For comparison, here's how HN reacted to some previous iPhone launches:
iPhone 6s: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10193201
iPhone 6: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8292029
iPhone 5s: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6361558
iPhone 6s: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10193201
iPhone 6: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8292029
iPhone 5s: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6361558
Similarly, this year iPhone SE got even more upvotes (567) than all of these https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11330226
Maybe due to an upswing in HN traffic? Lack of other news today (it has been slow)?
I'm not sure this release was particularly exciting.