I could see why this might've entered into part of the discussion in a review for the original iPhone SE in 2016, but for a second iteration of this model it seems like trodden ground to point out that many average consumers don't like or need change, nor the price tag that comes with that change.

On the other hand, the 10s saw a dramatic increase in model variation in Apple's product line. It's been said before but I now have a fair amount of trouble knowing whether an iPhone model is current gen or not, I see people talking about iPhone 8, iPhone X, iPhone 11, iPhone XR, iPhone 11 Pro and now the iPhone SE has had a refresh again. A far cry from the canonical product line where Apple insisted one device was perfect for all... Whether that's a positive or a negative is up for debate. Samsung were doing fairly well until the S10 line where there were three versions of the Note and non-Note models. Google's Pixel line appears to be the last to keep with roughly one phone a generation (though the 3a slightly disrupts that rule).

Like the first SE (and the far less successful iPhone 5C) this is an attempt to sell to a more price-sensitive market that wouldn't consider their flagships in the first place. It's also not exactly unique; Samsung has everything from 100 euro units to those folding phones that cost twice as much as an 11 Pro, say.

The original SE didn't noticeably cannibalise the flagships, and it was in some ways a more appealing device than this (it filled the "smaller" niche, whereas it's hard to see how this one is in any way better than an 11 Pro).

The first SE and the 5C were redesigned models. This version is unique in that it is not unique. Its a goddam rebrand of the iphone 8 sold at prices cheaper than any of the iphones ever. 5c was priced $649 for a 64 GB unlocked version.

This is an iPhone 8 with mostly iPhone 11 internals, costing $400.

The original SE was a 5S with mostly 6S parts, costing $400.

The 5c was an outlier; it was both more expensive and more unique.