Apple's March 21st event, iPhone SE, 9.7 inch iPad Pro etc...

[Not A Nice Person]

If Apples most recent hardware events were about going bigger (larger iPhones, a jumbo iPad, and a new Apple TV), Apples March 21st event is about going smaller. Apple yesterday officially sent invites to its much-anticipated event to be held at its Cupertino campus with the tagline Let us loop you in. The event, which was originally internally scheduled for a week earlier, will focus on Apples new 4-inch iPhone SE, a smaller, 9.7-inch iPad Pro, and new Apple Watch bands. The company will likely also reveal the final versions of iOS 9.3, tvOS 9.2, watchOS 2.2, OS X 10.11.4, and an iTunes update.

 

source: http://9to5mac.com/2016/03/11/apple-march-31st-event-new-hardware/

[Flachbau]

Is there even a demand for a 4 inch phone anymore? I thought we moved on from this. It's crazy cause I'm sure that 4 inch phone will cost at least $500.. it never ends with Apple.

[TJGM]

For those who don't know, the event is live and you can watch here.

 

EDIT: They just officially announced the 4 inch iPhone SE.

Edited March 21, 2016 by TJGM

[Mr. Scratch]

"Only" $399.

 

Lol, f*ck off, Apple.

[Flachbau]

And it isn't even shaped like a 6/6s.. wtf? Am I seeing things or is it the same design from the 5s with upgraded internals?

[Mr. Scratch]

You're not, it's literally the 5S version 2.0.

[Saliva]

Leftover iPhone 5 cases with leftover iPhone 6 components.

[GtaLegend15]

Leftover iPhone 5 cases with leftover iPhone 6 components.

Typical apple

[combustion]

So they billed the 9.7 inch iPad Pro as the 'Ultimate PC replacement'? I don't think it is. I'll still prefer the Air 2.

[ｘ]

Leftover iPhone 5 cases with leftover iPhone 6 components.

 

 

Actually, it's got most of the 6S's internals including the A9 chip and rear camera. The only differences is the obvious iPhone 5/5S screen res / size + front facing camera, older gen Touch ID and no 3D Touch. Other than that, it's the 6S shrunk into a $399 5S case. This is huge for people who want a smaller phone since the only competing device is the Sony Z5 Compact (which is absolute dogsh*t).

[Flachbau]

If it was $100 less for each model I'm sure it's sell a hell-of-a-lot more. You can get a lot of phone for $400 if you look in the right places. I like the idea but it's just the price that doesn't make sense. Sure, it has new internals, like the A9 chip and what not, new camera, etc.. but it doesn't have "3D touch" (even though you don't even need a physical layer / motor for that lol). Those internals probably don't cost that much for Apple, but it's always more expensive due to them marking the sh*t up in cost.

[ｘ]

If it was $100 less for each model I'm sure it's sell a hell-of-a-lot more. You can get a lot of phone for $400 if you look in the right places. I like the idea but it's just the price that doesn't make sense. Sure, it has new internals, like the A9 chip and what not, new camera, etc.. but it doesn't have "3D touch" (even though you don't even need a physical layer / motor for that lol). Those internals probably don't cost that much for Apple, but it's always more expensive due to them marking the sh*t up in cost.

 

 

Honestly, what phones are you talking about that -

 

1. Has the performance capability to match the A9 chipset (honestly Apple really hit a winner with this one, it dominates everything even with just 2 cores and 2gb of ram. Only the newest Exynos 8890 and Snapdragon 820 even comes close - not even beating it and that's like what? 6 months after the A9 came out)

 

2. Will be supported and updated to the latest OS whenever a new version comes out in an instant for at least another 2-3 years. (before you type Nexus 5X - Remember, Snapdragon 808, an absolute sh*thouse SOC and everyone knows how badly this phone lags to the point where a Nexus 5 actually performs better)

3. Has actual warranty and support that you can literally walk into a/an *insert brand* store anywhere the world and literally just get a new device on the spot if something is faulty with your device

4. Can actually be used globally with LTE bands that are supported around the world (before you throw me Mediatek Chinese phones / OnePlus devices)

5. Actual brand recognition (it might not matter to you, but for a lot of people, it's why they buy something - it's also a reason why high end luxury products still exist)

6. For sh*t's and giggles, lets chuck in the fact that it's a 4" device and see if you can find one that can match all of this and cost $399 (hell even without the price, find me a device in the first place that has all of this)

Because I know for sure that there isn't a device out there that can match this phone for it's intended purpose or even for raw performance at that price point.

