The iPhone SE 2020 basically just killed the Pixel 4a and other value flagships...

[Ry]

Looking for a backup/2nd phone to go with my S20U. I actually have the Note 10+ in my cart with trading in my old iPhone 6S comes out to $37/month for 24 months no interest. Kind of hoping they drop the price of it but I am afraid it will disappear first.

Is there any benefit having both platforms current and available to you? If you're a Verizon or AT&T post-paid customer with a line available for upgrade pricing, the 64GB, 128GB, or 256GB second generation iPhone SE is essentially available for $200, $250, or $300.

 

[Javier P]

I mean you bumped it back up so...

Pixel 4a sounds solid. Great still camera. Best-in-class low-light photos. Supported for three years which is the best you can do on Android unless you make the NVIDIA Shield TV.

OnePlus Nord - not really relevant in the US market so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ for me. It's fine.

I'm glad they exist.

But relative to the second generation iPhone SE, good luck.

And much cheaper, better display and battery life, headphones jack ...

There's always room for competition, which is excellent for us. Just remembered this thread while reading a couple of articles about these new devices. Not exactly "killed", right?

 

[Ry]

And much cheaper, better display and battery life, headphones jack ...

There's always room for competition, which is excellent for us. Just remembered this thread while reading a couple of articles about these new devices. Not exactly "killed", right?

It depends on how you’re measuring.

Will a better display (because the iPhone SE’s is a horrible LCD!?) and better battery life and a headphone jack cause more people to buy a Pixel 4a over an iPhone SE?

I mean if the score is 10000 to 1, someone got "killed" if that's how you're measuring (which is how I'd measure it).

Or... people don’t switch anyway so there’s nothing killed.

But basically, I agree with Harish's (hot) take.

 

[Javier P]

Depends how you’re measuring.

Will better display (because the iPhone SE’s is LCD!?) and better battery life cause more people to buy a Pixel 4a over an iPhone SE?

Or... people don’t switch anyway so there’s nothing killed.

What?

 

[Ry]

What?

Thanks. Fixed a slight typo and further clarified my reasoning. Hope you can understand it now.

 

[Javier P]

Thanks. Fixed a slight typo and further clarified my reasoning. Hope you can understand it now.

Ok, thanks. But still that has nothing to do with the original point of this thread.

The Pixel 4a, OP Nord and other devices are already available and they offer a lot of things for the money. If we just focus on the 4a there's no way to say that it has been killed or even close. Actually it's a phone with a better value for the money than the SE.

There are not many aspects in which the SE is definitely better for a normal user and the price is much higher. Just that.

 

[Ry]

Ok, thanks. But still that has nothing to do with the original point of this thread.

The Pixel 4a, OP Nord and other devices are already available and they offer a lot of things for the money. If we just focus on the 4a there's no way to say that it has been killed or even close. Actually it's a phone with a better value for the money than the SE.

There are not many aspects in which the SE is definitely better for a normal user and the price is much higher. Just that.

The original point of this thread is..?

The Harish's (not Maring's) article.

- Apple A13 vs Pixel 4a's Snapdragon 730
- IP67 vs nothing on the 4a and budget Xiaomi's
- Wireless charging vs nothing on the 4a and budget Xiaomi's
- Indian market with strong XR sales which will probably lead to very strong SE sales
- Software updates - where the SE will probably get five, likely six, maybe even seven years of OS support vs 3 on the 4a and good luck everyone else
- WiFi 6 on the SE. Not present on the 4a. Not present on the Nord.
- Gigabit LTE on the SE. Not present on the 4a.

Outside of that article-

Camera? Pixel 4a only really wins at low-light. Regular stills are essentially equal. And the SE wins on video quality.

Battery life? Pixel 4a wins but it's not by much.

Support? Most of the population has an Apple Store they can take it too, COVID aside.

Even at $100 more (comparing 128GB models), Apple has packed a lot of value into the SE.

"Killed" is a strong word. That seems to be the biggest offense of that article. But the value (including and especially value over time) that the SE brings is a lot for any competitor to overcome.

 

[Laura Knotek]

The original point of this thread is..?

The Joe Maring article.

