Apple iPhone SE Off To Slow Start

A smaller-scale smartphone from Apple has generated a consumer response to match, at least initially.

In its debut this past weekend, the Apple iPhone SE — offering a neo-retro design on par with the aesthetics of older iPhone models (namely the iPhone 5) but most of the capabilities of its larger-screen modern counterpart, the iPhone 6s, at a lower cost — earned a mere 0.1 percent adoption of the iPhone market, reports analytics firm Localytics.

Adoption of the iPhone SE didn’t even cut into that of the iPhone 5, notes the firm, despite the fact the design similarities to the older model — but with more powerful software — had put the SE in a likely position to win over iPhone 5 users.

CNET shares that the soft impact of the iPhone SE in its debut weekend may have been foretold somewhat by the fact that consumers did not line up in droves to be among the first to own it, as is usually the case for the release of a new iPhone.

The outlet further observes that the iPhone SE — with a starting price of $399 and being released at a time when iPhone sales have begun to slow for Apple — is targeted at price-conscious Apple consumers in general, as well as those who have not upgraded their device for several iPhone generations and the aforementioned consumers who prefer the smaller size of the iPhone 5.

Taking an optimistic perspective, the CNET story also posits that the iPhone SE’s soft opening doesn’t necessarily mean that consumer interest in the model won’t pick up. For example, theorizes the outlet, some iPhone users may simply be waiting until they become upgrade-eligible to move to the newest model.