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The previous SE was at least a generation behind the current flagship. The fact that this one is the same speed as the current flagship is really, really impressive.

I'm surprised by the recommendation to buy the higher-capacity one. With iCloud now able to offload photos and apps I'm not using, I see little reason to have a phone with massive capacity. I would buy the 64 GB version and it would do just fine.

Incidentally, I had my old SE replaced in December, and as part of the troubleshooting with my old phone, I set up the new one manually, instead of automatically porting all my apps over. The resulting digital minimalism has been amazing. I only load up stuff on my phone that I really need. I went from four screens packed full of apps to fewer than two.

In fairness, when the previous SE launched, in March 2016, it had the same SoC / internals as the then 6 month old iPhone 6s. So same setup with this SE. Though I imagine it’ll probably be similar in that it spends several years without any changes and slowly looks less impressive next to other options.
 
Where is my 6s+ upgrade?!?

There's nothing for me now.

If only I could get my 6s+ back on iOS12 to have my battery life back.

Hate Apple

sigh
 
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My mother in laws shipped yesterday, it should arrive at our house tomorrow or Friday. Looking forward to messing with it for a bit before turning it over to her. She is coming from an "OG" SE that is on its last leg. My better half also runs an "OG" SE that he just will not give up on. I'm hoping her phone in our house for a day or two might change his mind, his is on its last leg too but he just wont budge. If he waits much longer he's going to end up with my XS when I upgrade to a 12.
 
I really thought my mum would have wanted this as her iPhone 6S is slowly dying and she never really wanted to get rid of it for so long.

I told her I'll upgrade her to the new SE and she told me she didn't want the same boring looking phone again haha she wanted the newer fancy looking iPhone 11 Pro. So I upgraded her to the iPhone 11 Pro today.
You’ve inadvertently created a monster! 🤣
 
Srs who will go with this old outdated huge bezel iPhone 6 design?!

Lots of people just want a cheap phone that works well. This is it. I know a lot of people who would definitely buy this.

I don't necessarily want to buy it myself but it has definitely caused me to rethink spending $700 - $1000 on a new phone. I'm not in the market anyway but if I was, there's no way I could justify an iPhone 11 Pro (or 12 Pro in the fall) when this thing does everything I need for a hell of a lot less.
 
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Think this. Apple tried hard from iPhone 4-8 to keep iPhone look symmetrical especially front. Than Apple let go symmetry concept when introduced iPhone X with top notch and nothing similar at bottom.
So, Apple could have increased the screen towards top side giving more screen in the same iPhone 8 size frame by reducing thick top bezel like most android phones top part of screen. Bottom could not be reduced because of beloved Touch ID. This could have given 2020 SE new identity. Wasn't that difficult.
Think this.
Apple is only able to offer a phone this crazy cheap every 3-4 years or so by reusing EVERY SINGLE part that they possibly can, that’s already been in production for years & they have reached economies of scale with.... processor from the latest 2 phones, casings they’ve been making for many years now, etc.
The reason this phone can be cheaper whilst maintaining a profit margin is because there’s very little r&d to recoup, no new manufacturing techniques to work wrinkles out of, etc.
You're talking about new design, new tech, more r&d, etc...
What isn’t that difficult is seeing why they went their route, not yours.
 
The previous SE was at least a generation behind the current flagship. The fact that this one is the same speed as the current flagship is really, really impressive.

I'm surprised by the recommendation to buy the higher-capacity one. With iCloud now able to offload photos and apps I'm not using, I see little reason to have a phone with massive capacity. I would buy the 64 GB version and it would do just fine.

Incidentally, I had my old SE replaced in December, and as part of the troubleshooting with my old phone, I set up the new one manually, instead of automatically porting all my apps over. The resulting digital minimalism has been amazing. I only load up stuff on my phone that I really need. I went from four screens packed full of apps to fewer than two.

No it was not. It was released with the same chip as the 6S (current flagship at the time). This is nearly identical to what they did with the original SE, but actually better because they added a few things (camera enhancements, wireless charging).
 
So, Apple could have increased the screen towards top side giving more screen in the same iPhone 8 size frame by reducing thick top bezel like most android phones top part of screen. Bottom could not be reduced because of beloved Touch ID. This could have given 2020 SE new identity. Wasn't that difficult.

Then it wouldn't have been a $400 phone, which is the whole point of a device like this. R&D is not free.
 