Edited March 22, 2016 by Exqlusive

[sivispacem]

1. Has the performance capability to match the A9 chipset (honestly Apple really hit a winner with this one, it dominates everything even with just 2 cores and 2gb of ram. Only the newest Exynos 8890 and Snapdragon 820 even comes close - not even beating it and that's like what? 6 months after the A9 came out)

In certain synthetic benchmarks, sure, but that's less of a product of the actual chipset and more to do with how the hardware interfaces with the OS. It's really a product of the "walled garden" ecosystem approach.

 

2. Will be supported and updated to the latest OS whenever a new version comes out in an instant for at least another 2-3 years. (before you type Nexus 5X - Remember, Snapdragon 808, an absolute sh*thouse SOC and everyone knows how badly this phone lags to the point where a Nexus 5 actually performs better)

Eh? Pretty much everyone I work with has a 5X, and nobody is reporting any performance issues. I'm aware that some people have, but they're hardly universal enough to make such a sweeping statement regarding. Besides, it's not like Apple haven't basically bricked older devices by automatically updating them to an OS version with higher RAM requirements than the device can tolerate, is it? Personally I'd prefer to be stuck on an older OS version.

 

3. Has actual warranty and support that you can literally walk into a/an *insert brand* store anywhere the world and literally just get a new device on the spot if something is faulty with your device

I think you're dramatically overstating the competence of Apple Store staff here. For what it's worth, though, when my Nexus 5 battery failed, Google had a brand new replacement to me in 24 hours.

 

4. Can actually be used globally with LTE bands that are supported around the world (before you throw me Mediatek Chinese phones / OnePlus devices)

Pretty much any non-Chinese Ponzi scheme phone.

 

5. Actual brand recognition (it might not matter to you, but for a lot of people, it's why they buy something - it's also a reason why high end luxury products still exist)

I'd argue that these days the likes of Samsung are competing with Apple in the brand recognition stakes. Not that it really matters because both produce products at a higher price point than direct competitors and largely rely on consumers' combined reluctance to step outside the confines of their previous brand experience and very clever marketing to remain the major players in the industry. The leaders of the pack aren't the drivers of innovation anymore, especially in the Android marketplace which is so fragmented.

 

Because I know for sure that there isn't a device out there that can match this phone for it's intended purpose or even for raw performance at that price point.

The former of these is definitely true, but that's because the market has changed so fundamentally than it's going to be basically the only competitor at that market point. It's certainly interesting to see Apple flogging a 4" phone, but I'm really not sure how successful it's likely to be in a marketplace that's dominated by "bigger is better".

 

Now, I'm sure Apple have done their research and we're not going to have another 5C fiasco, but it does strike me as concerning that no other providers are actually producing them. You hear a lot of people lamenting the size of modern phones on tech forums, but how many of these will actually go out and buy a handset just because it's small?

 

The latter, it's worth noting that in raw computing throughput the A9 isn't actually higher performing than the current top-end Snapdragon processors- the advantages it has come primarily from being tailored for a closed OS environment with very little variation in software demands, but also from the rapid adaptation of a 64-bit instruction set which has to some degree been enabled by the closed environment.

[Not A Nice Person]

Is there even a demand for a 4 inch phone anymore? I thought we moved on from this. It's crazy cause I'm sure that 4 inch phone will cost at least $500.. it never ends with Apple.

It's for people who have small hands and like a 5s like phone, I think Apple is pretty smart for that.

 

Remember, Apple fans were pretty pissed (me NOT included) when they made larger iPhone, so this may be big but hey, they're just recycling.

Edited March 23, 2016 by Sayuri

[X S]

 

Is there even a demand for a 4 inch phone anymore? I thought we moved on from this. It's crazy cause I'm sure that 4 inch phone will cost at least $500.. it never ends with Apple.

It's for people who have small hands and like a 5s like phone, I think Apple is pretty smart for that.

 

Remember, Apple fans were pretty pissed (me NOT included) when they made larger iPhone, so this may be big but hey, they're just recycling.

 

 

If there's one things they've always been good at, it's been judging the market, knowing what it wants, and how to bundle it. It's the only reason I've held on to my Apple stock for so long. I don't doubt that there's thousands of people out there who still prefer a smaller phone.

