

I spend ~6-7 hours each day on my phone. On weekends, this use increases. I am now averse even to work flows that are better suited for laptop use. I will use my too-big-to-use-with-one-hand phone for tasks that would take half the time on my laptop.

Re: Apple resumes selling iPhone SE at lower $249 price on its clearance store

#248

Post by PascLeRasc »

stanmancan wrote: post #71

The only thing that could get me to upgrade from my iPhone 7 would be a premium version of the iPhone SE. I want a smaller phone, not a bigger one, but I want updated specs and possibly an OLED screen.

I just went from an SE to an iPhone 8 and it feels like a downgrade in overall usability and design. The flat edges of the SE were so much nicer-feeling and easier to hold, and I never had an issue with the screen size. All I'd like is a slightly better camera in the SE, everything else is perfect IMO.

Re: Apple resumes selling iPhone SE at lower $249 price on its clearance store

#249

Post by dmortin »

etatoby wrote: post #244
dmortin wrote: post #230

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I doubt the majority of people have only a phone. Unless it's a poor 3rd world country, most people have some kind of computer at home, or at least a tablet. There's a difference between having a mobile device with you in the city and using a device comfortable at home where most people prefer a bigger screen.

You would be surprised. Even if you control for income (rather than blanket exclude "3rd world countries") I bet the majority of the population, across all age groups, could not proficiently use a traditional computer, let alone own one. While more and more are getting used to smartphones every day.

That's why I mentioned tablets too. I'm sure most people have a tablet at home for more comfortable browsing, video watching, etc.

Re: Apple resumes selling iPhone SE at lower $249 price on its clearance store

#250

Post by porphyrogene »

w-ll wrote: post #127
porphyrogene wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I bought a brand new SE a few months ago for $180. It was from a third party but Apple verified the serial as original and unused. It wasn't availability or pricing that kept them from anyone who wanted one, it was the lack of name-brand-new-thing validation.

Mind sharing were you ordered it from?

It was an Amazon third-party seller.
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