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[LeleSocho]

But what's special about it? There's nothing new - it's a 6S inside a 5S body.

SE is just plain misleading.
Special Edition suggests something exclusive that isn't available on any other model.
The SE isn't even a fully featured 6S - no 3D touch.

You are being forcefully dumb on this one, it's all very clear.
Apple had no intention whatsoever to continue making 4 inches phone but the market told them they were not ready to leave that form factor in the past so hereby the birth of iPhone (5S) Special Edition, the phone you know and love that get on with the times and that will be supported further in the future.
Make no mistake unless the sales of thing are spectacular you won't see an SE2 and even if it will be a blockbuster it won't have the design of the 5S but a brand new one and therefore there will not be any reason to be called SE anymore.

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To be honest the naming scheme doesn't irk me too much nor it sounds completely off (MacBook Air and iPad Mini 2 are pretty much legacy devices) but the problem that emerged at this event is the not clear flagship in the iPad department, the 9,7 Pro has new screen technology a better camera and flash but the SoC is inferior because it lacks the 4GB of ram that helps with the "Pro" stuff that the device has to do. If i want to buy the best of the best iPad has to offer i would not know what to choose between the smaller or bigger one.
There's also doubts if the Air and the Pro will run on different binaries for the time being or one is a straight replacement of the other. There will be a consumer version (Air?) and a Pro version of the same size iPad in the future?

 

[HUELEN10]

I hope SE does well. If it does, that means they could release 4.7 and 5.5 inch phones in the fall, and a same spec'd one in the spring that follows. iPhone Mini, iPhone, and iPhone Plus.

I want an SE and I want it right now... But the name could be better.

 

[Ninja Scooter]

I don't think the sub names matter so much to consumers. What matters is the iPad and iPhone names, and those still seem to carry plenty of weight. People just say "have you seen the new iPhone?"

 

[n0razi]

They started fucking up by calling the third-gen iPad "The New iPad" instead of iPad 3.

The whole "new" in naming is stupid like the new 3DS and new ipad. One year later its the old new ipad

 

[TunaMarshmallow]

For as long as Apple retains its culture cachet, this isn't going to matter too much. If consumers are still fixated on carrying and using Apple-branded products, they'll be willing to do the work required to make sense of an (admittedly confusing) product lineup.

If Apple loses its social status at some point, then these bad marketing practices will materialize in sales problems.

 

[SodiumBenzoate]

Oh hey, the verge actually writing about tech.
That's different.

 

[Jeronimo Jones]

I have (had?) the "New iPad" I think. It's not new anymore and I thought the name was bad when I got it.

It can be an issue when trying to make sure I'm getting the right thing when occasionally buying cases/accessories, but I expect that regular customers have more frequent issues with naming/identifying the Apple products.

 

[Dany]

They don't need to brand the different sizes of the iPad line or the phone line.

 

[TarpitCarnivore]

I think everyone is over complicating the average consumers shopping process. Most will walk in and say I need an iPad/iPhone/Macbook/whatever or maybe they may say "I want to buy that new smaller iPhone". To a lot of consumers it's still just iPhone or iPad. Apple's retail employees are very good with helping and swaying customers to where they need to be.

All this is doing is giving Apple a wider range of products to offer consumers. Now they can sell to those people who the iPad Pro features, but not on a 12" device. Or they want the newest iPhone, but don't want something the size of the 6 or 6 Plus. The product line seems a mess, but it's really not that bad. It's still miles and miles ahead of any of the Windows stuff you see.

 

[Chittagong]

It's not hopeless, they just need to unfuck up things. Basically size (Mini, Plus) is not a differentiator in marketing once the product is established. So might as well drop that moniker. Lightness (Air) is not a differentiator either once it's assumed all your products are as light as possible, so can drop that too. Descriptors ('The New') and weird unexplained acronyms (5C, SE) are just plain dumb. So forget them.

Features / performance and generation can be real differentiators forever. So using those is smart. So best way would be to return to Steve's Consumer / Pro system in iPads and Computers, and for phones, simply have one line.

Here's how it'd work.


iPhone - consumer only

iPhone 7 (4")
iPhone 7 (4.7")
iPhone 7 (5")

iPhone 7S (4")
iPhone 7S (4.7")
iPhone 7S (5")

iPad - consumer

iPad 5 (7")
iPad 5 (9.8")

iPad - prosumer

iPad Pro (9.8")
iPad Pro (12.9")

iPad Pro 2 (9.8")
iPad Pro 2 (12.9")

MacBook - consumer

MacBook (12", 2016)
MacBook (15", 2016)

MacBook - prosumer

MacBook Pro (13", 2016)
MacBook Pro (15", 2016)
MacBook Pro (17", 2016)


There you have it. My company would have charged $50K for this work.

