The iPhone SE used to be Apple’s smallest smartphone and was released in March 2016. It had the same size and design as the iPhone 5S, just with better specs and an improved camera.
So if it is the smallest screen, at only four inches in length, why should Apple be making a new version of it since their newest iPhones (iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max and iPhone XR) have bigger screens than the iPhone SE?
My reason for this is that the market for people who want a smartphone with a smaller screen is still there.
Just the other day, I was talking to an old friend on the phone who was in the market for a new iPhone after he had just broken the antenna in his iPhone 6S. He himself was not very tech savvy so he had me do his research for him. The immediate conclusion that we came to was that the smallest iPhone he could get was an iPhone 7.
My twin brother is a current iPhone SE user and has absolutely no complaints about the phone. He likes the fact that the phone is small and fits in all of his pockets with a hassle of getting it out. Additionally, the specs on the inside give him access to a great camera and allow him to make the occasional Apple Pay purchase (he is not obsessed with it as much as I am).
I even have another friend that has an iPhone SE, and again, although he does want to upgrade him iPhone, he does not want a huge smartphone in his pocket. He just wants something small to use Twitter, text people, call and browse the web.
Lastly, my own mother is still using the iPhone 5S, which was released all the way back in September 2013. It’s an old iPhone! However, for what she uses it for, which is mostly texting, calling and playing Candy Crush on, she has no complaints. She does not ask much out of it.
With all of that said, why has Apple not put resources and money towards making a new version of the iPhone SE that would be able to compete with other competitors on the market, and show that Apple still cares about people who want smaller smartphones?
I mean, their slogan for the iPhone SE was “A big step for the small” and I think that slogan still has meaning in today’s smartphone market.
Also, Apple is the same company that released another generation of the iPod Touch this year that is the same size as the iPhone SE, but with improved specs, proving that the tech behind it is there and that Apple can do it.
There have been rumors that Apple could be going at it again with a new iPhone SE, but whether or not that has any meaning to it remains to be seen.
If I were Apple, I’d release an updated version of the iPhone SE. Don’t bring Face ID, the notch or anything like that. Just treat the iPhone SE the same way that they treat the iPod Touch. It has a classic design to it and there is still a market of people who still want an iPhone like this.
I’d also like to see the iPhone SE be rebranded as the “iPhone Mini.” I think it makes more sense and also aligns with other products in Apple’s current product line, such as the iPad Mini and Mac Mini.
Just a thought…
