iPhone 6 to SE?

[puma1552]

Don't see a whole lot of people considering this.

I'll start by saying I love my 6. It has perfect quality control and has been a great phone. Great battery still too. No real complaints. It does however take getting used to, size-wise. I've gotten used to it, and am not really bothered by it, but the SE is still more pocketable and easier to handle, plain and simple. But again, I haven't been longing for a 4" phone again. I like the design of both the 6 and SE.

The 7 is shaping up to be the lamest update ever, which was my next planned upgrade. Couple the fact that the 7 is shaping up to be really lame with the rumors that the 2017 phone is going to be amazing, and the SE having just been released, the SE almost seems like a logical choice to buy for now, sell the 6 while it's still worth good money, enjoy for 18 months, then get the sweet 2017 phone when it comes out. I don't really see myself keeping my 6 for three years, as much as I love it, but I'm also not interested in shelling out money for the 7 given how that update is shaping up to be. I also don't really like buying phones every 12 months, I like having phones for 18-24 months, as I tend to appreciate them more, and the Apple QC lottery is too exhausting to do on an annual basis anyway.

So has anyone who actually likes their 6 gone from a 6 to an SE? What made you do it or not do it? The SE is certainly an upgrade from a 6 in some areas, but somewhat of a downgrade in a couple areas (800:1 contrast ratio vs. 1400:1, for one thing).

 

[mark34]

Having had an iPhone 6 since it was released, I realized when playing with the SE that the size is just better for me. I just don't get any advantage going up to the larger sized phone. I want the latest and greatest internals in the phone, but the smallest size. The SE fits the bill. I use an iPad or laptop for heavier lifting work, but I can still do everything on my SE that I could on the 6. I don't miss the 6 at all. It's purely a personal preference thing. I think a 4" screen is the sweet spot for a phone. I hope they continue to develop the 4" line over the years and don't only provide it as a budget alternative. The SE is the first great sign that this will be the case. I'm surprised how much I prefer the design too. Very comfortable and sleek design, even though its a few years old.

 

[C DM]

A few similar threads that might be of some use:

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/upgraded-to-se-from-6s.1966992/

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/iphone-se-vs-iph-6.1965577/

 

[dcpmark]

Yeah, I went from a iP6 to an SE. Coming from the perfect-sized iP5 I really never wanted to go to the size of the 6, but I was forced to to get Apple Pay and other new features. The SE is exactly what I would have bought over the iP6, and I can only hope this is not a one-off and they keep upgrading the internals to match the perfect exterior. I don't use my phone for anything except calls, emails, and texts......I have an iPad Mini 4 for everything else.

 

[thegrants82]

Went from a 6s to the SE and could not be happier. The size and the battery life are truly amazing.

 

[richwilliams]

Went from a 6s to the SE and could not be happier. The size and the battery life are truly amazing.

I did this and have no regrets at all. Loved the 6, as it was my first iPhone but find the SE has all the features I need, a better design, in my opinion, and did not cost much to change.

I've not had any quality issues with mine (16gb Gold) which I bought two days after launch, but now ordered a 64gb SG as giving this one to my son to replace his 6 as he likes the SE so much!

 

[Decker39]

Yeah, I went from a iP6 to an SE. Coming from the perfect-sized iP5 I really never wanted to go to the size of the 6, but I was forced to to get Apple Pay and other new features. The SE is exactly what I would have bought over the iP6, and I can only hope this is not a one-off and they keep upgrading the internals to match the perfect exterior. I don't use my phone for anything except calls, emails, and texts......I have an iPad Mini 4 for everything else.

Same here

 

[CIA]

I went from a iPhone 6, to an iPhone SE. While battery (my 6 battery was sh*t) was part of the reason I went with the new SE, the size was the main reason. iPhone 6 was just too big for my taste. It was very hard to use one-handed.

