McKenzie Pizl —
Sometimes “Bigger is Better” isn’t always the case. This past Monday, Apple announced their iPhone SE, or iPhone 6c.
Unlike the rest of the new smartphones surfacing, this updated version has about 4 inches in screen size, unlike most of the smartphones having screens of 5 inches or more. It’s the same size as the iPhone 5c but is packed with the latest data and technology like the current A9 and M9 processor, Apple mobile payments and new camera features.
However, Apple isn’t really looking to change the game with this step back. iPhone sales are expected to decline this quarter for the first time in nine years. Apple has gotten so big that it’s becoming much harder for them to “wow” their customers. To try and avoid this decline, they’ve made choices in giving out complimentary Apple watches and other products in the hopes of increasing sales, but that has done very little.
Most people that want iPhones already have them, so it’s becoming much more difficult to bring out new products that would make Apple owners buy more, or swap out. Therefore, Apple is using the demand for smartphones with smaller screens to their advantage by giving this new option to the public.
In fact, smaller screen smartphones actually make up most of the smartphone market. Many only buy smartphones with larger screens due to the advancement in the actual technology and not for the screens themselves. It is also becoming much more of a hassle for the company to compete with Google’s Android system phones, as well as Samsung, that are much cheaper than any iPhone on the market.
Apple hopes the iPhone SE equipped with the latest technology will spike not only demand, but sales as well. They also hope to capture a bigger share of the pay-as-you-go market in addition to capitalizing on opportunities in emerging markets such as the those in India. On the other hand, investors were not impressed. Apple decided to launch this idea at their campus in Cupertino, California rather than the much larger venue in San Francisco.
Tech experts and investors aren’t finding this new approach very promising. They are under the impression that no one will actually decide to opt for a smaller smartphone when everyone in the market has been getting use to larger screens.
We all know the uncomfortableness of using a phone with a smaller screen when you have already adapted to the larger screen of your current phone. It’s definitely a change most people aren’t willing to make. However, if you’re looking forward to the new iPhone 7, don’t worry! They still plan to come out with this new version in September and it will have a slightly bigger screen than the iPhone 6. Nevertheless, if you’re interested in obtaining a smartphone that does offer a smaller screen with up to date technology, the new iPhone SE starts at $399 for 16GB.