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Interesting things to point-out about the iPhone SE (mostly good)

Andres Cantu

Andres Cantu

macrumors 68040
Original poster
May 31, 2015
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Texas
  • Lacks the newer display technology of the iPhones 6 and 6s (higher contrast ratio and dual-domain pixels)
  • Same LTE-Advanced performance as the iPhone 6 (150Mbps vs. 300Mbps on the iPhone 6s)
  • Same 802.11ac support as the iPhone 6 (no MIMO)
  • Same Touch-ID sensor as the iPhone 5s/6
  • Same rear-facing camera as the iPhone 6s
  • Same FaceTime HD camera as the iPhone 5s :(
  • 20-30% morer LTE/Wi-Fi browsing time than the iPhone 6s (matches or exceeds iPhone 6/6s Plus)!!! :eek:
  • M9 with no barometer
  • Same lighter shade of space gray as the iPhone 6/6s
  • Still $50 less than the iPhone 5s!
No complaints here! Well, maybe it could have at least had the iPhone 6's FaceTime HD camera with an f/2.2 aperture, but other than that, it's still an incredible value!
 
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Andres Cantu said:
  • Lacks the newer display technology of the iPhones 6 and 6s (higher contrast ratio and dual-domain pixels)
  • Same LTE-Advanced performance as the iPhone 6 (150Mbps vs. 300Mbps on the iPhone 6s)
  • Same 802.11ac support as the iPhone 6 (no MIMO)
  • Same Touch-ID sensor as the iPhone 5s/6
  • Same rear-facing camera as the iPhone 6s
  • Same FaceTime HD camera as the iPhone 5s :(
  • 20-30% morer LTE/Wi-Fi browsing time than the iPhone 6s (matches or exceeds iPhone 6/6s Plus)!!! :eek:
  • M9 with no barometer
  • Still $50 less than the iPhone 5s!
No complaints here! Well, maybe it could have at least had the iPhone 6's FaceTime HD camera with an f/2.2 aperture, but other than that, it's still an incredible value!
Click to expand...

Interesting...

I'm just surprised they made the camera without the lens "bump" as in the 6s
 
Hopefully a bit faster too thanks to having to push less pixels than the 6s.
 
Truefan31 said:
the rated battery life is surprising
Click to expand...
I agree. This proves that it was the A9 that had hidden battery life improvements (smaller battery in the 6s but same battery life than the 6) and not the A8 (same battery size in the iPod touch 5th and 6th generations and there were no battery life improvements, even though it was an unprecedented three generation jump).
 
yeah i think with these announcements, you're gonna see the iphone get the 256gn option. Maybe have 32/128/256
 
Charadis said:
Good point there. Did not think about that :D
Click to expand...
Thank you!

It's almost as if that camera was meant for the SE! Perhaps Apple held-back on low-light improvements knowing that this camera would have been used in the SE and iPad Pro 9.7"?

Truefan31 said:
yeah i think with these announcements, you're gonna see the iphone get the 256gn option. Maybe have 32/128/256
Click to expand...
Very possible! But would that imply $649, $799, and $949 price points? If so, then that would mean many people would benefit (low-tier for double storage, mid-tier for $50 savings for the same 128GB storage, and high-tier for its existence :D). The only ones that would not benefit would be the people who are fine with 64GB of storage. Of course, Apple could theoretically offer it for $749 (much like the iPod touch), but that would be too many SKUs!
 
Andres Cantu said:
  • Lacks the newer display technology of the iPhones 6 and 6s (higher contrast ratio and dual-domain pixels)
  • Same LTE-Advanced performance as the iPhone 6 (150Mbps vs. 300Mbps on the iPhone 6s)
  • Same 802.11ac support as the iPhone 6 (no MIMO)
  • Same Touch-ID sensor as the iPhone 5s/6
  • Same rear-facing camera as the iPhone 6s
  • Same FaceTime HD camera as the iPhone 5s :(
  • 20-30% morer LTE/Wi-Fi browsing time than the iPhone 6s (matches or exceeds iPhone 6/6s Plus)!!! :eek:
  • M9 with no barometer
  • Still $50 less than the iPhone 5s!
No complaints here! Well, maybe it could have at least had the iPhone 6's FaceTime HD camera with an f/2.2 aperture, but other than that, it's still an incredible value!
Click to expand...


4K recording on a display that can't even display 720p content. No 3D Touch because why invest in technology when you can recycle a 3 year old display? It's the same frickin' display as the iPhone 5S! Hence no 3D Touch. Doesn't have HDR in video mode either.

You guys the phone is identical to the 5S except for the SOC. Everything else is just a recycled 5S. You're getting the field distorted by Apple. Sheesh!
 
