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iPhone SE and the missing barometer
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I was initially bummed out when word let out that it had no barometer, but then after looking back at my 6 plus. I can easily say that I never really looked at that information since I bought the phone.
I'm not trying to justify its omission, but rather just say its a feature that I thought was important but my actual day to day usage suggested otherwise.
Indeed, it's nice to have, but overall it's pretty much the least important information.
Also, it's pretty great being able to walk up stairs again without feeling a phone in your pocket with each step.
Yes, apps that measure elevation changes or stairs climb will be negatively affected. For me, looking back at my usage, its not a big deal, but I can see it being an issue for others.
I much prefer to carry my SE on a run without the barometer, then my 6 plus with the barometer.
I was really hoping for the iPhone SE to be my first iPhone. But for me sensors are important. Especially ones that pull double/triple duty like the barometer. It might seem like a small thing on the surface but including location info i also would have liked to use it as a tracker to give me additional information when i track my pressure headaches. These are debilitating for me. I think apple really should take a second look at what sensors are available in the next 4" revision of their iDevice if there is one. And i just want to underline the following. They really need to keep the form factor along with the headphone jack and all i/O components as well.
Again, wanted the SE to be my first iPhone. Apple came up short.
EDIT: And yes, for any future smart ass remarks. I realize the size of the barometer in the 6/s 6/s+ is substantial compared to other components.
Again, wanted the SE to be my first iPhone. Apple came up short.
EDIT: And yes, for any future smart ass remarks. I realize the size of the barometer in the 6/s 6/s+ is substantial compared to other components.
More importantly it tells people when its going to rain in their direct vicinity. Instead of getting weather data from a app off a radar tower thats hundreds of miles away. And while information thats crowd sourced from things like **weather underground** is helpful. It __doesn't even SLIGHTLY compare__.
edit: I just want to underline the importance of the barometer as a pressure sensor and as a entirely new constitution however.
Saying "it tells me its going to rain" doesn't really do it justice.
Come to think of it all, Maybe it's time apple started looking into a "all terrain" iPhone ?
I was really hoping to buy my very first iPhone this summer, especially after i heard apple decided to keep the squared bezel (so i could use those cool 360 photo apps) and standard headphone jack (for use with older more secure WIRED fitness bands), ...this made me very happy.
Apple dropped the proverbial ball.
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On the other hand, there seems to be this: https://forums.macrumors.com/thread...issing-barometer.1962773/page-4#post-22744390
To clarify, A barometer can help with determining position of you are using a topographical map. If you know the pressure corrected to sea level at your location at your current time (which is generally available from weather sources) then a barometer can tell you your elevation. If you know your approximate location (from GPS or from triangulating to known features) then you know that you are on a given elevation line.
But for people (like me) who wanted a small iPhone, well, the kitchen sink does not fit. Some folks want to have everything, and they want it in a size where it just won't fit. And Apple wanted to keep the cost down. The SE is my first smartphone. The size is right, and the price was right. To keep down the size and price, they left out the stuff they figured that most of us don't need. Including the barometer.
If you really need a barometer, you probably want a better one than a phone will have. There are good hand-held GPS units with included barometer. If you are doing serious orienteering, that's what you want.
But for people (like me) who wanted a small iPhone, well, the kitchen sink does not fit. Some folks want to have everything, and they want it in a size where it just won't fit. And Apple wanted to keep the cost down. The SE is my first smartphone. The size is right, and the price was right. To keep down the size and price, they left out the stuff they figured that most of us don't need. Including the barometer.
If you really need a barometer, you probably want a better one than a phone will have. There are good hand-held GPS units with included barometer. If you are doing serious orienteering, that's what you want.
No barometer no 2nd Gen touch id no 3d touch no 5mp front facing camera no 7 thousand series aluminum = 250 dollars saved
Even more. I saved another $100 off the 6s with promotion and got all the below for only $150 more than the SE
0.7 inch larger screen
Barometer
Better rear f/2.2 facing camera
3D Touch screen
Retina HD screen over a Retina screen
Dual-domain pixels for wide viewing angles
1400:1 contrast ratio (SE 800:1)
2nd Generation Touch ID
Display Zoom
LTE Advanced
FaceTime Camera also has HDR for videos (No SE)
802.11a/b/g/n/ac Wi‑Fi with MIMO (SE no MIMO) what ever that is
7000 series aluminum
It's great that there are so many phones to choose from. Lots of different sizes and feature sets within the iPhone family, and even more choices in other phone families. For me, the smaller size of the SE is well worth the smaller feature set. The small size is the feature I most wanted, and Apple delivered.
Well stated. Many here seem to not understand the principles involved.
For the barometer to offer any accurate reading of altitude/elevation, the user would have to CONSTANTLY CALIBRATE the device based upon current location/known altitude (or sea level pressure) at the start and end of each & every endeavor...ie. Calibrating it almost 24/7. Unfortunately there is no way to do this automatically.
Without constant calibration, it may only offer (relatively inaccurate) CHANGES in altitude, not an accurate depiction of absolute altitude.
How is display zoom something that makes things better over a phone that doesn't even need it? Or the aluminum which wasn't/isn't an issue on a design like that of an SE? And the "what ever that is" is of benefit when one doesn't even know what it does or how useful it might (or might not) be?
All modern smart devices do this automatically via a calibration via GPS. It's not absolutely perfect, but it's better than either method alone. GPS can be quite good for absolute values if the position of the device can be accurately determined (a phone, with wifi and cellular capabilities helps refine this further) and the barometer can then be used for relative shifts over comparatively short time intervals, where it is much more accurate than GPS which tends to have a lot of scatter while moving, especially in wooded or other areas where the GPS signal is interfered with.
Come on, that was like a few weeks ago or so at this point.
The issue isn't about what's compatible, the issue is the actual hardware that's missing.
The barometer; I and many in this thread feel is a necessary linch pin that apple purposely & quietly glossed over. I and others here aren't as confused about it being left out as we are apple's decisions not to even mention it other than in the specs sheet.
By the way, i just finished watched a few steve jobs movies recently. He fought tooth and nail to cram extra ram and components in every apple product. And I think if he were still alive we wouldn't be having this conversation.
There are a few other components that apple has also left out over the years, but after painstakingly going over the who, whys, and whats it was clear to me why those components (fm radio being one of them) were purposely left out of their devices. Which believe it or not would have had security implications.
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They chose to put FM into the iPod nano line but food for thought; how many of you keep sensitive documents on your nano 's ? ok bad 'example', but the nano doesn't have any direct lcd input method for personal info other than the running app AFAIK.
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Who, other than serious orienteers, really need a barometer? And a serious orienteer should have a better one than is in a phone.
Apple (like any gadget maker) has to balance cost, space available, and size: More stuff in the phone means the phone has to be bigger and will cost more. In the case of the barometer, Apple judged (correctly in my opinion) that a barometer was not worth the cost and the space it would take. The SE is directed at the buyer who wants a small and inexpensive phone. If you want more features than the SE has, then you need a larger, more expensive phone. You can't have cheap and small and still have all the features of a bigger, more expensive phone.
Just listed the big differences of both iPhones. Doesn't mean its liked or wanted by others.
It has been explained repeatedly that a barometer, paired with a GPS device, provides the most accurate form of inexpensive altitude tracking available. The iPhone is almost certainly the single-most popular run/bike/hiking tracker in the world. The SE is a great device, but Apple still doesn't seem to have gotten the message that there is a market for a small fully featured phone. I think the idea of splitting out features such that you have to buy the one with the largest screen in order to get all the other features is supremely stupid marketing.
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