The ‘iPhone SE': The Successful Niche Revolution

When Apple released the “iPhone SE,” the company received a lot of criticisms pertaining to the effects that the cheaper device would have on the sales of the flagship devices. After recently releasing its quarterly financial report, however, it was clear that Apple made the right choice in introducing the smaller iPhone. More than that, it also made it clear that current CEO Tim Cook’s vision for a more niche-oriented product line is worth investing in.

Forbes' review of the “iPhone SE” is telling in terms of how different the direction of Apple has become in approaching the market. By offering a more compact handset that provides close to the same level of performance as the “iPhone 6S,” the company was essentially taking a more niche approach to the smartphone market following the “iPhone 5C.”

In any case, it would seem that most reviewers agree that one of the biggest advantages of the “SE,” aside from the price is its size. As Ewan Spence over at Forbes noted, there are a lot of customers that want a smaller screen on a phone that also offers plenty of processing power.

“This is the main market that the iPhone SE targets,” Spence wrote. “The A9 system-on-chip matches that of the iPhone 6S that was released in September 2015, and while the GPU is slightly slower it has fewer pixels to drive on the screen. This means the performance remains constant compared to the iPhone 6S.”

Tampa Bay Review also highlighted the battery life of the “SE,” which is a feature that it owes to its more retro design. By making the “iPhone 6S” thinner, Apple had to sacrifice battery size. By going back to the smaller design, the “SE” consumes less power, which allows it to last much longer. This addresses one of the biggest issues that users have with Apple’s smartphones.