 

Now, as for the people that actually go out an buy this stuff, well that's always been questionable to me. But I'm not a casual, so I don't see eye-to-eye with your average phone user. Sayuri may very well be right, preference based on hand size may be a factor. I'm sure there's tons of market research to justify its existence.

[Not A Nice Person]

It might be too late for this, I mean it's cheaper and and all but you can find a better $400 larger phone, but Apple fans who didn't like the 6's size probably got used to it by now either way.

[MyName'sJeff]

Even for the fans that asked for this, they are getting robbed. I mean Apple is really really smart but evil. This is not worth $400 considering the size and specs of the phone, not in a million years. I understand the phone is fast as lightning, but the only reason it's possible is because of the very basic software, being closed source and isn't split up into different brands like Android devices.

[Fraizer]

I had a 5S, it was good for almost a year, then every subsequent update thereafter was only bad for the phone, then ios9 hit and it was a nightmare. Same thing happened to my ipad retina. Although it lasted around two years before being sh*tty. Mandatory updates screwing crap up. All i do on that thing now is look at porn and use it as a literal paper weight. The claims of updates purposfully slowing down iphones and ipads are not totally unfounded. So f*ck apple and their products, i wont be buying them anymore.

 

Besides all that, when will they actually release something substantially innovative? Apple just isnt the same since Steve Jobs died, some may not have liked him, but you cant deny he was innovative as f*ck. He was a lot more innovative than the current c*nts running apple, thats for sure.

[Flachbau]

The problem with devices these days (it seems like it happens more with Apple products, to be fair) is that they make the devices last a year or two and then they suddenly become too slow and incompatible with new system software.

[Not A Nice Person]

The software updates might brick your phone, My 4s did well after iOS 9 but I'm sure I wasn't noticing the lag. I hate how simple Apple has become, I loved the 6S, might of bought it if the S7 sucked but what the fck is this, they literally didn't even try! The Pro is also just a shrinked Pro, which was made so folks can have a 13 inch iPad. The nylon bands costing $50 and the Space Grey Millanise costing $150 is pathetic.

[TJGM]

Even for the fans that asked for this, they are getting robbed. I mean Apple is really really smart but evil. This is not worth $400 considering the size and specs of the phone, not in a million years. I understand the phone is fast as lightning, but the only reason it's possible is because of the very basic software, being closed source and isn't split up into different brands like Android devices.

TIL good software that's optimized shouldn't be expensive.

 

 

I had a 5S, it was good for almost a year, then every subsequent update thereafter was only bad for the phone, then ios9 hit and it was a nightmare. Same thing happened to my ipad retina. Although it lasted around two years before being sh*tty. Mandatory updates screwing crap up. All i do on that thing now is look at porn and use it as a literal paper weight. The claims of updates purposfully slowing down iphones and ipads are not totally unfounded. So f*ck apple and their products, i wont be buying them anymore.

 

Besides all that, when will they actually release something substantially innovative? Apple just isnt the same since Steve Jobs died, some may not have liked him, but you cant deny he was innovative as f*ck. He was a lot more innovative than the current c*nts running apple, thats for sure.

It seems like such an inconsistent experience across peoples devices. I bought an iPhone 5S from a friend, formatted it and updated it to iOS 9 about two months ago and it ran fine for the short time that I had it. I bought it to sell it at a more expensive price, but the guy I sold it to still says it runs great on iOS 9, so odd.

[MyName'sJeff]

It should to a certain point, but for a 4 inch iPhone SE it's definitely not because the display is generations behind, in other words, atrocious as well as unchanged features that should have been cost friendly for Apple since they are re-using certain aspects from the 5s. $400 my arse.

Edited March 29, 2016 by MyName'sJeff

[Fraizer]

With the 5s the ios9 update was made to mostly accomidate the 3D touch that the 6s introduced, so it screwed a bunch of stuff up. Compared to how it would run when i first got the phone, it was horrid. Over time from ios8 foward the things i am about to list slowed down, but ios9 was the nail in the coffin for my device. Apps would hang, touches wouldnt register, wifi was screwed (using phone data was faster than using wifi) when everything worked fine before. i take care of all my electronis, there are no scratches, dents, or dings, and I would restart my phone accordingly. The phone was still usable, but it was obvious that there was something wrong with how it ran the operation system.

 

I can say the battery usage is still great even after 2 years.