- Apple A13 vs Pixel 4a's Snapdragon 730
- IP67 vs nothing on the 4a and budget Xiaomi's
- Wireless charging vs nothing on the 4a and budget Xiaomi's
- Indian market with strong XR sales which will probably lead to very strong SE sales
- Software updates - where the SE will probably get five, likely six, maybe even seven years of OS support vs 3 on the 4a and good luck everyone else
- WiFi 6 on the SE. Not present on the 4a. Not present on the Nord.
- Gigabit LTE on the SE. Not present on the 4a.

Outside of that article-

Camera? Pixel 4a only really wins at low-light. Regular stills are essentially equal. And the SE wins on video quality.

Battery life? Pixel 4a wins but it's not by much.

Support? Most of the population has an Apple Store they can take it too, COVID aside.

Even at $100 more (comparing 128GB models), Apple has packed a lot of value into the SE.

"Killed" is a strong word. That seems to be the biggest offense of that article. But the value (including and especially value over time) that the SE brings is a lot for any competitor to overcome.

5.7" Pixel 4a could be a huge plus. I'd never want something as tiny as the SE that's only 4.7".

 

[anon(50597)]

The original point of this thread is..?

The Joe Maring article.

- Apple A13 vs Pixel 4a's Snapdragon 730
- IP67 vs nothing on the 4a and budget Xiaomi's
- Wireless charging vs nothing on the 4a and budget Xiaomi's
- Indian market with strong XR sales which will probably lead to very strong SE sales
- Software updates - where the SE will probably get five, likely six, maybe even seven years of OS support vs 3 on the 4a and good luck everyone else
- WiFi 6 on the SE. Not present on the 4a. Not present on the Nord.
- Gigabit LTE on the SE. Not present on the 4a.

Outside of that article-

Camera? Pixel 4a only really wins at low-light. Regular stills are essentially equal. And the SE wins on video quality.

Battery life? Pixel 4a wins but it's not by much.

Support? Most of the population has an Apple Store they can take it too, COVID aside.

Even at $100 more (comparing 128GB models), Apple has packed a lot of value into the SE.

"Killed" is a strong word. That seems to be the biggest offense of that article. But the value (including and especially value over time) that the SE brings is a lot for any competitor to overcome.

I have to agree with you.
Killed, probably not (whatever that means).
Better value, I think you pointed out the key elements. Especially strong support and for a very long time.

 

[SactoKingsFan]

Not interested in switching for various reasons but the overall design of the new iPhone SE would be a big issue. Never liked having the FPS in the front. Also the screen is too small and bezels too thick after mostly using phones within the 5.5 - 6.0 in. range with more minimal bezels. I'll take the Pixel 2 out if I want to use a smaller phone with big bezels.

 

[Javier P]

The original point of this thread is..?

The Joe Maring article.

- Apple A13 vs Pixel 4a's Snapdragon 730
- IP67 vs nothing on the 4a and budget Xiaomi's
- Wireless charging vs nothing on the 4a and budget Xiaomi's
- Indian market with strong XR sales which will probably lead to very strong SE sales
- Software updates - where the SE will probably get five, likely six, maybe even seven years of OS support vs 3 on the 4a and good luck everyone else
- WiFi 6 on the SE. Not present on the 4a. Not present on the Nord.
- Gigabit LTE on the SE. Not present on the 4a.

Outside of that article-

Camera? Pixel 4a only really wins at low-light. Regular stills are essentially equal. And the SE wins on video quality.

Battery life? Pixel 4a wins but it's not by much.

Support? Most of the population has an Apple Store they can take it too, COVID aside.

Even at $100 more (comparing 128GB models), Apple has packed a lot of value into the SE.

"Killed" is a strong word. That seems to be the biggest offense of that article. But the value (including and especially value over time) that the SE brings is a lot for any competitor to overcome.

Not sure why you keep mentioning Joe Maring, the article that you originally linked was written by Haris Jonnalagadda. What am I missing?

 

[Ry]

Not sure why you keep mentioning Joe Maring, the article that you originally linked was written by Haris Jonnalagadda. What am I missing?


View attachment 323590

..fixed.

 

[Javier P]

Talking about Maring.

https://www.androidcentral.com/google-pixel-4a-vs-iphone-se-2020

The biggest difference being the price, more than 100 USD if we make a fair comparison, which in the under 400$ segment I think it's a lot.

 

[Ry]

Talking about Maring.

https://www.androidcentral.com/google-pixel-4a-vs-iphone-se-2020

The biggest difference being the price, more than 100 USD if we make a fair comparison, which in the under 400$ segment I think it's a lot.