AliMacs said:
4K recording on a display that can't even display 720p content. No 3D Touch because why invest in technology when you can recycle a 3 year old display? It's the same frickin' display as the iPhone 5S! Hence no 3D Touch. Doesn't have HDR in video mode either.

You guys the phone is identical to the 5S except for the SOC. Everything else is just a recycled 5S. You're getting the field distorted by Apple. Sheesh!
Click to expand...
I understand where you're coming from, but I would argue that the SE offers more things from the 6 and 6s than from the 5s (apart from the design). Nobody can deny that it's a MUCH better value at $399 than the 5s ever was at $449.
[doublepost=1458612661][/doublepost]
AmazingTechGeek said:
The SE has faster LTE, but not LTE Advanced
Click to expand...
You're right, but technically Apple marketed the 150Mbps speed as LTE-A back when the iPhone 6 was released and took it away when the 6s was released. That's why I listed it like that. But either way, it's still better :)
 
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AliMacs said:
4K recording on a display that can't even display 720p content. No 3D Touch because why invest in technology when you can recycle a 3 year old display? It's the same frickin' display as the iPhone 5S! Hence no 3D Touch. Doesn't have HDR in video mode either.

You guys the phone is identical to the 5S except for the SOC. Everything else is just a recycled 5S. You're getting the field distorted by Apple. Sheesh!
Click to expand...

The SOC is a huge deal if it has 2GB of RAM instead of 1GB.

More LTE bands. Bigger battery. Apple Pay.

For $50 less at base cost than the 5S, I'd say the value is there. This is a great entry level phone, and a really good one for people who want a compact phone rather than a larger media-oriented phone.
 
Andres Cantu said:
I understand where you're coming from, but I would argue that the SE offers more things from the 6 and 6s than from the 5s (apart from the design). Nobody can deny that it's a MUCH better value at $399 than the 5s ever was at $449.
[doublepost=1458612661][/doublepost]
You're right, but technically Apple marketed the 150Mbps speed as LTE-A back when the iPhone 6 was released and took it away when the 6s was released. That's why I listed it like that. But either way, it's still better :)
Click to expand...

Well if you prefer 4" 640p in 2016 then I guess you are welcome to buy anything you want. But this iPhone SE is NOTHING special. NOTHING. If priced at $299, or even $349 for 16GB that would be borderline acceptable. But for $399/16GB with a 640p 4" display in 2016, come on now seriously this is some crazy reality distortion going on.

Everyone is so gung ho about the size of the iPhone SE they forget the damn thing is a recycled 5S from 2013. The display is exactly the same display! You are not getting anything innovative. Of course it will be more battery efficient A9 processor pushing 640p resolution. It's like my nvidia 980 Titan card running at 720p. The processor probably sits there idling because the screen is so low res it takes breaks in between screen updates.

Sure it has 6/S camera features. Sure it records 4K. But it's not anything special. You can buy an LG G4 for $299 tax free now and get way better experience than this iPhone SE. But that's not the same because of iOS. But seriously I though iOS 8 and up was to enhance the experience but that's from 4.7"+.

You guys need to wake up and realize it's really a recycled iPHone 5S. No wonder Apple decided to show you guys so much in detail about how Apple recycles and reuses. This probably was a creation from that robot Liam. No wonder Jony Ive didn't even show up today. He was probably too embarrassed. NOTHING INNOVATIVE PERIOD.
 
AliMacs said:
Well if you prefer 4" 640p in 2016 then I guess you are welcome to buy anything you want. But this iPhone SE is NOTHING special. NOTHING. If priced at $299, or even $349 for 16GB that would be borderline acceptable. But for $399/16GB with a 640p 4" display in 2016, come on now seriously this is some crazy reality distortion going on.

Everyone is so gung ho about the size of the iPhone SE they forget the damn thing is a recycled 5S from 2013. The display is exactly the same display! You are not getting anything innovative. Of course it will be more battery efficient A9 processor pushing 640p resolution. It's like my nvidia 980 Titan card running at 720p. The processor probably sits there idling because the screen is so low res it takes breaks in between screen updates.

Sure it has 6/S camera features. Sure it records 4K. But it's not anything special. You can buy an LG G4 for $299 tax free now and get way better experience than this iPhone SE. But that's not the same because of iOS. But seriously I though iOS 8 and up was to enhance the experience but that's from 4.7"+.

You guys need to wake up and realize it's really a recycled iPHone 5S. No wonder Apple decided to show you guys so much in detail about how Apple recycles and reuses. This probably was a creation from that robot Liam. No wonder Jony Ive didn't even show up today. He was probably too embarrassed. NOTHING INNOVATIVE PERIOD.
Click to expand...
Calm down! The world is not gonna end because Apple "recycled" the iPhone 5s.

