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Comment by maz1b | Hacker News Reader

I don't understand why Apple can't update the SE in its current design iteration. Obviously if they can release a redesigned iPhone in a small form factor, I'd hop on it.

I want a small one handed device that has the latest specs and TouchID, and a headphone jack.

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First, I think this long cycle was intentional, the small phones have a market, but not big enough to require frequent updates.

Secondly, I think Apple wants to drop the home button on all devices. The next SE will be edge-to-edge screen. This March will mark 3 years since the last release.

If it doesn't show up in March, maybe it will appear in September with the other phones.

But if it doesn't appear this year, then:

- they had production problems with the fancy screen

- OR they decided to drop the SE altogether

Back when I bought my SE, it was cheaper than getting a 6, despite having better specs. I also check for deals online a lot, and the SE was almost constantly being discounted. I think it's not unreasonable, based on these, to assume that it never really sold particularly well.

Based on that, I'd say that they stopped making the SE simply because only a very small, specific slice of the market actually wants to purchase such a device, and it's not worth keeping a unique product in their portfolio if the sales numbers just aren't there.

The 5s/SE is less than 5% of mobile traffic at our site.

Five percent of iPhones is still an enormous number when Apple sells ~200,000,000 iPhones per year. (And that's despite Apple not catering for this market for the past three product cycles. Imagine if they did!)

Some people choose a phone because they want to use it primarily as a communication device.

Website metrics are mostly meaningless in a conversation about people who want a phone, but not a primary internet device.

Simple, because people would buy it instead of the more expensive new iPhones. They don't want unit sales anymore, they want ASP.

Firstly, final phone price doens't matter. Margins matter. These phones are old hardware; it's not inconceivable that mass-producing them would yield margins just as good (if not better) than the cutting-edge.

Secondly, Armament Systems and Procedures? Active Server Pages?

Average Selling Price.

Average Selling Price, https://www.investopedia.com/terms/a/averagesellingprice.asp

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