Apple site removes iPhone 8 for purchase with reveal of new iPhone SE

On Wednesday, Apple effectively started funeral proceedings for its iPhone 8 after a couple of years of dutiful service.

The excellent 2017 edition of the iPhone is officially no longer on sale via Apple’s website. If you go to what used to be the purchasing page for the 8 and 8 Plus, you get a “Page Not Found” error instead. Bummer. Of course, there’s a good reason for this: Apple announced a new budget-friendly iPhone SE on Wednesday, which effectively makes the iPhone 8 obsolete.

The new SE comes in the exact same size as the base iPhone 8, but packs in the newer A13 Bionic processor you’d also find in the iPhone 11. In addition, it includes portrait mode for all the amateur photographers out there who want to produce beautiful images of their pets while they’re stuck social distancing. At $399, it’s a bit cheaper than the $449 starting price the 8 had been recently pegged at.

Still, the differences aren’t that pronounced. The batteries are the same in both phones and, sadly, the new SE doesn’t bring back the headphone jack that made the older SE such an appealing prospect. It’s the age of Bluetooth whether we like it or not. 

It’s worth noting that just because Apple isn’t selling the iPhone 8 anymore doesn’t mean you can’t still get one. Third-party sellers will surely supply it for a good long while. But as far as Apple is concerned, the iPhone SE is the way to go if you want a 4.7-inch iPhone that doesn’t cost as much as an expensive rent payment.