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iPhone SE 3 vs. iPhone 11 Buyer's Guide

Decisions, decisions, decisions, ...
To buy or not to buy, or what to buy :)
What this article and discussion shows is that there is a gamut of models and prices and that nothing is perfect and that in the future everything will be faster and better. Also that everyone have different needs and desires for what a phone should offer. In my case I think I am going to get the new SE 3d generation for a few reasons:
  • I can gift (hand down) my current iPhone SE to someone else and make that person happy
  • I can hand down the SE 3d generation in the future and possibly get an iPhone 14 or 15 depending on how long I want to keep the SE
  • I have never seen or experienced Gigabit LTE. I am lucky if I get 20Mbps from T-Mobile lately. They seem to have a heavily oversubscribed network around here. So, giving up Gigabit LTE for 5G is not as bad for me. Considering in the long term most cellular companies will transition bandwidth from 4G LTE to 5G so 5G and the new chip will make this phone a better long term choice than iPhone 11 in terms of cellular network support.
  • I tend to agree that mmwave 5G is not a big differentiator at the moment. I even doubt T-Mobile has it around me.
  • New phone will have new battery. My phone's battery is losing capacity. It's still good, but definitely in the decline.
 
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I had a phone with the Intel baseband once, to me the QC vs. Intel baseband is a significant distinction in these two devices.
 
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iAFC said:
5G is not a big deal yet. 11's screen is so much nicer. Also, it has Face ID. I'd lean towards the 11 if I were looking for something in that price range.
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Its a 720P display and really dim. That was my first iPhone since the 4, and I loathed the display. Bargain android phones had better displays. A 720P display was unacceptable years before the 11 came out.
 
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dannyyankou said:
Correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought they have the same screen technology? Both LCD, both the same pixel density. One is just a little bigger, but that defeats the purpose of the SE's main target audience, people who want smaller phones.
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48% bigger is not a little bigger. And the main target audience are budget-oriented consumers. People who simply want smaller phones can get a 13 mini.
 
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dannyyankou said:
Both are fast chips. But if someone is buying a cheaper phone to save money, odds are they aren't interested in upgrading anytime soon. So if they get the iPhone 11, they'll likely have two fewer years of software updates, and the phone will get sluggish sooner.
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This is a great point.

Though.... magically since Apple got sued and removed the software in IOS that throttled old phones (under the guise of protecting battery life... not to sell more phones of course.... to help you), I can't recall anyone on an older iPhone crying that a new version of IOS is slow or unusable. It's the darndest thing....

But, Apple will eventually say new versions of IOS are unsupported and stop updating the 11 so your point about longevity is totally accurate.
 
iAFC said:
48% bigger is not a little bigger. And the main target audience are budget-oriented consumers. People who simply want smaller phones can get a 13 mini.
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So if they're budget oriented, they'd want the phone that lasts longer. Gets supported with software updates longer. Takes longer before it starts to feel sluggish. If I were on a tight budget and was told the phone was $70 cheaper, will likely get a couple extra years of support, and all I'm missing out on is a couple camera features, Face ID, and a larger screen, but all the internal specs are up to date, it's a no brainer for me.
 
Other than newer SOC [A15 vs A13] and lower screen resolution [1334 x 750 vs 1792 x 828], I don't think iPhone SE 2022 has any advantage over iPhone 11...

Go with iPhone 11 for better battery life [3110mAh vs 1821mAh?]

Whatever the battery capacity on iPhone SE 2022, it may be almost the same as on iPhone 12 mini/13 mini but it will never be almost the same or equal to what is on iPhone 11...
 
I have an 11 from work, and it’s an awful cludgy brick of a phone with hands down the worst form factor of any iPhone I’ve ever used (and I’ve had ‘em since 2007). But hey, at least its chip is two years out of date!

Not only would I take the 2022 SE at the same price, I’d trade this POS 11 back for the iPhone 7 it replaced, if they’d let me. Hate, hate, hate it.
 
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Does someone know what chipset is used for cellular baseband in the new iPhone SE, and what could be the theoretical peak performance with LTE and 5G?
 
dannyyankou said:
You would be out of your mind to buy an iPhone 11 over the SE 3. Not only is it more expensive, the chip is 2 years older. You won't get as much mileage out of it. And no 5G
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I can get an iPhone 11 for $49.99.

Personally, I'd take the $380 savings and upgrade to the next SE model (SE 5?) in 2 years. By then Apple should be offering it with the iPhone X/XR/11 body and an A17 chip.

Apple iPhone 11 Prepaid | Price, Specs, & Deals | Metro by T-Mobile

Get a great deal on the prepaid Apple iPhone 11. See all the features, specs, price and get it on Metro by T-Mobile.
www.metrobyt-mobile.com www.metrobyt-mobile.com
 
ian87w said:
11 is the better buy imo.
- 5G: coverage is still scarce. Would you keep using the SE 5 years from now? Unlikely. And even then, 4G would still be around.
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There's pretty good coverage in the UK (at least in towns and cities). I was using it on a trip to Edinburgh today. Provided by my ISP at no extra charge
 
I feel like the mini 13 is a better option. (And I may trade in my SE second gen in the next few weeks for just that in the new green.)
 
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If you're budget oriented, presumably you're interested in getting the highest mileage from your phone, therefore the 2022 SE is a no brainer, as it'll receive around 2 years extra of software updates, and that's no trivial matter.
 
rizzo41999 said:
I went from a 7+ to SE in 2020. I've had absolutely no regrets. I mostly compute using desktop or iPad. For me, my iPhone is used for communication and quick reference. I usually use a dedicated camera for pictures anyway. I'll probably upgrade to this latest SE.

I used to buy the latest and greatest, but now - it's all about practically. Maybe it's me just getting older haha.
Click to expand...
You are not alone.
 
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What about the 11 Pro; I purchased one a few weeks ago brand new for $375 at a major retailer and surprisingly unlocked when it shouldnt have been. They're not sold by Apple anymore but Best Buy, Walmart and Target stores still have them in stock.
 
Apple_Robert said:
You got a good deal.
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Sure did and whats better it was the 256GB model. They had the same deal on the Max version aswell but it was sold out. This retailer did the same thing with previous iPhones as well; got the 6s Plus for $300 years ago and a few XS Max's for $199 each about two years ago and those were the full retail prices as they had been markeddown.
 
dannyyankou said:
You would be out of your mind to buy an iPhone 11 over the SE 3. Not only is it more expensive, the chip is 2 years older. You won't get as much mileage out of it. And no 5G
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For sure. The article doesn't emphasize this nearly enough, IMO. The A13 will likely stop getting new features (and eventually, iOS updates at all) a year or two before the A15. And if you're buying a low-cost model, it's safe to say you probably want it to last. The SE 3 is better for that reason alone.
 
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JGIGS said:
5G is overrated especially if you're someone who's on wifi when doing most heavy usage things on the phone. I have it and never use it because of how quickly the battery dies and how hot my iphone 12 gets. Not everyone needs a bleeding fast chip and iphone chips age very well. I think the benefits of the 11 out weight the SE personally but I think it depends on how you plan to use the phone. The larger screen alone is enough that for most casual users the 11 makes more sense.
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5G also offers reduced rtt, sometimes the heavenly advertised top end bandwith is not the most important thing. Well at keast it reduces the first hop rtt, the rest of the bath between mobile device and other endpoint will ofc not change. But id ppf my oservations on 4G over the past few years are anything to go by the first hop often adds mire rtt than say the rest if the oath between Oslo and Amsterdam (spesificalky NIX and AMSIX) so geting that first hop rtt reduced is absolutely a good thing.
 
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