[erikw]

I'd be curious to understand their rationale for not making a small, reasonably priced phone like the iPhone SE used to be. I probably will be leaving the iPhone ecosystem the next time I have to buy a smartphone (even though I use a Mac, iPad, and Airpods, which all work together really well) because I'm uninterested in using a large phone.

Thinking through my own use case, I just use my phone for messaging, maps, and the occasional app, so I'm not going to need a big screen for consuming content. I also don't want to spend a lot of money on a phone, since I don't need any fancy features. So perhaps that intersection of use cases doesn't make much sense to target?

[r0fl]

Phones are used to consume content. Bigger screens make consuming content better. Therefore smaller screens do not sell well.

The sales back up my statements.

Yes I romanticize about an iPhone 17 mini pro but in the end I like being able to watch some downloaded content on a plane without having to bring an iPad from time to time and I'm not going to do that on a tiny screen.

[dijit]

I feel like the sales data would back you up, if it wasn’t for the fact that the 12 and 13 mini were larger than the iPhone 6 and 6S which for many people was too large.

It’s a bit like selling increasingly carbonated water and then selling slightly less carbonated water and pretending that it was still water that you were selling- and using the data (of nobody buying it) to tell everyone that “nobody likes the still water; so we will continue only selling carbonated and carbonated+.”

[AstroBen]

hear me out: a low powered, larger screened iphone!

[stevenhubertron]

When they do release small phones not enough people buy them so they don't see the cost as worth it. Simple market dynamics I assume.

[pertymcpert]

The SE didn't sell well. They want people who not only buy the phone but also buy content through the App Store and through the media services like Apple TV/music.

[trenchpilgrim]

> I'd be curious to understand their rationale for not making a small, reasonably priced phone like the iPhone SE used to be.

People who want cheap iPhones buy older models. You get better specs buying a used or NOS premium model than a new budget model.

[msk-lywenn]

It's my thinking too but Android phones are just as big so I really don't know where to go when I won't be able to fix my iphone SE 2016... Maybe a 13 mini...

[hbn]

The point of the SE line was never to provide a small phone, it was to provide a cheap phone. The first SE reused their manufacturing process from the 5/5s, and the later SEs used the chassis they were using from the 6 to the 8.

[eikenberry]

You won’t find anything smaller in the android ecosystem without sacrificing security. The smallest android phones with good security are the same size as the base iPhone model.

[AstroBen]

One reason might be that they have a minimum duration of software support—a low powered device might hold back future software?

[chucksta]

Generally speaking there are more margins on premium goods