Apple Inc.’s (NASDAQ:AAPL) new iPhone SE is being heavily criticized for its inability to operate on 5G networks.
While Apple is billing its latest smart phone, which retails for $399, as being for "budget conscious consumers," critics have been quick to pounce, noting that the newest iPhone offers nothing new and cannot run on the latest and greatest high speed 5G networks. The New York Times ran an article about the new phone headlined "Why Apple’s New Phone Doesn’t Matter."
In China, consumers are already voicing their displeasure with the new SE phone, saying they won’t buy it because lacks the 5G capability that most new Chinese smartphones in a similar price range offer. In a poll conducted on social media site Weibo, 60% of roughly 350,000 Chinese respondents said they would not buy the $399 model, the cheapest iPhone available.
Apple’s market share in China, its third-biggest market where it gets roughly 15% of its worldwide sales, has shrank over the past several years, as Chinese Android brands steadily release higher-end phones. Competition has only intensified in China as Apple’s rivals are now releasing 5G devices compatible with China’s upgraded telecommunications networks while Apple has yet to launch an iPhone with 5G capability.
Apple will start taking orders for the new SE phone on its website this Friday, with deliveries expected to start April 24.
