I'm not sure what it is you want said. The best I can do is share my thought process in September 2018 through to today when I decided things regarding my SE.
I "need" a phone with around 160GB storage to be comfortable as I'm on flights enough such that I want my entire music library on my phone… I'm not going to f&$# around making playlists that fit - it just all needs to fit. 128GB is ok but is a bit of a squeeze. With Apple, that forces me into a model 256GB. So the choice was to go with an iPhone 8 with a 2 generation performance jump and a Touch ID button that always seems to fail for me in summer (and I live in a place where its summer 6 months of the year) else a XS that was priced at 1,350€. No way I'm buying an even bigger XR nor was I prepared to buy an even older iPhone 7… the SE has mostly 6S internals so what's the point there?!
So realistically I'm looking at spending 1,350€ on a device I don't want. Like hell no… I'm not spending that money on something I don't want! It's no more difficult than that. Don't get me wrong, in the Android space there's no SE size phone that I want to buy either. Basically any phone I buy at this point is one I don't want as it'll be too big. Given that it'll all be about saving money. If I can't have one I'll get the other.
Thing is, when I compared the Samsung A8 that was on sale at the time for 160€ it's a pretty easy choice. Granted I needed to buy a 128GB SD card but that was 25€ and that will get moved to the next phones as well. Sure the two phones aren't even close in either spec or longevity but I can buy a new phone every year at a 200-250€ price and spend waaaaay less than the XS. Break it… who cares… lose it… who cares… no updates… it'll be replaced in a year or so so who cares… new shiny model… maybe, why not. That sounded really good to me. And what's the worst that could happen… the Android experiment fails and I end up spending 1,350€ on the XS.
Over 4 years I was thinking around a 500€ difference with a significantly lesser chance of inconvenience and costs due to breakage or other as it's no longer presuming a single device for 4 years. iOS might be worth that 500€ to someone else but it isn't to me. Especially when I can fit a lot of things into that 500€ difference.
Granted 6 months later I replaced the A8 with an S10 because the rear finger print sensor annoyed me greatly and the camera was far from spectacular. Again, the S10, being the same size as the A8, is too big a phone however its came to me for 735€ (including the sale of the A8 plus the SD card) which is still a long way from the cost of a XS at 1,350€. The nice thing about Samsung S-series phones is that by the time the Note pops its head out it'll be highly discounted… so I'll time it a bit better next time if I care. Getting a decent discount on a current Apple phone is a crap-shoot at best with the discounts not being that large.
At that time Apple wasn't offering me an ultrawide camera nor an in-display FPS… and still aren't with the FPS. In the meantime a lot happened in 2019 where the prevalence of in-display FPSs and improved cameras have appeared in mid-range phones. No reason for me to replace the S10 with a flagship in 2-3 years time. I'm not waiting for Apple decide, or not, to give me something that I can get elsewhere, today.
Don't get me wrong here as I do fully get that I'm not buying the same level product in the Android space, actually I have with the S10, but I'm also not compelled to. Remember, I'm an SE buyer… top spec is not one of my requirements. Look at the choice for someone wanting a smaller phone has today in 2020, the 2 generation old iPhone 8 else bleeding on the price of the 11 Pro. That's not exactly a choice of anything.
It's not only size but price. Both do matter and in differing proportions based what size and how much. I am prepared to pay a premium for something that suits my needs. I spent 586€ on the SE in 2016 which I feel is a premium price for what the SE is/was. So if I'm not getting either thing I want it's massively unlikely I care to get remotely near the 1,000€ and higher price point. At the price point of Android I'm far more accepting that the phone is too big for what I consider to be "physically ideal".
I'm sure you will pick what I've written to pieces which is fine. What is important here is that my message is that the right thing to do will always be fluid if one can't get close enough to the things they're wanting. There are no hard and fast rules to choice. It's realising there is a choice and making one's own mind up as to what is more important rather than letting other do it for them. I have decided that an SE sized phone is no longer in my future where as someone else may wait in hope for an SE2. Waiting may bear fruit like those that waited for the Mac Pro or iPad mini 5… or maybe not. I have merely decided that I no longer care to find out. I got rewarded in a lot of different ways to what I was expecting by moving.
People prioritise differently based on the prevailing circumstances.
PS I did in fact buy an iPhone XS 64GB as an iOS device is a necessity for work. I wasn't going to do so until 2021 as I have my parents gave me their unused iPhone 6. Bought it on a big discount for 679€ this Christmas. Never seen a discount this large for the prior generation before so just did it. Please note that 1,350€ less 735€ basically fits this purchase.
PPS No, the XS has not become my primary phone as 1) 64GB isn't enough and 2) in setting up the XS I realised how much slower I am at getting things done with iOS. The latter was quite a surprise for me and I feel its because there is a grown a disconnect with me and iOS and how I think things should be done… so personal preference.
PPPS Really glad I can continue with a headphone jack without flapping about with an adapter as I have a number of Apple's in-ear headphones I still like to use. In reality the adapter isn't a big thing as I've never once wanted to listen both use headphone and charge at the same time, plus there's wireless charging, it more the convenience of it. Others don't care about it and try to get others to let it go. Yes, I know wireless is the future but I don't need/want that future today. Maybe in a year or two the market will have matured enough for me to want to go to that future.
