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Who is buying Apple’s 4-inch iPhone? Data shows SE attracting more new users from Android

iPhone SE might be helping Apple attract more new users from Android compared to previous recent iPhone launches, according to the latest data on sales of the new device from Slice Intelligence. Specifically, Slice points to the higher number of SE buyers coming from Android compared to the iPhone 6S:

Early data from Slice Intelligence indicates that the SE may help Apple grow its maturing iPhone consumer base. Only 35 percent of iPhone SE buyers purchased an iPhone online in the past two years, and 16 percent of them were previously Android users. By comparison, 49 percent of iPhone 6S buyers upgraded from a previous iPhone, and 10 percent replaced an Android device they bought online within the past two years.

That’s despite a much smaller overall launch for the device compared to Apple’s flagship devices (around 94 percent smaller than the iPhone 6S according to Slice), something most likely expected due to the rare mid-year iPhone refresh offering relatively minor upgrades over the aging 4-inch iPhone 5S it replaced. It also came ahead of a next-generation device expected for the fall that many iPhone users could be holding out for.

Slice adds that SE buyers appear to be “older, less educated, and surprisingly, more male.”

More than one fifth of SE buyers are in the 45-54 age demographic, versus 18 percent for all iPhone buyers; and 77 percent of SE buyers are men, versus 69 percent… Only 39 percent of new SE owners have a college degree, whereas 46 percent of those who pre-ordered an iPhone 6 or 6S did.

As for the market for the iPhone SE, right before the launch of the device earlier this month, we reported data showed around 35% of iPhone users were still using a 4-inch device, around the same percentage that said they planned to upgrade to the SE in our own poll.

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Comments

  1. xoFoxtail - 8 years ago

    I am! It can’t come soon enough though. I’m forced to use an iPhone 5, it is barely making it through the day.

  2. viciosodiego - 8 years ago

    Can confirm.
    Some people on android police are buying it already.

  3. John M Foley - 8 years ago

    I imagine it might be attracting the Android customers that got non-flagship models because they say “aren’t very ‘techie’ and just need something basic; not iPhone fancy.” Finally, there is a standard iPhone a tier below the premium ones. I know… 5c but this is cheaper still and slightly differently positioned.

  4. RP - 8 years ago

    You can’t go wrong with the SE.

  5. i will be switching from my LG G4 to a 64GB Silver SE! :)

  6. taoprophet420 - 8 years ago

    The SE is the budget phone the 5c should have been. It would helped Apple got an earlier penetration in India and other developing nations.

    • srgmac - 8 years ago

      What was so bad about the 5C? My mom got hers around the same time I got my 5S.
      She still loves her 5C, and I still love my 5S!

      • r00fus1 - 8 years ago

        Price. 5SE is $150 cheaper than the 5C’s starting price.

  7. dcw78914 - 8 years ago

    The “more male” part doesn’t surprise me in the least. More men are relying on their pockets to carry their phones. The 5S/SE fits nicely in a jeans pocket. 6S, maybe not so much. 6S Plus, you better be cool with your phone making a weird angle in your pocket.

    • taoprophet420 - 8 years ago

      i only have issues with the 6 plus not sitting deep in one pair of jeans. Out of over a dozen pairs of jeans, shorts and pants I don’t see an issue with the pcketablity of it. Unless someone is wearing uber tight cowboy fit jeans or girls jeans I can’t see many issues with pocketability. If you are wearing jeans to tight for your iPhone you need to give your balls room to breathe.

    • srgmac - 8 years ago

      I still rock a 5S…I see no reason to upgrade. Have yet to see anything that is an “OMG YOU NEED THIS NOW!” feature in any new iPhone since the 5S.
      The biggest thing that pisses me off is the lack of storage space…I don’t like using iCloud or any cloud storage for personal reasons, am constantly having to offload vids and pics…As of right now I only have 200MB total free space.

    • greatwizard1 - 8 years ago

      Is that an iPhone 6s Plus in your pocket, or are you just happy to see me ?!

