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Hands-On With Apple's Most Lackluster Smartphone: The 2022 iPhone SE

bviktor said:
Yeah, expect when you factor in inflation. If you do that, the 2020 model comes out at $437 in 2022 dollars.

It's sad when not even editors get finance basics right.
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Tech often gets cheaper. Sure, the headline, top tech, prices get more expensive with inflation, but the price of say, a has 4K TV, dropped significantly from when they first came out, to what they are now.

The SE3 compared to SE2 has no major advances (sure, they whacked a 5G modem in it, but it's old tech now, and most people will turn it off to save battery power), and there's no real justification for a price rise. The SE customers are price sensitive, and it is probably going to hit demand levels. I won't be surprised to see them drop the price soon.
 
sideshowuniqueuser said:
It's not meant to be a small phone, it's meant to be a cheap, basic, but fast, phone. It's just the normal sized old iPhone 6/7/8 body with updated internals to the latest A15 processor (same as the iPhone 13), and an updated camera.

The 13 Mini is meant to be the small phone (even though it's not much smaller than the SE3), but isn't meant to be a cheap/basic phone. It's the 13 crammed into a smaller body.

There is no specifically targeted small and cheap phone.
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How do you know what it is meant to be, it is the second smallest phone offered by Android or Apple, seriously, basic measurements here, even if Apple had a commercial stating, "this is not the small phone", you can't change the measurements.
 
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The 2022 iPhone SE looks identical to the 2020 model, featuring only internal upgrades, and it is arguably Apple's most lackluster iPhone.
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I'm not sure why this sentence bothered me. It is the "cheap" option. What expectations did you have for the performance?
 
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Boy, people sure do love to complain.

The iPhone SE is a fine product for those who are looking for something simple and gets the job done.

Cheap (compared to other iPhones)
Upgraded internals
iOS updates for ~5 years

Outside of the iPhone 12 and 13 Mini there just aren’t that many good small phone options at this point.
 
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I am gonna buy one for my 8 year old. She is going through a major life milestone (Catholic Communion) so it will be a gift for her. She has a Samsung J7 but she is always using her mom's phone and all her friends want to facetime her and she can't. So I think this is a good worthwhile device for a kid who doesnt want a big device.
 
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I am currently using an 8, which must now be at least 3.5 years old, with battery life getting to be an issue.

I'm happy with the size of the 8; my wife has the 8 Plus and I think it's way too big. I gather even the new Mini's are a bit bigger than the 8, so - no complaints about the size.

The mini's also as I understand use face recognition, which I can't say thrills me. Fingerprint is fine, even if it doesn't work great when wet.

Looks like this SE could be a good option... though the AUD price is not cheap!
 
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CWallace said:
It could be the most-successful iPhone ever and Apple would still be cutting production about now.

The initial production run for every new model is massive because Apple has to stock every channel to maximum capacity prior to the release to meet that pent-up demand across the planet.

Within a handful of months, that initial demand is sated so what is left is much lower and therefore Apple cuts orders because the channel is already at the right stock levels to meet the lower demand.
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Ahhh C Wallace logic at work.
No wonder they max out the price at the beginning.:)
 
ghanwani said:
If they offered more interesting colors it would sell better. Yes, people are that shallow that a new color can make a phone feel fresh. :D
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I can’t argue with an occasional new finish or color now and then. That does make it fun and fresh. I am however in disagreement with forcing innovation for the sake of something different, like pushing to zero bezels or a completely buttonless phone. At some point you’re changing just for something new and what too often feels like not nearly enough consideration of any negative trade-offs.
 
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In other news the Samsung A series isn’t an S series.

Yet my brother just got an A for free and it was way better than his old phone so he is happy.
 
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Since when does a budget phone with blazing fast performance need to be all singing all dancing in terms of design?
Seems to me, it’s quicker, camera is just as good, it’s got a entry level 5G and familiar functionality vs the Face ID/no home button. That’s bound to appeal to the people who would go for a budget phone vs going for the flashier stuff
 
