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I’ve held onto my iPhone6 because it’s worked well since replacing the battery and is in great shape. I also remember paying $299 for the 64GB version but will upgrade this year for the new OS and my Apple Watch will not install the new OS because the iPhone has to run iOS13.
 
Why upgrade from 6S to SE? It has no sense.
More LTE bands (particularly important for T-Mobile), dual SIM, stereo sound, much better camera image processing, AR functionality, IP67 water/dust resistance, True Tone display, HDR support, wireless charging, improved battery life, much faster CPU and GPU, and probably more that I forgot. It may look similar, but under the hood a lot has changed since 2015.
 
With the global economy in recession and job security in a tenuous state at best for many people, this was perfect timing to introduce a budget-focused phone. So, it's not surprising to see the healthy uptake on the new SE.

I got my iPhone SE the 2nd week after release, and it hits all the right buttons for me. I prefer the smaller form factor, don't need the fancy camera (I prefer to use a DSLR for non-spontaneous photos), and given how I mount and use my phone in the car, I much prefer Touch ID over Face ID. If anything, this supposed "small" phone is larger than I would prefer. So, for me the old form factor with the latest and greatest A-series processor is the right combination.

My trusty iPhone 5s still runs fine (and I took it out of mothballs last week when Apple released iOS 12.4.8 -- almost 7 years of support for that phone). But, the Lightning port is wearing out and the battery life is starting to go down as well (I'd already replaced the original battery 3 years ago and did not want to splurge for another one). So, I did need a new phone and the SE meets my needs.

Given that the rumored 5.4" iPhone 12 is supposedly smaller than the iPhone SE, I might have waited for the new model to come out. But, I didn't want to wait til September just to confirm whether the iPhone 12 would go back to a sensible size, or if it would stay with the phablet form factor of the XR and 11. Plus, at $450 for the 128GB SE, that's a bargain price -- especially compared to the $750 that I paid for the 32GB 5s back in 2013. Given that the SE uses the A13 processor, the phone will be good for at least another 5 years.
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Loved my SE at first, but now I’m ready to move on. The battery life is unacceptable.

Widely reported battery drain issue with iOS 13.5. Might want to try upgrading to 13.6 first before making the final judgment on the battery life. As far as I know, the battery life is comparable to the iPhone 8, even with the more powerful processor and RAM increase.
 
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More LTE bands (particularly important for T-Mobile), dual SIM, stereo sound, much better camera image processing, AR functionality, IP67 water/dust resistance, True Tone display, HDR support, wireless charging, improved battery life, much faster CPU and GPU, and probably more that I forgot. It may look similar, but under the hood a lot has changed since 2015.

The additional LTE bands were the reason why I almost upgraded my iPhone 5s to the original SE a couple of years ago. But, Apple discontinued it and I didn't jump quickly enough when the last remaining units showed up in Apple's clearance site. I'm generally happy with T-Mobile, but there are coverage gaps in some areas where my 5s went blank while my daughter's iPhone 7 still got coverage. So, when the new SE was announced, I decided to make the upgrade even though the phone is larger that I'd prefer.
 
Probably has to do more with price than anything else. Not everyone can justify $1000+ on a shiny new iPhone especially during times like these. I don’t see a major benefit in going from a Plus to an XR or iPhone 11. Same tech, except Face ID which is failing badly with everyone wearing a mask. If I was using an iPhone 8, I would get the new SE instead of a XR or 11. The Pro series with an OLED display is a different story.

The mask argument doesn’t make sense the me.
Pull it down like I have to pull off a mitt in winter for TouchID or a scarf for FaceID

COVID will last months.
Cold winters are yearly.
 
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Do you really need a smartphone if you're stuck inside?
A lot of us have jobs that don’t let us be stuck inside. Side note: I just ordered an SE to replace my XS. I’m returning to lighter, smaller, TouchID devices that I can unlock quickly without removing a mask.
 
What happened to the SE Plus (large sized version)?

The SE Plus should have come out instead of the current SE2 (4.7"). Big displays are so much better than the trashy and crappy 4.7" display. The keen wait for the SE Plus continues.
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I think there will be a lot of switchers from people who’ve broken screens or issues with current iPhones.. the cost of repair on the Xs and 11’s is it extortion! My broken screen on the XS max gave me the option of a new screen at £319 or a trade in of £330. I took the trade in and bought the SE.. it’s a no brainer

Of course I cant speak for ur experience of using the SE now, but this trade in would be the worst decision for literally everyone else. You are trading in a high value, premium, highest end tier (at least just a year ago before 11 Pro Max was released) for a trashy tiny phone with a unusable display that is so small, awful single camera with unacceptable zoom of only 5X, no OLED, inferior materials (aluminium band instead of stainless steel) and less water resistance.

Not to mention above all, the SE is low end phone that pales in status to the XS Max.
 
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Given the state of the world, if you’re in a predicament where you have to buy a new phone because something happened to your old one, it’s a quite sensible choice to get an iPhone SE given how powerful it is and how long it will last with software updates without spending very much money.

