iPhone SE 2020 succeed in its intended role, suggests CIRP’s latest buyer survey

The latest buyer report for iPhone SE 2020 by Consumer Intelligence Research Partners (CIRP) suggests that the new by Apple succeeded to fulfil its intended role.

Apple introduced the new iPhone SE with iPhone 11’s performance and iPhone 8’s body, all within an affordable price tag of $399. The main goal was to persuade owners of previous models to upgrade to a newer model without disturbing the sales of its higher-end, expensive iPhone models.

iPhone SE and its user-base

The purchase data shared by CIRP for this quarter suggests that iPhone SE accounted for over 19% of all iPhone sales in this quarter, even though it was available for only a portion of it. For this particular phone, CIRP determined that it is likely to attract iOS users with a significantly older model.

The data suggests that over 73% of the buyers upgraded from iPhones that are four years old or more. The new phone also posed a little threat to the sales of higher-end phones like the iPhone 11 series. CIRP partner and co-founder Josh Lowitz describes it as:

“The Fall 2019 iPhone 11 and 11 Pro models remain the most popular, combining for around two-thirds of sales

Comparison again are tricky, with the launch of iPhone SE at the end of April 2020. A year ago, iPhone XR took almost half of sales in the quarter. This year, sales were divided among more diverse models, with even the lowest-priced and ultimately retired iPhone 8 and 8 Plus having 8% of sales. At the end of this past quarter, Apple has a simpler lineup than in the past, with just the XR, 11, 11 Pro, 11 Pro Max, and new SE.”

Since the launch of the new phone, users and analysts have compared it to higher-end iPhones with bigger batteries and better cameras, with the second-generation SE performing quite impressively for a phone with such a low price tag. There may be a few minor setbacks like battery life or camera quality, but in the end, Apple was able to offer much faster internals that were meant to be seen in its $699 iPhone 11, put into a compact body for making its phones a bit more affordable.