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As someone who hates the notch (as I'm sure several of you are aware), the "dated" design doesn't bother me one bit. Just gives me more room to put my thumbs when I'm not wanting them to obscure stuff on the screen, and is somewhat more robust and cheaper to manufacture, while being less ugly. Maybe my apathy towards bezels is because I used a 16:10 monitor as a kid and teen (and a 3:2 one now), so it was inevitable with videos.
Plus, the smaller screen is also a benefit -- I currently use a Moto G Play and its 6.5" 20:9(? I've heard conflicting reports of whether ir's 1600x720 or 1440x720) screen is genuinely uncomfortable to use -- my hands are too small and have to shift around to even get to the other side of the keyboard, let alone the middle of the screen or the top to pull down the notifications bar. And I'm a (more or less) grown adult, at least physically. I wish smaller tablets like the iPad Mini would just come with standard telephony features already so the ~5" market would grow back again.
I'm still going to the LG V20 once I can because of /e/, the headphone jack, the replaceable battery, and my LG Aristo 2's basically unbreakable screen (I dropped that thing face down on rough asphalt for a few years and it still has a completely uncracked, if scratched, screen -- shame the rest of it died a horrible death), but it's nice to see Apple still providing a lower cost traditional option. Maybe I'll get an iPod touch to play with iOS; my last experience with it was 7.1.2 on the iPhone 4S back in 2015, and before thwn 6.1.6 on an iPod touch 4G I jailbroke. I always wanted an iPhone 5C ever since they were brand new, and the iPod seems like the closest thing.​
 
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I’m likely trading in my XR for this next week. My days of paying $800 or $1000+ for a phone are done. I think I paid around $650 for my XR 2.5 years ago so at least I’m headed in the right direction financially. Gone are the days of being Oooo’d and Awe’d with the newest smartphones. This isn’t 2012. We have hit a point to where it seems everything has essentially peaked. I’ll take the classic-design iPhone SE at 50% off with T-Mobile and be good to go for at least 2-3 years minimum. Essentially $200. That’s a no-brainer for me.
 
bviktor said:
Yeah, expect when you factor in inflation. If you do that, the 2020 model comes out at $437 in 2022 dollars.

It's sad when not even editors get finance basics right.
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No, we’re not playing that game all of a sudden. Apple increased the price and the phone is more expensive.
 
Yea maybe the 2022 SE is MEH to most MR readers and the tech press, bit 2022 seams to be the year 5G deployment realy start ramping up/compleating ( at keast in Europe) so having a cheap-ish ( at least by apple standards) Iphone avalable with 5G can't be a bad thing. While having 5G might not be esential this year it's a nice futer oroofing feature, for some reason Se usesrscseam to keep ther ohones longer, so going for a nin 5G SE niw would maybe not be the best.
 
staypuftforums said:
No, we’re not playing that game all of a sudden. Apple increased the price and the phone is more expensive.
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What game, inflation is a real thing and when comparing historic orices to current once you have to take them into account to make the comparison correctly. But you might be thinking of something else, would you mind elaborating? Just in case you forgot we are in a cilicon foundry calacity shirtage atm, so thenirmal " tech gets cheaper over time" argument unfortunattly does not work doe to said oroduction bottleneck
 
AndrewC89 said:
The Mini’s are actually a little smaller than the 8. Screen size is much larger however, so best of both worlds.

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Plus the Mini has squared-off sides, rather than the rounded design of the 2020/2022 SE.

I had a 2020 iPhone SE as a work phone for a while, and frankly hated the rounded design with a passion. It's harder to grip, the rounded face makes it more difficult to apply screen protectors, and it makes the phone seem flimsy.

The Mini seems like the real successor to the classic 5S form-factor. It's the only option I'd seriously consider as an upgrade path when my 2016 SE dies. Compared to the 2020/22 SE, it has a smaller size, bigger screen, solid build, squared-off sides. The only downside is the lack of Touch ID.
 
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pierce1979 said:
Solid iPhone, not everyone needs, wants, or can afford the latest iPhone. This fits the bill for people who just need a good quality, affordable smart phone.
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Yup. The latest iOS, the latest chip, one good camera (plenty enough), Touch ID, small form factor: anything else is simply superfluous to a lot of folks - who are also beyond needing to show off the latest and greatest. And oh, look - it's comparatively cheap! Win - win.
 
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SouthernFried said:
I’m likely trading in my XR for this next week. My days of paying $800 or $1000+ for a phone are done. I think I paid around $650 for my XR 2.5 years ago so at least I’m headed in the right direction financially. Gone are the days of being Oooo’d and Awe’d with the newest smartphones. This isn’t 2012. We have hit a point to where it seems everything has essentially peaked. I’ll take the classic-design iPhone SE at 50% off with T-Mobile and be good to go for at least 2-3 years minimum. Essentially $200. That’s a no-brainer for me.
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Dude. That’s a side-grade at best, I’d even call it a downgrade, unless you desperately need A15 features or 5G. Just keep the XR and save the $200.
 
This is still the iPhone I’d buy if I needed a new phone today.

- Small
- TouchID
- Relatively low cost
- Expectation of many years of OS/security updates

These are all selling points for me. The bells and whistles of the higher spec iPhones (at higher cost) just don’t appeal to me very much.
 
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