Comments aren't available on the article so it's one of those referral link "articles" on the main site.

Joe also mentions Apple's updates which clearly make the the iPhone SE a better value over time unless you're going to replace it in 2-3 years.

$400 for a phone that Apple will support with updates for (likely) six years.

$350 for a phone that Google will support with updates for three years.

The kill? For me, it's because it's a safe bet that Apple will move tons of the SE. Even with the market conditions, 40 mil vs. 4 mil globally would be a kill for me. Might not be a kill for you. It might be closer in some markets (like India) or bigger in other markets (like the US). And again, I recognize how strong of a word kill is - I'm not taking it that seriously. There's really nothing wrong with either product.

 

[Mike Dee]

I have to agree with you.
Killed, probably not (whatever that means).
Better value, I think you pointed out the key elements. Especially strong support and for a very long time.

The strong support for 5 or 6 years is only of value to those willing to get a battery swapped out. While it is beneficial to some, I know very few people that keep a device for more than 3 years.

 

[anon(50597)]

The strong support for 5 or 6 years is only of value to those willing to get a battery swapped out. While it is beneficial to some, I know very few people that keep a device for more than 3 years.

Support is more than how long a battery will last, it is having, for many, a local store to get instant service. It is standing behind their products. It is not being fragmented with multiple manufacturers, OS's, etc.

Getting a battery swapped out, if necessary, is a cheap way to have an updated device.

It's not for everyone but it sure is worth something for many people.

 

[Ry]

The strong support for 5 or 6 years is only of value to those willing to get a battery swapped out. While it is beneficial to some, I know very few people that keep a device for more than 3 years.

You could nitpick everything that way though.

I know very few people that have wireless chargers.
I know very few people that care about OLED vs. LCD.
I know very few people that care about the camera.
I know very few people.....

Is it OK to factor in resale value? If history is any indicator, a three-year old iPhone SE would likely sell for more than a three-year old Pixel 4a.

What about as a hand-me down? Is a three-year old iPhone SE which would still be getting updates from Apple better than a three-year old Pixel 4a at EOL for platform and security updates from Google (though Play Services would still be getting updates)?

Yes. The iPhone SE costs more now (at retail. US Verizon and AT&T post-paid customers still have a great deal available).

For me, the 4a isn't bad. But to me, the SE is more valuable overall and the sales numbers will eventually back up the (let's be honest, it's just a headline grab that triggered folks) "kill" statement.

 

[Mike Dee]

Support is more than how long a battery will last, it is having, for many, a local store to get instant service. It is standing behind their products. It is not being fragmented with multiple manufacturers, OS's, etc.

Getting a battery swapped out, if necessary, is a cheap way to have an updated device.

It's not for everyone but it sure is worth something for many people.

I didn't mention how long a battery lasts as support at all. What I'm saying is support longevity is meaningless if the device has limited battery life and the consumer doesn't want to change out a battery after 2 or 3 years.

 

[anon(50597)]

I didn't mention how long a battery lasts as support at all. What I'm saying is support longevity is meaningless if the device has limited battery life and the consumer doesn't want to change out a battery after 2 or 3 years.

I have an almost 2 year old Xr and battery is at 99%. I’m not too worried.

 

[Mike Dee]

You could nitpick everything that way though.

I know very few people that have wireless chargers.
I know very few people that care about OLED vs. LCD.
I know very few people that care about the camera.
I know very few people.....

Is it OK to factor in resale value? If history is any indicator, a three-year old iPhone SE would likely sell for more than a three-year old Pixel 4a.

What about as a hand-me down? Is a three-year old iPhone SE which would still be getting updates from Apple better than a three-year old Pixel 4a at EOL for platform and security updates from Google (though Play Services would still be getting updates)?

Yes. The iPhone SE costs more now (at retail. US Verizon and AT&T post-paid customers still have a great deal available).

For me, the 4a isn't bad. But to me, the SE is more valuable overall and the sales numbers will eventually back up the (let's be honest, it's just a headline grab that triggered folks) "kill" statement.

Not nitpicking at all. Just stating the obvious...if you have a device with a defunct battery it's useless regardless of support longevity, unless you make the effort to replace it and I don't know many that do. Maybe I hang around with the wrong with the wrong people.