Even a lot of Android users might consider the SE. Especially those who primarily buy Android because they are price sensitive and go for the lower tier models. These are the devices that aren’t reviewed well and made of cheap materials with cruddy cameras but are sold for a few hundred bucks through their carrier so they go for it.
 
AR functionality,
Dont fall for Apple's promotion of using AR on the SE. It is unusable with that tiny screen estate, and AR is a mess when there is not enough physical space on your screen to overlay the AR content. Because the tiny screen can only show a small amount of the real world, you have to constantly move ur phone around to capture other parts of the real world (this is not a camera problem because the camera can capture enough range of field, but just cannot show it on the screen because there is not enough screen size (unlike on iPad which the images can be fully shown).

Even the Plus/Max phones are still too small for AR to be properly experienced. Minimum screen size is iPad.
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Loved my SE at first, but now I’m ready to move on. The battery life is unacceptable.
So u just wasted $399 (or more for storage tier) for a trashy phone, and will now have to pay for another phone yet again, assuming u passed the return timeframe). Congrats man.
 
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Android switcher over here. There was 0 doubt in my mind: $400 for 4-5 years of support, an OK camera and the best mobile CPU on the planet, that not even $1000 Android phones have? Sign me up. I do prefer Android as an operating system, and there's many things on iOS I've found utterly illogical in the past month of ownership... still wouldn't change my mind. This is unbeatable value.
 
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IF we're to believe Centerpoint's statics & analysis here, no doubt that the iPhone SE‌ 2020 model has it's appeal. I don't think it's right for Centerpoint to pontificate that it'll not cannibalize sales of the iPhone 12 due to a 'smaller screen size' when the iPhone 12 base will have a larger screen yet smaller device size. I think it's more like that of being pragmatic in price, that the Home button is still heavily preferred by most older iPhone users. It's easy simple and still rapidly faster, not to mention less awkward to use for ApplePay than FaceID.

- when you pull out your phone from the pocket, your thumb is close enough to double-tap and authenticate in a much smoother motion to pay, than to lift close enough and at a proper angle of your face to authenticate then lower to the payment terminal.
 
I replaced my damaged 5S to SE last week.

Most of the time we use MBP16, the phone just for communication, bank APP and Messenger, snapshots and web in hotel.
Currently flagship phone is too big for our pockets, the 11 pro is the max size we consider.
However, 11pro is out of our budget, i don't want spend on a mobile phone more that 300usd.

However you hard to find small android phone under 300usd, so i considering pay a little more like pixel 3a.
The 3a with slower CPU is not smooth as SE A13, enclosure is plastic let i worry the cosmetic ageing and not strong enough, the 3a OLED with flicker and not comfort as apple, camera is not fast and not natural, 3a have best Android OS upgrade by google but iOS with traditional longest support include both OS and APP.

I am neither Android or iOS fan, i only require compact phone easy to pick up and reliability enough for few years, as currently is lack of choose as most phone i thing is too big so i picked iPhone SE 2020.

The display is fine as i move from 5s, the battery is not too bad although you can not compare as big phone, I am light mobile person so it enough for us use three days without recharge.
 
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I think the idea is that if you’re inside, you can use a larger device like an iPad or Mac. (Though I still use my iPhone in the house quite a bit)

That’s another reason why I’m not upgrading. Battery concerns and camera are my usual consideration for upgrading and I’m working from home and cannot take a proper vacation overseas. Lol another year and I’ll still keep my xs max
 
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I do sometimes think Apple get it wrong with their product lineup and naming, its like 'The New iPad' all over again instead of iPad 3 , and then calling the one after that iPad instead of iPad 4, I cannot believe sometimes there is nobody high up at Apple spotting these inconsistencies.

Some people really want and like the size of the 5s and SE, all Apple had to do was put newer internals and call it an iPhone SE 2 or iPhone SE 2020 and make it the lowest cost iPhone ever . The SE name could then be marketed as Small Edition.

The current iPhone SE recently released should have been released as the iPhone 8s. This would then allow them to use the iPhone 9 and 9s names before completely getting rid of a physical home button, by which time you would hope they have under glass finger print readers working.
 
IF we're to believe Centerpoint's statics & analysis here, no doubt that the iPhone SE‌ 2020 model has it's appeal. I don't think it's right for Centerpoint to pontificate that it'll not cannibalize sales of the iPhone 12 due to a 'smaller screen size' when the iPhone 12 base will have a larger screen yet smaller device size. I think it's more like that of being pragmatic in price, that the Home button is still heavily preferred by most older iPhone users. It's easy simple and still rapidly faster, not to mention less awkward to use for ApplePay than FaceID.

- when you pull out your phone from the pocket, your thumb is close enough to double-tap and authenticate in a much smoother motion to pay, than to lift close enough and at a proper angle of your face to authenticate then lower to the payment terminal.
With faceid you can preauthenticate and you have a fairly good amount of time before the phone times out.
 
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