Snippet: Apple’s new $399 iPhone SE Couldn’t Have Come at a Worse Time ☇

Bryan Clark for The Next Web:

The launch wasn’t the spectacle we’re all used to. Apple quietly dropped the news to a handful of news outlets and then added a new page to the website. There were no black turtlenecks, no talks about a lack of diversity on stage, and no beautiful teasers meant to showcase its quality design. Oh, and one more thing… there was no “one more thing.” […]

$399 for a polished version of a four-year-old smartphone is worthy of a collective meh. Still, it’s a nice device at an even nicer price point. It features the same chip, the A13 Bionic, as the more expensive iPhone 11. It’s got a Retina screen — 4.7 inches of it, to be exact. It has what Apple is claiming is the best single lens camera system in a smartphone. It even has some snazzy new color options.[…]

But it’s not just a pandemic or the economy that Apple has to worry about. People just aren’t that crazy about new smartphones anymore. Americans are, on average, holding on to their older devices for three years. The iPhone, along with other smartphones, has lost some of its luster. We’re simply less inclined to drop $1,000 on the latest and greatest when our trusty two-year-old model works just fine.

This is one of the many iPhone SE articles that misses the point of the device. I’d venture to guess that the same kind of articles were also written four years ago. If you’re complaining about the iPhone SE feeling old or bland or not that exciting, it’s not for you.

This is the iPhone that is probably going to be replacing an actual four-year-old iPhone and give someone top-of-the-line processing power at a bottom-of-the-line price. On paper, it’s a good phone for the price, especially for people who don’t care about phones. It will also likely sit at that spot, maybe lowering in price, for years.

Is releasing a new phone in the middle of a pandemic a bad idea? Who knows, but Apple didn’t do this as a reaction to anything—it was just time and made sense to get rid of the 8/8 Plus now, rather than in September or October. The timing and feel were exactly like the original SE launch. There’s probably going to be some people that will really appreciate being able to upgrade now and my money is on that the new SE will be just like its predecessor—quality hardware at an affordable price. It will do that job perfectly for Apple.