 

[ReAxion]

Name confusion isn't going to steer people to competitors so it doesn't matter if people don't know the exact model name. Car companies intentionally make their models obscure combinations of letters and numbers and doesn't matter one bit. Get a grip, Verge.

 

[digdug2k]

Name confusion isn't going to steer people to competitors so it doesn't matter if people don't know the exact model name. Car companies intentionally make their models obscure combinations of letters and numbers and doesn't matter one bit. Get a grip, Verge.

Yeah! Unless Apple only has one model, then their genius of simplicity is what makes them amazing!

 

[plainr_]

They started fucking up by calling the third-gen iPad "The New iPad" instead of iPad 3.

I fucking hate that.

 

[Netherscourge]

Why can't Apple do something simple, like this?

iPhone 8S = small
iPhone 8M = medium
iPhone 8L = large

Same with the iPad and every other iDevice they sell with different screen sizes?

People complain about fragmentation with Android devices, yet Apple is doing a nice job fucking it all up on their own.

 

[Stinkles]

Name confusion isn't going to steer people to competitors so it doesn't matter if people don't know the exact model name. Car companies intentionally make their models obscure combinations of letters and numbers and doesn't matter one bit. Get a grip, Verge.

Actually this isn't true and there's a ton of market research to prove it. A great recent case is Infiniti having to re-name (with mixed success) its entire lineup in part to help explain which model was a sedan, versus SUV, and in part to help consumers understand that "This model competes with a 5-series BMW in terms of features" and so on.

People like clarity, especially for comparison shopping and in some ways, car and electronics buying is the zenith of comparison shopping.

 

[SmackCrackleNPop]

Should just offer their lines in three sizes and appropriate names.

iPhone mini
iPhone
IPhone Plus
It gets unwieldy when they're selling the older models too


iPad mini
iPad
iPad Pro

MacBook in 12" and 14"
MacBook Pro in 13" and 15"
Drop the Air, go all retina.

 

[ReAxion]

Actually this isn't true and there's a ton of market research to prove it. A great recent case is Infiniti having to re-name (with mixed success) its entire lineup in part to help explain which model was a sedan, versus SUV, and in part to help consumers understand that "This model competes with a 5-series BMW in terms of features" and so on.

People like clarity, especially for comparison shopping and in some ways, car and electronics buying is the zenith of comparison shopping.

Totally different market, doesn't line up. If Infiniti thinks it's going to help consumers swapping symbols around to tell the difference between a sedan and an SUV, they need to ignore that market research. It's presumed car consumers have eyesight.

If customers are asking "what's your version of the BMW 5-series" - they would do better in educating consumers in the way BMW already has for that to even be a question.

Where's the market research that found customers who said "I couldn't decide which iPhone I wanted so I bought Android"?

 

[Devilgunman]

Why can't they just go with their computer route when it comes to naming? Just a name and year. IPhone (2016), iPad (2016), iPad Mini (2016) etc

 

[nubbe]

iPhone P = Peasant
iPhone N = Nobility
iPhone R = Royalty

 

[dity]

This thread is basically "I don't like Apple but it sure has a confusing product lineup but I completely understand the naming scheme for the company I like instead".

 

[KJA]

To be fair, at least it's not as bad the Surface RT.

I can't tell you how pissed off I was when I was trying to help a person install a program on their computer over their phone, when I eventually went over to their place and found out it was a RT. What a piece of shit. I don't know what the hell was Microsoft was thinking because one of the employees at the Microsoft Store duped her into paying $600 for something that has less functionality than an iPad.

 

[Glix]

In my opinion ios has gone off the rails as well.

There settings menu is a hot mess, but in the name of simplicity i cant even set a preferred wifi network.

I actually cannot have my phone remember my cable companys wifi service (which is very good and all over) because i get it at like 5% signal in my apartment and my phone wont autoswitch to my home network and my work network when i enter from outside. Its absurd.

 

[7DollarHagane]

Why don't they just focus on getting prices down on a few products and software improvements? Any iPhone or iPad is good enough for what almost any average user wants to do with it. Why does it still need to cost $500?

 

[Battersea Power Station]

Why don't they just focus on getting prices down on a few products and software improvements? Any iPhone or iPad is good enough for what almost any average user wants to do with it. Why does it still need to cost $500?

I'd assume that one of the richest and most successful companies in the world does constant research on price points and maximizing their profits. If they're not lowering prices, it's most likely because it wouldn't benefit them.