The iPhone SE3, which debuted in March, is a controversial product. On the one hand, it is one of the few small-screen products on the current market, and has the performance of the A15 chip; on the other hand, the iPhone SE3 is extremely retro and the price starts at 3499 yuan, which makes people feel not too sincere.
In fact, when the iPhone SE2 was released in 2020, there was a similar criticism. However, the iPhone SE2 later achieved success in sales, proving its popularity. Statistics agency Omdia data shows that the iPhone SE2 ranks second in the 2020 full-year stand-alone sales list, shipping 24.2 million units, second only to the iPhone 11. In the 2021 global mobile phone best-selling list released by Counterpoint, the iPhone SE2 still squeezed into the top ten, selling better than the iPhone 13 Pro Max.
However, compared to the iPhone SE2, the iPhone SE3 has obviously suffered more criticism. It has only been about a month since its release, but the price of the iPhone SE3 has shown signs of blood collapse, coupled with news such as production cuts from the supply chain, it seems to confirm the unfavorable start of this phone in advance. So, will the iPhone SE3 really be a failed product? Apple's layout in the iPhone product line has failed?
The price collapsed, and the starting party cried and fainted
A brief review, the iPhone SE3 was released in the early morning of March 9, with a total of 64GB, 128GB and 256GB capacity versions, and the price of the Bank of China was 3499 yuan, 3899 yuan and 4699 yuan, respectively. The phone has now been released for about a month and a half, and there has been a price explosion on the third-party e-commerce platform. A well-known e-commerce price information shows that the iPhone SE3 64GB to the hand price has fallen below 2700 yuan, compared with the official price of 800 yuan; the 128GB version of the direct drop of 850 yuan, the 256GB version also fell below 3900 yuan.
For a new machine that has been released for more than 1 month, this price reduction is called a blood collapse, even if it is the diving king mobile phone that everyone is accustomed to, it will not collapse so quickly. Of course, the iPhone SE3 price reduction is so severe, to a large extent, the e-commerce platform for the sake of new, drainage, marketing and other factors, gave a large amount of subsidies, through the way of creating low-cost Apple new products, loss of money to make money.
However, Xiao Lei turned around on other e-commerce platforms such as a treasure and found that although the price reduction of the iPhone SE3 was not so exaggerated, there was still a big drop compared to the initial price, such as a treasure to buy the iPhone SE3, the threshold has been below 3,000 yuan.
At this point, we can draw a preliminary conclusion that the price of the iPhone SE3 has broken in China, and the official pricing system has collapsed under the law of the market.
Weak product strength is the root cause
Since the birth of the iPhone SE series, its product positioning has been distinguished from the traditional digital series, and the basic operation is to use the old mold + the latest chip. Consumers can buy the most powerful iPhones at a lower price, at the expense of appearance and other configuration features. Theoretically, the iPhone SE would be suitable for pragmatists, but it would also allow Apple to enter a more sinking market.
However, when the second generation of iPhone SE was released in 2020, it was already 4 years since the first generation. The appearance of the iPhone SE replicates the 2017 iPhone 8, and the chip is the same A13 as the iPhone 11. It is not difficult to find that the product strategies of the iPhone SE2 and iPhone SE are similar. There is no shortage of criticism among the consumer base for the backward design of the iPhone SE2, but there are also a large number of views that recognize the performance of the iPhone SE2. After the iPhone SE2 price reduction in the third-party market, it ushered in a wave of "true fragrance" discussion.
The iPhone SE3 released in 2022, the use of the A15 chip is in line with expectations, but it is not a surprise; and it still uses the design of the iPhone 8 5 years ago, which breaks through the bottom line of the patience of ordinary consumers. If you follow the product logic of the previous two generations of iPhone SE, the iPhone SE3 should use the A15 chip + iPhone 11 mold.
Today, in 2022, a series of elements such as non-full-screen design, small screen, small battery capacity, single camera, etc., have been difficult to be accepted by consumers, even if it is a sinking market user in Apple's eyes. Looking at the iPhone SE3 from today's perspective, it can only be described in four words as "lackluster", and there is no product flash point worth mentioning except for A15.
For their own mobile phone products, manufacturers naturally have pricing power, but in the market economy, the price of commodities is essentially determined by supply and demand. The price of iPhone SE3 is bloody, to put it bluntly, or everyone does not recognize its product strength, and the product value cannot match its pricing.
What kind of iPhone SE do you want?
As mentioned earlier, the product strategy before the iPhone SE series, if the iPhone SE3 is not rotten, it should be the iPhone 11 that upgrades the A15 chip. Although the iPhone 11 was also a product from a few years ago, at least there is Face ID, full-screen appearance, a larger screen size and better battery life. If Apple did, the iPhone SE3 wouldn't be scolding.
In addition, there have been previous revelations showing the existence of the iPhone SE Plus, which is simply a replica of the iPhone 8 Plus. Of course, it turns out that Apple didn't do that. But if the iPhone SE3 is really this design, it is estimated that the product reputation will be much better. After all, the iPhone 8 Plus is a generation of divine machines, even if the appearance is outdated, there are still some advantages in terms of size and battery life.
In fact, apple's mobile phone product line is now somewhat chaotic, and the iPhone 13 series is naturally the absolute C bit. However, the previous generation of the iPhone 12 series is still on sale, and the 2019 iPhone 11 is still available for purchase. In terms of official pricing, the iPhone 11 starts at only 500 yuan more expensive than the iPhone SE3. Therefore, Apple is not willing to use the iPhone 11 mold for the iPhone SE3, or the concept of profit maximization in the bones, Apple is not unaware of what kind of new iPhone SE we want.
It's too early to say failure
There is no doubt that the pricing strategy of the iPhone SE3 has gone bankrupt from the perspective of third-party market prices. The product strength of this new Apple machine is also not recognized in the market, counterpoint released data shows that the iPhone SE3 in the U.S. market sales in the three weeks of sales, only 80% of the iPhone SE2. At the end of last month, Guo Mingxi also released news that Apple plans to reduce the annual shipment of the iPhone SE3 from 25-30 million to 15-20 million, reducing production by 10 million units.
Judging from market expectations and user reputation, the iPhone SE3, which has only been released for more than a month, can be called a failed product. However, from the perspective of the entire iPhone SE product line, Apple's product strategy is not a failure. After all, the sales and profits of the iPhone SE2 are enough to make Android friends envy and hate.
The existence of the iPhone SE series has also successfully helped Apple occupy a sinking market and fill the price gap of the original product line. As long as Apple masters the knife method in subsequent products and appropriately reduces profit margins, it can still successfully kill the corresponding market segments and pose a threat to Android opponents. Taking a step back, even if it is the iPhone SE3, as long as Apple's determination to clear the warehouse is large enough, the market price continues to decline from the high 3499 yuan, and even the waist chop, then it will soon become a "real incense machine" in the eyes of quite a few people.
The iPhone SE3 price collapse and word-of-mouth overturning also prove that even Apple, if it does not seriously polish the product, has no sincerity in the new product, or will be abandoned by the target group, and finally reduce production clearance, a chicken feather.