Close ad

It wasn't a surprise because everyone expected it Apple will introduce a four-inch phone on Monday. At first glance, it is nothing more than an internally improved iPhone 5S, but for Apple at the same time, the iPhone SE represents a rather large strategic change.

“Many, many users have been asking for this. And I think they're going to love it," Apple CEO Tim Cook said during the presentation of the new product. Although the ever-increasing popularity of phones with large displays is indisputable - Apple itself confirmed this with the "six" iPhones - there remains a circle of users who are loyal to four inches.

[su_pullquote align=”left”]A new iPhone has never been cheaper than it is now.[/su_pullquote]This is also confirmed by Apple's data. Last year alone, 30 million four-inch phones were sold, most of them iPhone 5S. As the last Mohican, it remained on offer among the larger models. Thirty million is not a lot of total numbers for Apple, but at the same time, it is not so little that it can easily ignore the tastes of its users.

Moreover, it is not just about the existing user base. Although many users were waiting for the new four-inch phone, even with outdated older iPhones in their hands, because they did not want a large display, the iPhone SE will definitely be an interesting product even for those who have not yet had anything to do with Apple or its phones. Three points appear to be absolutely essential when looking at the iPhone SE.

Aggressive price

The new iPhone has never been cheaper than it is now (even the plastic 5C, referred to as more accessible model, was more expensive). The iPhone SE can be purchased for as little as 12 crowns, so (unusually for a Californian company) the favorable price is definitely not just because the new phone has smaller dimensions or is perhaps not as well made (which it is). In short, Apple has decided that it wants to offer a cheaper iPhone, despite the certainly lower margin.

For many customers, the four-inch models continue to represent the gateway to the world of iPhones, and thus to the entire Apple ecosystem. Therefore, after more than two years, Apple has both revived the smaller phone and set a very aggressive price.

At the mentioned less than 13 thousand, considering whether to buy a (first) iPhone is much easier than when you follow an offer where the cheapest new phone costs over twenty thousand. Even the iPhone 5S, even though it is over two years old, was not sold here cheaper than the current iPhone SE.

Apple has so far avoided the price war, which is waged especially by its competitors in the lower classes, but it too now wants to win new users thanks to a more affordable phone. The Californian giant realizes that although large displays are currently the trend, in key growing markets such as China or India, even smaller phones still have value. And they look even more at the price.

A smaller phone without compromises

However, the lower price does not represent any compromises this time. Although Apple is going after a larger market share through a lower price, but at the same time with the best equipment. The new four-inch iPhone was left with the proven look of the years, except for small details, and the best components that Apple has were inserted into the popular chassis.

In terms of performance, the iPhone SE is on par with the new iPhone 6S, which, however, retains the distinctive look and design of the flagships. Which they undoubtedly still are.

It's a win-win situation for Apple. It can now offer a smaller phone without users having to buy it knowing that they will lose some features due to the requirement of a four-inch display (as they have done so far), and despite the latest technology, it is significantly cheaper.

There is no competition

In addition, by releasing a small but very powerful phone, Apple can set a new trend. Nobody but Apple offers a smartphone like the iPhone SE. Other companies are far from putting their best components into more affordable models and, especially in recent years, have completely abandoned the small phone segment.

After all, the move to larger displays was also copied by Apple. Already in 2014, he presented only large iPhones, and it seemed that he resented the once popular four inches. Unlike the others, however, Tim Cook and his colleagues have now concluded that there is still room for smaller phones.

If you want to buy a small phone in 2016, get the best guts in it, and still not pay that much money for it, there aren't many options other than the iPhone SE. You will always have to reduce some of your demands - and it will certainly be either the display's diagonal or the processor's performance or perhaps the camera's quality. Apple decided to try to offer such an experience without compromise.

The Californian giant is now entering an unknown market for it, which may easily cause us to see smaller versions of, for example, the Galaxy S7 from Samsung in the future. It all depends on demand, but Apple seems confident that interest in small phones is still there in 2016.

The iPhone SE is definitely not supposed to bring immediate billions of profits, it is more of a longer-term project, but in the end it may turn out to be a very important element of the entire offer.

.