To be clear, I'm not a buyer. I'm just commenting on the new phone. For people who like 4" devices, it's a very good value. Sure the screen might be 640p, but name one smartphone that has a higher pixel display in a 4" form factor. I don't even think there are any 4" smartphones out there anymore that aren't iPhones.

Now the 750p display in the 6s, that does bother me quite a bit. But not the 640p display in the SE, because pretty much nobody makes 4" devices anymore.
 
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It's a great deal for people who want the 4" size, but don't want the processing power of 2013 anymore. Yes it looks the same as the 5s, but even the 5s is a decent deal at $399. The SE is STACKED at $399.
 
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Carmenia83 said:
It's a great deal for people who want the 4" size, but don't want the processing power of 2013 anymore. Yes it looks the same as the 5s, but even the 5s is a decent deal at $399. The SE is STACKED at $399.
Click to expand...
It sure is! Hard to decide if it's a better deal at $399 than the 5s will be at, say, $250?
 
Andres Cantu said:
  • Lacks the newer display technology of the iPhones 6 and 6s (higher contrast ratio and dual-domain pixels)
  • Same LTE-Advanced performance as the iPhone 6 (150Mbps vs. 300Mbps on the iPhone 6s)
  • Same 802.11ac support as the iPhone 6 (no MIMO)
  • Same Touch-ID sensor as the iPhone 5s/6
  • Same rear-facing camera as the iPhone 6s
  • Same FaceTime HD camera as the iPhone 5s :(
  • 20-30% morer LTE/Wi-Fi browsing time than the iPhone 6s (matches or exceeds iPhone 6/6s Plus)!!! :eek:
  • M9 with no barometer
  • Same lighter shade of space gray as the iPhone 6/6s
  • Still $50 less than the iPhone 5s!
No complaints here! Well, maybe it could have at least had the iPhone 6's FaceTime HD camera with an f/2.2 aperture, but other than that, it's still an incredible value!
Click to expand...

To be honest anyone asking for more, should be getting 6S or 7 anyway.
 
Andres Cantu said:
Wow, that is a bargain!

You should share that link in a new thread, I bet there are plenty of people that would be interested in the 5s at that price!
Click to expand...
Might be locked to Straight Talk though. I don't know what the unlock process is for them....
 
AliMacs said:
Well if you prefer 4" 640p in 2016 then I guess you are welcome to buy anything you want. But this iPhone SE is NOTHING special. NOTHING. If priced at $299, or even $349 for 16GB that would be borderline acceptable. But for $399/16GB with a 640p 4" display in 2016, come on now seriously this is some crazy reality distortion going on.

Everyone is so gung ho about the size of the iPhone SE they forget the damn thing is a recycled 5S from 2013. The display is exactly the same display! You are not getting anything innovative. Of course it will be more battery efficient A9 processor pushing 640p resolution. It's like my nvidia 980 Titan card running at 720p. The processor probably sits there idling because the screen is so low res it takes breaks in between screen updates.

Sure it has 6/S camera features. Sure it records 4K. But it's not anything special. You can buy an LG G4 for $299 tax free now and get way better experience than this iPhone SE. But that's not the same because of iOS. But seriously I though iOS 8 and up was to enhance the experience but that's from 4.7"+.

You guys need to wake up and realize it's really a recycled iPHone 5S. No wonder Apple decided to show you guys so much in detail about how Apple recycles and reuses. This probably was a creation from that robot Liam. No wonder Jony Ive didn't even show up today. He was probably too embarrassed. NOTHING INNOVATIVE PERIOD.
Click to expand...

Why did it need to be a revolutionary product? It's a 400 iPhone. It's a great entry point for consumers. It's a 4" smartphone with a fingerprint sensor, Apple Pay, and a beast of a cpu/gpu.

The lg G4? Maybe u love that ui over android but I'd take iOS over it any day especially with the a9. And the battery life on the G4 was terrible.
 
Last edited:
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Basically the iPhone SE is the 5ss or the iPhone 6s mini in the 5s body.

To me, Apple did an amazing job compared to what they did to the iPhone 5c. They are basically mostly offering the 6s components at the lowest affordable price for an A9 chip and that iSight cam. There weren't many compromises going smaller and the few that are there is quite livable. The iPhone 6 series has the ugliest rears ever perhaps worse than the 3G series. Apple went back in time and brought back the best rear design from the 5s with most of the current specs of the 6s. Only Sony nowadays has ever done a comparable job for compact smartphones. The difference of $200-$300 difference between SE vs 6s can no longer justified for the latter since the SE has the better design and the minor exclusion of features doesn't warrant the $200+ difference.

The smaller and most affordable iPhone done right this time.
 
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