TechCentralTechCentral
    Facebook Twitter YouTube LinkedIn
    Facebook Twitter LinkedIn YouTube
    TechCentral TechCentral
    NEWSLETTER
    • News

      Alviva shares leap higher on R3-billion take-private offer

      30 June 2022

      Datatec to sell Analysys Mason for as much as R4.1-billion

      30 June 2022

      Futuregrowth launches start-up fund, targets R600-million raise

      30 June 2022

      Eskom is killing the rand

      30 June 2022

      Eskom ramps up load shedding as crisis deepens

      30 June 2022
    • World

      Graphics card prices plummet as crypto demand dries up

      30 June 2022

      Bitcoin just had its worst quarter in a decade

      30 June 2022

      Samsung beats TSMC to 3nm chip production

      30 June 2022

      Napster plots crypto comeback

      29 June 2022

      Pictures: Chinese spacecraft acquires images of entire planet of Mars

      29 June 2022
    • In-depth

      The NFT party is over

      30 June 2022

      The great crypto crash: the fallout, and what happens next

      22 June 2022

      Goodbye, Internet Explorer – you really won’t be missed

      19 June 2022

      Oracle’s database dominance threatened by rise of cloud-first rivals

      13 June 2022

      Everything Apple announced at WWDC – in less than 500 words

      7 June 2022
    • Podcasts

      How your organisation can triage its information security risk

      22 June 2022

      Everything PC S01E06 – ‘Apple Silicon’

      15 June 2022

      The youth might just save us

      15 June 2022

      Everything PC S01E05 – ‘Nvidia: The Green Goblin’

      8 June 2022

      Everything PC S01E04 – ‘The story of Intel – part 2’

      1 June 2022
    • Opinion

      Has South Africa’s advertising industry lost its way?

      21 June 2022

      Rob Lith: What Icasa’s spectrum auction means for SA companies

      13 June 2022

      A proposed solution to crypto’s stablecoin problem

      19 May 2022

      From spectrum to roads, why fixing SA’s problems is an uphill battle

      19 April 2022

      How AI is being deployed in the fight against cybercriminals

      8 April 2022
    • Company Hubs
      • 1-grid
      • Altron Document Solutions
      • Amplitude
      • Atvance Intellect
      • Axiz
      • BOATech
      • CallMiner
      • Digital Generation
      • E4
      • ESET
      • Euphoria Telecom
      • IBM
      • Kyocera Document Solutions
      • Microsoft
      • Nutanix
      • One Trust
      • Pinnacle
      • Skybox Security
      • SkyWire
      • Tarsus on Demand
      • Videri Digital
      • Zendesk
    • Sections
      • Banking
      • Broadcasting and Media
      • Cloud computing
      • Consumer electronics
      • Cryptocurrencies
      • Education and skills
      • Energy
      • Fintech
      • Information security
      • Internet and connectivity
      • Internet of Things
      • Investment
      • IT services
      • Motoring and transport
      • Public sector
      • Science
      • Social media
      • Talent and leadership
      • Telecoms
    • Advertise
    TechCentralTechCentral
    Home»Sections»Consumer electronics»New iPhone SE is a letdown from a company that can do better

    New iPhone SE is a letdown from a company that can do better

    Consumer electronics By Tae Kim9 March 2022
    Facebook Twitter LinkedIn WhatsApp Telegram Email
    Apple’s new iPhone SE

    When Steve Jobs led Apple, the company was famous for making products that would impress and even “delight” its customers. The uninspiring iPhone SE unveiled on Tuesday shows how far Apple has strayed from that standard.

    That’s unfortunate, because the world’s richest technology giant certainly has the means to do better.

    The Apple iPhone SE, introduced in its current form in 2020, was designed to appeal to budget-minded consumers who might otherwise gravitate to competitors such as the Google Pixel. At US$399, the SE cost around half the more popular flagship models. But for that price, consumers got a smaller screen and a weaker camera.

    The phone has a similar design to its predecessor, and Apple raised the price to $429

    On Tuesday, Apple revealed its newest update to the phone, one of several new and upgraded devices rolled out at a product event. The new SE features a faster processor and higher-speed 5G wireless capability instead of the 4G used on the prior model, among other incremental improvements. But that’s about it. The phone has a similar design to its predecessor, and Apple raised the price to $429.

    A snappier experience from new chips and better wireless network access are welcome. But most SE users will barely notice the change. Nearly all the commonly used mobile apps, including TikTok, Instagram and YouTube, work nearly as well on 4G networks, and there aren’t yet any killer apps that require the faster speeds.

    Overall, the SE will be a letdown for Apple customers who have been waiting for a while for an updated affordable iPhone. The design, based on a five-year-old configuration, feels stale. It’s clear that Apple isn’t prioritising customers at the lower end of the market, which is disappointing for a company with an annual R&D budget of $22-billion.

    More aggressive

    Apple could have been more aggressive with the SE either by sharpening the design, improving the screen or camera, or even cutting the price. iPhones account for just 28% of the global smartphone market, compared to 71% for Android-based phones, according to StatCounter. A superior SE phone could have made significant inroads with the competition.

    Why did Apple opt to do so little with the new SE? The company presumably expects its sticky ecosystem of software and services, including iMessage, enhanced security and reliable customer service, to keep users in the Apple fold.

    Apple also might be worried that a dramatically improved iPhone SE would eat into demand for the more expensive iPhone 13 and iPhone 13 Pro Max. Those two models cost about $800 and $1 100, respectively, for the base phones. Wall Street analysts estimate that the SE will account for only around 30 million out of the annual 245 million iPhones expected to ship this year.

    The majority of iPhone users are likely to keep buying premium models no matter what Apple does with the SE

    But Apple probably wasn’t in much danger of cannibalising its higher-end phones. The majority of iPhone users are likely to keep buying premium models no matter what Apple does with the SE. Meanwhile, Apple customers wanting an affordable, full-featured phone either have to put up with the lack of innovation or take their money elsewhere. And some might: mid-price competitors such as the $599 Google Pixel 6, which has a considerably better camera system and vibrant OLED display, stand to benefit from Apple’s complacency around the SE.

    Apple has decided that when it comes to the affordable segment of the market, minor upgrades will suffice. That’s quite a comedown for a company once known for making every detail count.  — (c) 2022 Bloomberg LP

    Apple Google iPhone SE
    Share. Facebook Twitter LinkedIn WhatsApp Telegram Email
    Previous ArticleManage your life better with Huawei Assistant.Today
    Next Article Mac Studio: Apple’s beastly new desktop

    Related Posts

    Alviva shares leap higher on R3-billion take-private offer

    30 June 2022

    Datatec to sell Analysys Mason for as much as R4.1-billion

    30 June 2022

    Futuregrowth launches start-up fund, targets R600-million raise

    30 June 2022
    Add A Comment

    Comments are closed.

    Promoted

    Billetterie simplifies interactions between law firms and clients

    30 June 2022

    Think herding cats is tricky? Try herding a cloud

    29 June 2022

    How your business can help hybrid workers effectively

    28 June 2022
    Opinion

    Has South Africa’s advertising industry lost its way?

    21 June 2022

    Rob Lith: What Icasa’s spectrum auction means for SA companies

    13 June 2022

    A proposed solution to crypto’s stablecoin problem

    19 May 2022

    Subscribe to Updates

    Get the best South African technology news and analysis delivered to your e-mail inbox every morning.

    © 2009 - 2022 NewsCentral Media

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.