I've had my SE for about a week now, and I absolutely love it. I don't miss the screen size of the 6 at all. I should add, I don't notice much of a difference when it comes to the speed compared to my 6 but the 6 still felt pretty zippy when I retired it.

/edit. I was sad to lose the 128 gig storage option. 64 is usable, but once you get used to 128 it's hard to pair down all your stuff to fit into 64.

 

[CYKBC]

I did. No regrets, but it's definitely a give-get as expected.

Screen quality is noticeably better on the 6. The display is not only clearer and whiter, but the panel to glass gap is tighter which just looks and feels better. Subtle but there.

Battery life is better but nothing to write home about. I find this a bit hyped by the public.

Edge to edge glass feel is superior to the 5's sharp edges.

Don't have to worry about the crescent moon and clicky screen that plagued the five new 6 units I've owned.

Speed, *weight* and form factor more than make up for the shortcomings this SE. I will never buy an iPhone heavier than the 6. The 6s is a brick. SE is markedly faster in all daily tasks such as app load times.

If Apple made the next SE even thinner and lighter with a slightly bigger screen by reducing bezel, go ahead take my money. I'm all in.

 

[Macbook14in]

So the iPhone SE has a much better battery life than an iPhone 6?

 

[CIA]

So the iPhone SE has a much better battery life than an iPhone 6?

I have a launch iPhone 6 and it's battery is toast. It's at 497 cycles or something like that, and is basically at about 25% capacity compared to new, so in my case, yes, the SE crushes the 6 battery. BUT THAT SAID, a new iPhone 6 is comparable to a new SE for battery life, but the SE is slightly better overall as it has a smaller screen to light up.

 

[puma1552]

I did. No regrets, but it's definitely a give-get as expected.

Screen quality is noticeably better on the 6. The display is not only clearer and whiter, but the panel to glass gap is tighter which just looks and feels better. Subtle but there.

Battery life is better but nothing to write home about. I find this a bit hyped by the public.

Edge to edge glass feel is superior to the 5's sharp edges.

Don't have to worry about the crescent moon and clicky screen that plagued the five new 6 units I've owned.

Speed, *weight* and form factor more than make up for the shortcomings this SE. I will never buy an iPhone heavier than the 6. The 6s is a brick. SE is markedly faster in all daily tasks such as app load times.

If Apple made the next SE even thinner and lighter with a slightly bigger screen by reducing bezel, go ahead take my money. I'm all in.

This is a great overall review, and the thing that's really holding me back is the bolded part about the screen. I have an iPod touch 6G, which as far as I know has the exact same screen as the 5S/SE (can someone confirm?). When I hold it up next to my iPhone 6, the iPhone has a noticeably crisper/cooler white. The iPod is by no means bad, but the iPhone is definitely crisper. The other issue is when looking at an identical screen full of apps, I can see the slightly better contrast/saturation in the iPhone's colors, which has a 1400:1 contrast ratio compared to the SE/5S/iPod's 800:1 contrast. As someone who is a whore for a great screen and likes to keep it at full brightness, this is the one thing really holding me back.

The panel to glass doesn't bother me though, as I use a PowerSupport crystal film on my iPod (what I would get on the SE) whereas the curved edges on the iPhone have forced me to go to an edge to edge tempered glass protector (Cinder) which is definitely thicker than the PS film, so the panel to glass gap advantage of the iPhone pretty much gets wiped out anyway.

I'm surprised I'm still on the fence here, if the screens were identical I'd probably have an SE already.

 

[Phone Junky]

When I hold it up next to my iPhone 6, the iPhone has a noticeably crisper/cooler white.

Don't hold it next to your iPhone 6.

 

[drysdale86]

I went from a 6 to a 6S Plus to a SE.

The biggest factor for me was practicality - I like to be able to use a phone with one hand and I can't do that with a 6 or a Plus.

The SE is PERFECT. Best phone Ive ever had. Battery life is superb - easily over a day.

No regrets for me, will keep the SE for a long time or at least until a new SE is released.

 

[thegrants82]

Totally agree