iPhone SE - Anyone buy for design over size?

[matt_on_a_mtn]

Personally, I love the design used for the 5/5S/SE, and that was my biggest factor (size being a close second) in moving to the SE from my 6S Plus. In my use of the SE over the past week or so I've really been reminded how appealing the design is, as well as how comfortable it is to use.

Did anyone else buy the SE based on the design more than the size?

 

[Closingracer]

Size is part of the design....

 

[matt_on_a_mtn]

Size is part of the design....

No reason for snark. The design styles are very different between the 5/5S/SE and 6/6+/6s/6s+. It's this design aspect I'm referring to, rather than strictly talking about size. Glass and Aluminum segments vs aluminum and antenna bands. Flat edges vs rounded. Camera bump vs uniform.

 

[dcpmark]

Design elements like you are describing are rarely seen since most people put their phones in non-transparent cases. However, in addition to the size the shape makes all the difference for me....I find the flat thicker sides much more comfortable to hold than thinner and more rounded phones.

 

[posguy99]

Do people ACTUALLY buy phones based on design, rather than... oh, I don't know... usefulness?

 

[Closingracer]

No reason for snark. The design styles are very different between the 5/5S/SE and 6/6+/6s/6s+. It's this design aspect I'm referring to, rather than strictly talking about size. Glass and Aluminum segments vs aluminum and antenna bands. Flat edges vs rounded. Camera bump vs uniform.

You can't exclude it because you want to....it is part of the design period.....

 

[electronicsguy]

Personally, I love the design used for the 5/5S/SE, and that was my biggest factor (size being a close second) in moving to the SE from my 6S Plus. In my use of the SE over the past week or so I've really been reminded how appealing the design is, as well as how comfortable it is to use.

Did anyone else buy the SE based on the design more than the size?

size is not separate from design.

 

[eyoungren]

Design elements like you are describing are rarely seen since most people put their phones in non-transparent cases. However, in addition to the size the shape makes all the difference for me....I find the flat thicker sides much more comfortable to hold than thinner and more rounded phones.

I am glad you qualified this statement with "most" people. I hate cases.

Neither my old iPhone 5 nor my iPhone 6s+ use cases. It detracts from the beauty of the design…which is one of the major reasons I buy a phone.

Do people ACTUALLY buy phones based on design, rather than... oh, I don't know... usefulness?

Yes.

Primary reason…I like the design of the phone.
Secondary reason…it can do stuff.

Short of the secondary reason being really awful (i.e., the phone/device sucks at being useful) design trumps everything else.

Speaking for myself only.

 

[LiveM]

Had the design been similar to the 6, I would have got the 5s, so design would have been just as important as size.

 

[Gudi]

Do people ACTUALLY buy phones based on design, rather than... oh, I don't know... usefulness?

design equals usefulness

 

[Qbnkelt]

Personally, I love the design used for the 5/5S/SE, and that was my biggest factor (size being a close second) in moving to the SE from my 6S Plus. In my use of the SE over the past week or so I've really been reminded how appealing the design is, as well as how comfortable it is to use.

Did anyone else buy the SE based on the design more than the size?

Yup. Me. My favourite iPhone design ever.

 

[maflynn]

Did anyone else buy the SE based on the design more than the size?

I agree with the others, that size does go handin hand with size. The design makes the 4" phone very useful and holdable. The size of the 6 and its design make it less holdable.

 

[shr631]

I agree with the others, that size does go handin hand with size. The design makes the 4" phone very useful and holdable. The size of the 6 and its design make it less holdable.

More holdable. Main reason I got the SE. I could easily hold the 6 and my 6+ before that. But to me they look better than they handle. Switching to the SE just confirms its better ergonomics, for my hand anyway. Its not-too-thinness is a big reason why. For example it sits better on my pinky when I'm one-handed typing because of its "thickness" (it's not exactly a thick phone)

 

[Anya B]

iPhone 5 was my first iPhone and I loved the shape, size and overall design of it. I had an iPhone 6 since launch and I was so pleased when Apple relaunched/vamped up the 5 series design and filled it with 6 series technology.......for me its the best iPhone yet. 5 shape + 6 internals = happy me!

 

[iZac]

Do people ACTUALLY buy phones based on design, rather than... oh, I don't know... usefulness?

I know many won't buy phones based on poor design, even if they're perfectly usable.

I like to think that I bought my SE because of my stance against the size of the 6 series. But during the excruciating wait for the SE, I realised - if they simply fixed the design (antennas, camera, slipperiness) I probably would have conceded defeat and endured the larger size. So yeah, by that logic I did buy the SE because I preferred the design.

 

[tallazzPilipino]

both. probably my favourite-looking phone, and it's small size makes it great to handle often.

 

[MrGuder]

I agree with the others, that size does go handin hand with size. The design makes the 4" phone very useful and holdable. The size of the 6 and its design make it less holdable.

Exactly...this weekend was the first time since I got my SE that I switched back to my 6s just for the weekend and it just confirms to me how awkward the 6s is to hold, it's just too darn tall. I have such a hard time reaching my thumb from the bottom to the top, nearly impossible one handed just don't feel confident holding it.

