I think it’s the other way around. The carriers would want to make it more difficult for someone to switch to another service in a physical or digital store that supports every major provider. They probably would prefer that all Apple Stores would totally vanish overnight so that they could greatly increase the $$$ they collect on the number of iPhone or iPad they sell.
Apparently, Haptic Touch in the iPhone SE doesn’t work in Notification Center
And John Gruber comments on the overall 3D Touch/Haptic Touch issue at Daring Fireball too.
My wife has small hands and loved her SE. I couldn’t get her to switch. Then she had to, and got an 8. It’s not too big for her hands and she loves the screen size. I think the size of the 8 is an OK lower size point for Apple at this point, and having a cheaper handset is smart too. Is there really enough market for a relatively high end tiny phone at this point?
Who said it had to be high end?
Diane
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I’m not aware of any Apple product that isn’t considered to be on the premium side of quality and price.
Nobody is making much money selling cheap phones, and I doubt that Apple sees a market there.
I could be wrong, of course.
Bruce
So the latest rumors are pointing to one OLED model of the new iPhone 12 to come in at $649 with a 5.4" bezel-less display, 5G, and dual cameras (no LIDAR). That would be quite a price for such a device. By my simple estimates above, such a device could actually be a bit smaller than the 2020 SE, or about 7 mm wider (and 11 mm taller) than the 2016 SE.
If indeed such a device comes out in fall, I guess we’ll see how well a smaller high-end phone sells. At that price, I cannot imagine it wouldn’t do really well.
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OMG. I would be happy to see that.
Apr 30, 2020
It didn’t work out- I sent it back it was defective (could not sync with any computer) although the lighting port worked as it did charge from AC. Tried 3 computers-3 cables (all Apple usb). Then I called Apple.
Seems that it wasn’t brand new but resold as it was registered in 2017. They did their diagnostics but (free of charge-since it wasn’t under any warranty) and said it was probably the motherboard-which I figured also. Send it back and eBay said they were behind my refund- no worries. So the old adage still stands: Buyer Beware!
How’s the new SE- ?any comments on that? So
Sorry to hear that didn’t work out. My wife got her “new” 128 GB SE last time Apple had them on the refurb store here in the States, IIRC around Oct. I’ve never seen them come back since. Lucky her.
One thing you could contemplate is just getting a new 2020 SE right now. It’s inexpensive for sure and all the reviews I’ve seen say that basically it’s a great device unless you want a really large screen or you do high-end photography (on a phone that is). Then, if half a year down the road you realize you just cannot come to terms with its size (like I did with my 6), you could trade it for a brand new iPhone 12" in the 5.4" size. There’s been pretty consistent rumors about that device size and its specs for many months now. It won’t be inexpensive as the SE, but it will be a tad smaller.
There’s a whole bunch of hands-on reviews linked from this page.
My shiny red iPhone SE arrived and I spent a few hours setting it up yesterday. Actually more like 7 hours, but the final results is that I am one happy camper. 
I also bought the red case from Apple, so the shiny bit only shows at the base–but still it’s RED. Next up a cover for the glass screen as I don’t want another cracked screen.
The transfer: I’ve never done this on my own before, the Verizon store always did it for me. Thanks to links found farther up in this thread, I learned what to do and was ready. The only hitch was when my phones said they’d talk to each other and the old would set up the new via icloud. That’s where the hours came in. I finally got tired of waiting and stopped the set up and used iTunes (which was my original plan). Took very little time, maybe 20 minutes total? I’m not real sure as I stepped away.
I’ve had to authorize a few sites, but that’s because Verizon immediately dumped my number and didn’t authorize it again until I had the set-up finished. 
The size is perfect for me, but I can see where it might be too small for anyone with larger hands. I like the weight as well. This will fit nicely in the phone pocket in my purse, and it will also fit in the cup holder in my car. All in all, I’m pleased with my purchase.
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I just ordered my second-ever smart phone, the new iPhone SE. This move was prompted by my spouse’s phone service provider saying that it would only support smart phones going forward.
Would it be feasible to move the (Boost Mobile) SIM from my original SE to the new SE, and move the (TracFone) SIM from the flip-phone to the old SE? Is that all it would take to continue using the existing services? (I have removed and replaced SIMs before; that would not be a problem.) Thanks for any education.
Will M, did you buy both SEs unlocked? If you bought them from a carrier (like Sprint or Tracfone) they most likely will be bound to that carrier for some period of time – in the case of some Tracfone models, maybe for life.
