Apple’s Left a $500 Hole in Its iPhone Lineup, and Android Phones Are Filling That Gap

Commentary: Apple’s near-absence from the cheaper phone market lets rival phones provide more modern features for less money.

When Apple discontinued the iPhone 13 Mini this year, the company left a big opening in its lineup. For a second year in a row, Apple no longer offers an iPhone priced at $499, even though other companies have launched competitive Android phones in that price range.

The last time Apple offered a $499 model, it was the iPhone 11 in 2021, which had been discounted from its original 2019 price of $699. The model was the last non-5G iPhone in Apple’s lineup, but even today it still gets new features from Apple’s iOS 17 while providing a larger 6.1-inch screen with a Face ID sensor. However the iPhone 11 was discontinued last year, following the debut of the iPhone 14.

Instead, Apple’s lineup now jumps from the $429 iPhone SE to the $599 iPhone 13, leaving nothing but higher storage variants of the SE in-between.

Remember, the SE is the last iPhone model with a home button. On the inside it sports modern iPhone features like an A15 Bionic chip, 5G, an IP67 rating for water and dust resistance, and it runs on iOS 17. But it’s housed within a dated and repurposed body from an iPhone 8. Technically, the 2022 version of the SE has the same back glass as the iPhone 13, which costs $179 more.

The $599 iPhone 13 comes with 128GB of storage and is still a solid phone despite entering its third year on the market. Compare that to the SE, which comes with 64GB of storage and can be upgraded to 128GB for $50, bringing the price to $479.

2023 prices for iPhone SE, 13, 14 and 14 Plus