The other thing I noticed this weekend was how much heavier the 6s is compared to the SE. The 6s feels like a brick in my pants compared to the SE that I don't even feel. The SE just fits like a glove in your hand.

 

[Appl3FTW]

Size is part of the design....

I lulzd

 

[Channan]

What is everyone here smoking? Design and size can be mutually exclusive. The iPhone 6s and 6s Plus have the same design but are not the same size. I didn't have to decide between a shirt I didn't like that fit and one I liked that was big. The same designed shirt came in multiple sizes.

To answer OP, I'm going to buy an iPhone SE based on the design, not necessarily the size. I would much rather have a 4.7" iPhone that looked like an SE than a 4" iPhone that looked like the 6s.

 

[Savor]

The design of the iPhone have always been overrated by their users and generally mostly hit or miss.

Hit -
iPhone (2007)
iPhone 4/4s
iPhone 5/5s/SE

Miss -
iPhone 3G/3Gs
iPhone 5c
iPhone 6/6s/Plus

And no, I don't want the SE because of design over size or vice versa. I like it for value it brings to the table when this device should be sold for at least $150 higher but I can never use any iOS device as my primary phone because of its closed ecosystem full of proprietary hardware, software, and services or go back to surfing, texting, watching videos, playing games, or using Camfrog with a "4 screen. I adapted faster to change than the folks still stuck in 2010-2013 while also trying to admire a design that came from three years ago. Like Laker fans still attached to Kobe, some people are still stuck in the past and have a hard time moving on.

 

[617aircav]

For me a design of a phone is secondary to its functionality.

 

[Fried_Gold]

Design then size did it for me.

 

[Closingracer]

The design of the iPhone have always been overrated by their users and generally mostly hit or miss.

Hit -
iPhone (2007)
iPhone 4/4s
iPhone 5/5s/SE

Miss -
iPhone 3G/3Gs
iPhone 5c
iPhone 6/6s/Plus

And no, I don't want the SE because of design over size or vice versa. I like it for value it brings to the table when this device should be sold for at least $150 higher but I can never use any iOS device as my primary phone because of its closed ecosystem full of proprietary hardware, software, and services or go back to surfing, texting, watching videos, playing games, or using Camfrog with a "4 screen. I adapted faster to change than the folks still stuck in 2010-2013 while also trying to admire a design that came from three years ago. Like Laker fans still attached to Kobe, some people are still stuck in the past and have a hard time moving on.

Lol.......

 

[Qbnkelt]

The design of the iPhone have always been overrated by their users and generally mostly hit or miss.

Hit -
iPhone (2007)
iPhone 4/4s
iPhone 5/5s/SE

Miss -
iPhone 3G/3Gs
iPhone 5c
iPhone 6/6s/Plus

And no, I don't want the SE because of design over size or vice versa. I like it for value it brings to the table when this device should be sold for at least $150 higher but I can never use any iOS device as my primary phone because of its closed ecosystem full of proprietary hardware, software, and services or go back to surfing, texting, watching videos, playing games, or using Camfrog with a "4 screen. I adapted faster to change than the folks still stuck in 2010-2013 while also trying to admire a design that came from three years ago. Like Laker fans still attached to Kobe, some people are still stuck in the past and have a hard time moving on.

OK....well....

I use my iPhone as my primary phone because I like its ecosystem. Since I've got an iPhone and an iPad, propietary services, sotware, and hardware are exactly fine with me. I'm not stuck in 2010 nor 2013 since I run the SGS7 as my secondary device and the iPhone 6s Plus as my primary device. I simply like the design of the 5/5s best out of all iPhone designs. So, since it's back, I got the rose gold SE.

People have different preferences. There are still people who prefer film over digital or manual over automatic transmission. And that's fine for them. Heck I prefer my classic sisal Kenyan bags over any Louis Vuitton anyone might try to give me. I'm not stuck in my university days; it's simply a preference for ease of use.

And I've got a feeling that Kobe makes several multiples of millions of dollars more than most of us in this thread so.....he's done well for himself and his team. No need to dismiss his contributions simply because there's someone else in the court.

As for the SE, I'm perfectly happy rocking my gorgeous rose gold SE as a choice I've made in 2016 because it goes back to my favourite design.

 

[techigramps]

Went to the Apple store Saturday to check out the SE and frankly I don't get it? The 16gb version is useless so your looking at a 500 dollar phone (64gb version) with a 4 inch low resolution screen! I honestly couldn't find any situation where I'd spend 500 bucks for this phone. Come on! Loading Safari and using it required constant finger gestures to expand text and then have to move left to right to read text. So much for one hand use. It seems to me a better alternative would be a darn flip screen phone since other than making phone calls and reading a text or two I'd find the phone to limiting. It's sad with Steve Jobs gone that market share will continue to dwindle. There will be some who will buy Apple because it's Apple but unless something changes market share will continue to dwindle. Don't get me wrong I'm an Apple fan, just bought an Apple Ipad Pro and love it but the Iphone SE for me is a 200 dollar phone at best.