iPhone SE preorders top 3.4M in China, gold & rose gold most popular - report

AppleInsider · March 28, 2016 12:40PM

Though Apple hasn't announced any official sales figures, preorders for the iPhone SE are said to have exceeded 3.4 million so far in China alone, according to data from local retailers.

The initial preorder figures were cited on Monday by CNBC, which revealed that gold has been the most popular color among buyers in China. Apple's new rose gold option was said to be in a close second place among early adopters.

Emerging markets like China, Brazil, Russia and India are believed to be a primary focus for Apple with the launch of the iPhone SE, which has the lowest entry price ever offered by the company. It's believed that the revamped 4-inch iPhone may appeal to consumers interested in buying their first smartphone, or making the switch from more affordable Android devices.

The sales numbers, if accurate, may also suggest that expectations for the iPhone SE are too low. Investors on Wall Street have predicted Apple will net anywhere from 10 million to 15 million additional iPhone sales this year.

Preorders for the iPhone SE began last Thursday in 13 territories, including key markets in North America, Europe and Asia. Apple plans to expand availability of the iPhone SE, as well as the new 9.7-inch iPad Pro, to another 47 countries in the coming weeks.

The iPhone SE features Apple's A9 processor, 12-megapixel iSight camera, and NFC radio for Apple Pay -- the same components found in the company's flagship iPhone 6s. It's priced at $399 for 16 gigabytes and $499 for 64 gigabytes, in color options of silver, space gray, gold and rose gold.

lkrupp · March 28, 2016 12:43PM

Well that’s interesting because c|net is trashing the SE bigtime.

josu · March 28, 2016 1:00PM

It seems that there in the US is doing well too, the 64GB space grey version delivery times are slipping, Right now if you order the delivery is between a week and a week and a half later. Not September launch times, but a delay. The same with the iPad Pro, but slightly shorter

pmz · March 28, 2016 1:22PM

lkrupp said:

Well that’s interesting because c|net is trashing the SE bigtime.

No one was trashing the 5s still existing prior to the announcement....why would anyone trash a major update to that model, that doesn't negatively Apple or any human being on earth?

Oh that's right. Click Bait Ad Impression Bullshit Nonsense.

radarthekat · March 28, 2016 1:26PM

3.4 million iPhone SE pre-orders in China just from the three largest third-party resellers. No official word from Apple yet. I gotta believe there's a substantial number being ordered directly through the Apple website.

JD - 882,295

Suning - 1,709,427

Gome - 889,668

So that's just preliminary numbers out of China, a large market, but not the whole world. Looks like Apple has another hit on their hands.

redgeminipa · March 28, 2016 1:32PM

lkrupp said:

Well that’s interesting because c|net is trashing the SE bigtime.

C|Net, and its large number of fellow troll readers/commenters, are just about the Faux News of consumer electronics anymore. That's why I stopped visiting that site. There is no such thing as a meaningful discussion on C|Net.

LoneStar88 · March 28, 2016 1:38PM

Both the iPhone SE and the smaller iPad Pro are very smart moves for Apple. The SE is great for the 4" holdouts as well as for emerging markets. And the iPad pro is indeed the future of computing for tablet-oriented users.

schlack · March 28, 2016 2:01PM

I know some people here in the USA that have pre-ordered the iPhone SE...and I'm pretty tempted to upgrade from my iPhone 6 to an iPhone SE...due to better phone design and better screen size. If that's at all representative...I wouldn't be surprised to see them selling huge numbers...20M+ this yr. If they would offer 128GB and 256GB options...they could sell a lot more. Topping out at 64GB is the major issue for me.

williamh · March 28, 2016 2:03PM

lkrupp said:

Well that’s interesting because c|net is trashing the SE bigtime.

I just watched the video and I didn't really take it that way. It was a big tongue-in-cheek and overall balanced. The fingerprint reader isn't as zippy as the one in the 6s+, but still pretty good, etc. Basically the message is that the new low-end phone is missing some features from the high-end phone. Apple should offer a 128gb option because 4k video takes a lot of space. It's all true. It's a low-end phone, no problem. I might even want to get one myself, give my daughter my 6 so I get the smaller size and get me more than 16gb storage.

I'm surprised none of the enlightened libs among you have taken offense at characterizing the presenter as a "bimbo." She's cute, seems knowledgeable. Bimbo is unfair. It's not like she's flashing cleavage or anything.

qwwera · March 28, 2016 2:07PM

I am just going to walk in and pick one up on Thursday or Friday. I think a lot of folks are going to do that. And I do agree that expectations by the tech media are too low. It's going to be a little workhorse for a whole lot of people that know they will not regret it and that's it's one hell of a deal.

supadav03 · March 28, 2016 2:09PM

Both my father & father-in-law have preordered the 64GB iPhone SE. One is going from an iPhone 6 and the other currently has the 5S. Both felt the 6 was too big. Now they are both happy to get the screen size they want along with most/all the current features. Both are also pretty damn happy with the price. After trade-ins, they are paying "nothing".

antonpablo · March 28, 2016 2:10PM

They did sell 30M 2yr old 4-inch iPhones last year. Not sure why expectations are low with SE which is essentially a 4-inch 6s in a 5s body.

ireland · March 28, 2016 2:14PM

Another word for predictions is guesses.

ireland · March 28, 2016 2:16PM

pmz said:

lkrupp said:

Well that’s interesting because c|net is trashing the SE bigtime.

