As I already discussed in detail,
The ever reliable Nowhereelse.fr is the bearer of the bad news. The site - which obtained the first photos of the iPhone 6, iPhone 6S, Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S7 - has shown off production line photos of the iPhone SE which confirm it will:
- Use the old design of the iPhone 5S, rather than shrink the iPhone 6S
- Not include 3D Touch, Apple’s much hyped pressure sensitive screen technology
But do these moves make sense? Personally I’d say yes, even if I disagree with them.
iPhone SE (left) lacks the modular 3D Touch components highlighted on the iPhone 6S (right). Image... [+]
Why I disagree is I believe the iPhone range is more compelling with ‘small, medium and large’ identical handsets than two flagships, a hot rod iPhone 5S and a two year old iPhone 5S. In addition long term adoption of 3D Touch by developers will suffer if Apple launches new handsets without the technology.
On the flipside, I do understand Apple’s decisions. I suspect the company would prefer to split the iPhone range into two sets of two phones: the premium iPhone 6S and iPhone 6S Plus and a cheaper range comprised of the visually similar iPhone SE and iPhone 5S which lets it continue to profit from older designs for several years.
There are likely technological reasons as well. Fitting 3D Touch into the smaller 4-inch form factor of the iPhone SE was likely a step too far (at least for now) given the iPhone 6S and iPhone 6S Plus had reduced battery capacities just to accommodate it. Meanwhile a 3D Touch capable iPhone SE would eat into profit margins and destroy a key reason to upsell customers to the 6S and 6S Plus.
After all, Apple would like the iPhone SE to be a big success but not at the expense of its premium models.
The chassis design of the iPhone SE is virtually identical to the iPhone 5S. Image credit:... [+]
As such I suspect the iPhone SE will be both more (in terms of performance) and less (in terms of design and functionality) than we expected from Apple’s new 4-inch 2016 iPhone. It should satisfy customers determined to ‘stay small’ and upsell them from the iPhone 5S while not cannibalising sales of the iPhone 6S and iPhone 6S Plus.
In a smartphone form factor (bizarrely) uncontested by Apple’s rivals, that should prove more than enough to give Apple another monster hit. And yes, it will keep the headphone jack, unlike the iPhone 7...
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