  8. macnificentseven48 - 8 years ago

    The jackasses are already deeming the iPhone as Tim Cook’s biggest mistake before even one unit is sold. People really do hate Tim Cook and Apple. The analysts all believe the Amazon Echo will sell more units than Apple will sell iPhone SE units. Seriously, do people really love talking out loud to some “box.” Maybe I’m the strange one because I have no interest in yelling out my passwords around the house. The iPhone SE seems to be a very solid device. Sure it’s nothing fancy to make the tech-heads wet their pants, but so what. A good toaster is great if you only need to make well-toasted slices of bread. I don’t know about Apple being able to steal the low-cost smartphone market away from those $150 Android “smartphones” but that’s OK. Some people can really only afford the very cheapest devices. I’m sure Apple will win over the higher low-cost market for those who are tired of using Android smartphones. Some are saying this is a bad move on Apple’s part after saying Apple is charging too much for their smartphones. The way I see it, no matter what Apple does, there are those who will claim Apple is always making poor decisions. A slowing smartphone market doesn’t necessarily mean a company is failing. Apple is simply running up against the limitations of the cost of devices people around the globe can afford. That’s a very practical limitation and not some fault of Apple. Even if Apple sells ten million of iPhone SE units in a year, it will likely be deemed a failure by the Apple Haterz Club.

  9. srgmac - 8 years ago

    Wow…This is very mind boggling especially considering it doesn’t have a MicroSD slot and the storage pricing cost per GB is obscene.

    • Apaches911 - 8 years ago

      Trolls troll troll

      • srgmac - 8 years ago

        MicroSD cost per GB is around 30 cents.
        Apple charges around $1.50 per GB.
        Sorry if this fact makes you mad, but I don’t see how that makes ME a troll!

      • PhilBoogie - 8 years ago

        You’re certainly not a troll.

        I do think we cannot compare SD Cards vs NAND. There is a very large speed, latency and durability difference.

        Apart from that there’s a world of hurt with the the implementation on Android. Read up on people wanting to swap a small SD Card with a larger one. Complete nightmare.

  10. iscionce - 8 years ago

    Brian Tong will be so disappointed

  11. waltertizzano - 8 years ago

    Only who writes the article is surprised that iPhone SE attracts men more than women. Big phones are definitely more girlish, as they have purses to shove them into. Men have trousers so they need smaller phones that can fit easily without constraining too much the movements of the leg. Anyway I hope that the success of the iPhone SE convinces them to release a 4” iPhone 7 with same specs as the iPhablets 7

  12. James Stephen Edge - 8 years ago

    I’m one, with the death of Sony’s Xperia line and with it the Z compact it means the iPhone SE is the only regular sized phone with decent specs on the market (Sony were the last Android company making regular sized phones with decent specs, and Microsoft hasn’t made one since 2013).

  13. rltmd317 - 8 years ago

    ISIS is buying them…

  14. Mark Fain - 8 years ago

    I’m going from a 2013 Motorola Electrify M to the SE in Space Gray. First time iphone user. The M has a 4.3 inch screen shouldn’t matter too much for that issue. Looking forward to something that actually performs

    • srgmac - 8 years ago

      Make sure you pony up the extra cash and get one with a ton of storage…Remember, no MicroSD.
      I’m on a 5S right now and I have 200MB free space…I get “Almost full” popup box every couple weeks or so, because of the way iMessage caches things.
      I have to reboot the phone, which usually clears the cache out.

      • Jubert Lowe III - 8 years ago

        Cloud storage is my friend, if I have video and or photos on my phone I use all the tools possible to get them off and just look at them later if I need, all while having a nice amount of space on my iPhone.

  15. Bart Kuik (@pixelbart) - 8 years ago

    I feel unrepresented by these graphs! Where is the ‘no phone purchase in the last 60 months’ category? Bye bye iPhone 4.

  16. Sylvain Halde - 8 years ago

    I just love the iPhone 5 format and I would have bought the SE over a year ago if they had released a proper 4-inch upgrade at the time.

  17. geoffrey (@23geoffrey) - 8 years ago

    Honestly I would of bought the IPhone SE for 499 if it had all the same features as the 6s. It lacks the better camera up front, the screen resolution is exactly the same as my 5s, wish I could get it in 128GB, and they should really bring in a cool blue color. I’m tired of black, white, gold, rose gold. So I’m just gonna hold out but would of got it if it was 399 for the 64GB that’s the sweet spot for the iPhone SE and 299 for the 32GB oops I mean 16B damn you apple. and like I said they should of came out with a blue color.

Author

Avatar for Jordan Kahn Jordan Kahn

Jordan writes about all things Apple as Senior Editor of 9to5Mac, & contributes to 9to5Google, 9to5Toys, & Electrek.co. He also co-authors 9to5Mac’s Logic Pros series.