iPad Mini 7 and Its Impact on iPhone SE 4 Pricing
Introduction to the iPad Mini 7 Announcement
Apple surprised everyone earlier this week with a low-key iPad mini 7 announcement. We knew the tablet update was coming, and we knew that it would only be a specs update this year. But we were all expecting Apple to hold a press conference later this month to introduce it. The event would unveil the iPad mini 7, M4 MacBook Pro, and other new Mac models.
Pricing Analysis: iPad Mini 7
The first thing I did when I saw the iPad Mini 7 press release was to scroll to the bottom and check the release date and price. The iPad mini 7 might be the perfect tablet for me, but that wasn't why I checked the price. I wanted to see how much Apple would charge for the cheapest iPad mini SKU now that it has the same processing power as the iPhone 15 Pro. It turns out that the price did not change. The old base price of $499 gets you a compact tablet with the A17 Pro chip, 8GB of RAM, and 128GB of storage. That's a tremendous deal.
Implications for the iPhone SE 4
I think it's even better news for the upcoming iPhone SE 4, which should be the cheapest Apple Intelligence-ready iPhone in Apple's lineup. Comparing the $499 iPad mini 7 to the $999 iPhone 15 Pro isn't exactly fair. The tablet is larger than the smartphone, and it features Touch ID instead of Face ID and an LCD instead of OLED panel. Face ID and the OLED screen are the more expensive components.
- The iPhone 15 Pro has a more complex camera system than the iPad mini 7.
- The tablet's 12-megapixel wide-angle camera matches the M4 iPad Pro's rear camera specs.
Expectations for iPhone SE 4 Design and Features
Moving on to the iPhone SE 4, the upcoming phone is expected to feature the iPhone 16's A18 chip paired with 8GB of RAM. Storage-wise, Apple will probably start at 128GB. Hopefully, the 64GB storage tier is gone for good as far as the iPhone is concerned.
- The iPhone SE 3 successor should inherit the design of the iPhone 14 rather than the iPhone 15/16.
- On the back, the phone will have a single-lens camera.
Final Thoughts on Device Pricing
Considering that Apple will be recycling iPhone 14 parts of the iPhone SE 4, and taking into account these apples-to-oranges comparisons between the iPad mini 7, iPhone 15 Pro, and iPhone SE 4, it sure looks like the latter can get an amazing price. That is, Apple can manufacture a much cheaper variant of the iPhone 16.
This article was prepared using information from open sources in accordance with the principles of Ethical Policy. The editorial team is not responsible for absolute accuracy, as it relies on data from the sources referenced.