Where you bought the phones also has some bearing on whether the SE you want to use has all of the radio bands needed to communicate best with the carrier on which you want to use it.
Thanks, @steved, for the follow-up. Sorry, I should have thought to mention that both iPhones are unlocked.
The old one arrived locked from VirginMobileUSA (which operated on Sprint towers, I believe), but I had it unlocked for an overseas trip. (Thanks, Adam, for the guidance on GiffGaff.) I bought the new one from the Apple Store with no SIM, so I assume it must be unlocked.
The flip-phone was purchased from a non-phone retailer (I don’t even remember, but it might have been a grocery store) but it was tied to TracFone when I bought it. But would it matter for the flip-phone, which will get discarded?
Regarding what radio bands are desired, I know nothing, but I did glean this information. The old iPhone is model A1723. Wikipedia parenthetically notes “Sprint and in most countries” for this model. An Apple page lists the following for this model.
LTE (Bands 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 12, 17, 18, 19, 20, 25, 26, 28)
TD‑LTE (Bands 38, 39, 40, 41)
TD‑SCDMA 1900 (F), 2000 (A)
CDMA EV‑DO Rev. A (800, 1700/2100, 1900, 2100 MHz)
UMTS/HSPA+/DC‑HSDPA (850, 900, 1700/2100, 1900, 2100 MHz)
GSM/EDGE (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz)
What other information should I have included?
Thanks, WIll M!
You should have no issue moving the SIM from the old SE to the new one.
As for the old SE, depending on the age and model of the flip phone, you may find that the SIM is a different size. Larger SIMs can be cut to the smaller size.
The Tracfone SIM may be more problematic. I’m assuming it is the same size or that you can cut it down if necessary.
Beyond that, though, Tracfone may have serialized the SIM to the flip phone (they have their reasons and they’re not all nefarious). There is no harm in putting the SIM into the old SE and starting it up. You may be fine; you may have to call Tracfone (or use their Web site? not real familiar with Tracfone’s brands) to tell them the SIM is in a new/smart phone, or you may learn that you need a brand new SIM that they will set up to go into your iPhone.
Be aware that minute bonuses (“Triple minutes for life!”) are one of the things tied to the phone SIM so you may lose that benefit when you move the SIM into the old SE.
Thank you for all the good information, @steved!
As an even further off-topic aside, the confirmation email from Apple for the purchase of the new iPhone cannot be printed from Apple’s Mail on 8.5x11 paper without truncating some of the information, including the purchase price. Even reducing to 90% or smaller only makes what actually prints smaller, but it still cuts off the same information as printing at 100%. Sheesh.
Try changing from portrait to landscape mode when printing. I’ve had some luck with that in the past.
That is what I did, but it shouldn’t be necessary. The email should be formatted such that it can be printed in portrait rather than having so much white space on the left. And shrinking the zoom level should not shrink just the portion that would print at full size. That’s two dumb moves by Apple, in my opinion.
That was on May 28. I received it today, although it almost certainly arrived on Friday or Saturday. When I ordered it, delivery was predicted to be June 08 to 10.
I was pleasantly surprised; I didn’t think it was that much larger or heavier. (You can tell I don’t follow iPhone evolution much.) My biggest complaint about the shape is the rounded sides.
I moved the SIM from the old SE without difficulty, but in the new phone, I get a message about the SIM being locked. I moved it back to the old phone, where it continues to work.
Apparently the SIM in the flip phone is not removable without destroying the phone.
I’ll regroup and probably sign up for some family plan with two lines.
I moved the SIM from the old SE without difficulty, but in the new phone, I get a message about the SIM being locked. I moved it back to the old phone, where it continues to work.
You wrote earlier that the old SE was unlocked?
Yes, I did. Of course, I meant that I believed it was unlocked.
VirginMobileUSA told me it had been unlocked, and I used it on the overseas trip with a different SIM, which I assumed demonstrated conclusively that it was unlocked.
Is it possible for the phone to be unlocked and the SIM to be locked? That appears to describe what I’m seeing, but I could be misinterpreting something.
Thanks for your continued interest. Since both old phones are functioning, there is little urgency. If you have other suggestions, I would be happy to hear them. If you have no further suggestions (and I recognize it’s hard to diagnose something remotely), I’ll visit a local Boost Mobile store and ask them to sort it out, putting both iPhones on Boost.