No one was trashing the 5s still existing prior to the announcement....why would anyone trash a major update to that model, that doesn't negatively Apple or any human being on earth?

Oh that's right. Click Bait Ad Impression Bullshit Nonsense.

Because it looks physically the same and most tech journalists are idiots. And some are even stock holders.

dasanman69 · March 28, 2016 2:42PM

sog35 said:

The tech media is just plain stupid and has no idea what the general population wants.

Its hard to believe how disconnected the tech media is from reality. It seems like they write articles to impress their fellow tech media friends instead of the general public who is signing their pay checks.

The media in other industries are not as ignorant as the tech media: entertainment media, automobile media, sports media, ect.

I'd say close 90% of the tech media is clueless about what normal people want from tech products.

That's classic coming from you because you swore up and down that nobody wanted a 4" phone, and that Apple would never make another one.

williamh · March 28, 2016 2:46PM

sog35 said:

williamh said:

I just watched the video and I didn't really take it that way. It was a big tongue-in-cheek and overall balanced. The fingerprint reader isn't as zippy as the one in the 6s+, but still pretty good, etc. Basically the message is that the new low-end phone is missing some features from the high-end phone. Apple should offer a 128gb option because 4k video takes a lot of space. It's all true. It's a low-end phone, no problem. I might even want to get one myself, give my daughter my 6 so I get the smaller size and get me more than 16gb storage.

I'm surprised none of the enlightened libs among you have taken offense at characterizing the presenter as a "bimbo." She's cute, seems knowledgeable. Bimbo is unfair. It's not like she's flashing cleavage or anything.

She's a "bimbo" because she expects a $399 phone to have every single feature a $650 phone does.

This is like bashing a $40k BMW 325 for not having every single feature a $60k BMW 550 has.

Not fair. Most people are not as tuned into this as we are. They need to know what the difference is between the new phone and the existing one. There are some features on the 6+ that you might expect to carry over to any new phone, just as a BMW buyer might be surprised by some of the decisions BMW would make for the low-end vs high-end features. For the most part, potential buyers should be pleased at just how good the SE is. I'm not usually one to get into a sexism argument, because I usually don't agree with people making sexism claims. However, I don't think you would make similar remarks if it was a guy in the video.

eightzero · March 28, 2016 2:56PM

qwwera said:

I am just going to walk in and pick one up on Thursday or Friday. I think a lot of folks are going to do that. And I do agree that expectations by the tech media are too low. It's going to be a little workhorse for a whole lot of people that know they will not regret it and that's it's one hell of a deal.

I am impressed with this device, and while I'd originally not planned to upgrade my 5s, the "free" part with a contract sold me (so to speak.) I'm going to pay my carrier anyway, so this makes sense for me. I'm going to let lines abate and stock stabilize a bit, then go see Lilly.

qwwera · March 28, 2016 2:57PM

sog35 said:

The tech media is just plain stupid and has no idea what the general population wants.

Its hard to believe how disconnected the tech media is from reality. It seems like they write articles to impress their fellow tech media friends instead of the general public who is signing their pay checks.

The media in other industries are not as ignorant as the tech media: entertainment media, automobile media, sports media, ect.

I'd say close 90% of the tech media is clueless about what normal people want from tech products.

..and the same tech journalist being dismissive at the size of the SE in reviews, were the same ones that were dismissive of large phones just a few years ago.

stardustag · March 28, 2016 3:19PM

Interesting angle about folks with iPhone 6 trading in for iPhone SE. That may eat into iPhone 6 to iPhone 7 upgrade numbers.

fallenjt · March 28, 2016 3:29PM

stardustag said:

Interesting angle about folks with iPhone 6 trading in for iPhone SE. That may eat into iPhone 6 to iPhone 7 upgrade numbers.

It's not about the screen, but the performance. If they trade in a 6s for SE, I would worry. iPhone 6 is inferior vs SE except the screen size.

fallenjt · March 28, 2016 3:42PM

williamh said:

lkrupp said:

Well that’s interesting because c|net is trashing the SE bigtime.

I just watched the video and I didn't really take it that way. It was a big tongue-in-cheek and overall balanced. The fingerprint reader isn't as zippy as the one in the 6s+, but still pretty good, etc. Basically the message is that the new low-end phone is missing some features from the high-end phone. Apple should offer a 128gb option because 4k video takes a lot of space. It's all true. It's a low-end phone, no problem. I might even want to get one myself, give my daughter my 6 so I get the smaller size and get me more than 16gb storage.

I'm surprised none of the enlightened libs among you have taken offense at characterizing the presenter as a "bimbo." She's cute, seems knowledgeable. Bimbo is unfair. It's not like she's flashing cleavage or anything.

128GB SE may have a few customers. If using 4K video recording to justify for it is ignorant. People shouldn't keep 4K video on the phone because it'll fill up the storage space quickly regardless 64 or 128GB. The point is that people need to manage the media library.
China is a big hit for large screen phones because of the young population, but don't leave those professionals in suits or old parents or grandparents or teenagers who may prefer pocketable phones. That's when smaller phones come in with a bonus of lower price and high specs.
I wear suits sometimes and understand that 6+ looks quite ridiculous in any suit pocket.

iPhone SE preorders top 3.4M in China, gold & rose gold most popular - report

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