I would buy the “new” SE without a thought but I just can’t buy the same old thing again. I’ve been an iPhone user since 2010 but I’m slowly getting tired of it. My only hope is that the 12 will get that rumored iPhone 4/5 design.
To quote the poster before me: Then it wouldn't have been a $400 phone, which is the whole point of a device like this. R&D is not free.
 
This will be a big hit for a lot of people.

But I can’t help think that they could’ve made a phone with a 4.7” edge-to-edge screen with a smaller footprint than the first iPhone SE. The first iPhone SE measured about 5.4” diagonally, so if you take any bezel space into account you could squeeze a 5 inch screen in there.

Wait a minute, it all makes sense. There’s a 5.4” iPhone that’s rumored in the fall. That’ll be the high end compact version.
 
This will be a big hit for a lot of people.

But I can’t help think that they could’ve made a phone with a 4.7” edge-to-edge screen with a smaller footprint than the first iPhone SE. The first iPhone SE measured about 5.4” diagonally, so if you take any bezel space into account you could squeeze a 5 inch screen in there.

Wait a minute, it all makes sense. There’s a 5.4” iPhone that’s rumored in the fall. That’ll be the high end compact version.


For the 100th time. The WHOLE POINT of this device is to reuse an old iPhone case, for which there is already an amortised logistic chain in place, to make it CHEAP by Apple standards. So no, there is no way they would have changed the design for the iPhone SE to accommodate a larger screen or anything else that does not fit the iPhone 8/7/6s/6 chassis.

Enough of these kind of comments, seriously.
 
For the 100th time. The WHOLE POINT of this device is to reuse an old iPhone case, for which there is already an amortised logistic chain in place, to make it CHEAP by Apple standards. So no, there is no way they would have changed the design for the iPhone SE to accommodate a larger screen or anything else that does not fit the iPhone 8/7/6s/6 chassis.

Enough of these kind of comments, seriously.
The comments are just in the wrong context. To want what they are describing is OK...they're just going to have to wait and see what this rumored iPhone 12 will look like (and cost). But you're right...this is EXACTLY what the SE should be. Mine's arriving soon!
 
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For the 100th time. The WHOLE POINT of this device is to reuse an old iPhone case, for which there is already an amortised logistic chain in place, to make it CHEAP by Apple standards. So no, there is no way they would have changed the design for the iPhone SE to accommodate a larger screen or anything else that does not fit the iPhone 8/7/6s/6 chassis.

Enough of these kind of comments, seriously.

I think the look of this phone is right on the cusp of what is looking very tired; In a couple of years it will be questionable who would still want to be peddling around an 8 year old design, who is carrying around an 8 year old phone now? [definately a small minority / or just dont care]. Personally I don't think it's a smart buy or cheap [£420 in the UK] as I just don't see it holding its' value like a typical Apple phone. Notwithstanding that, there are not many "good alternatives" for a similar price; spec wise there is better value out there, but not necassarily a better phone.

Just to add, I would be happy to pay more for a real, "modern" small iPhone, e.g. this pysical size with a full screen.
 
So my partner and I are both on OG SE's. We both recently replaced the battery; it drastically improved hers, it somewhat improved mine. We both prefer the size of our current phones to the size of the 6/6S/etc., but I think four years is enough, so I bit the bullet, trusted that my muscle memory will take to the new size, and got the SE.

So, we budget out EVERYTHING. Every month I (digitally) drop a few bucks in a can marked "Cool Stuff", which really just means technology, which usually just means my next iPhone. This SE was so inexpensive that I could help her (much of the way) on a new SE to replace hers as well. She has declined, she likes hers just fine. So I'll be very interested to see if she ends up changing her mind when I've had mine here for a while.

As I mused on that, I realized that it's been a long time since I had the flagship. Not since the 4S. You could say that the original SE was more or less the flagship, as it had the then-current flagship's chip and camera. But it wasn't really (there were some small advantages to the 6S besides the screen size). I wonder when (or if) the time will come that I treat myself to the flagship iPhone? I'd have to make the leap to the post-X world of no home buttons, gesture-based interfaces, Face ID and the like...just like I've had to make the leap to the larger phone this time around.
 
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No thanks, I will pass these. I’d rather watch a real review in terms of REAL usage — probably coming in a few weeks/months.
 
Also just occurred to me: anyone that is upgrading from an original SE or from a 5S is keeping Touch ID, sure...but is getting a BETTER Touch ID. The SE and 5S (and the 6? I don't remember) had first-generation Touch ID. The 6S, 7, 8 and new SE have the faster-responding second generation. One of those little things that will make this phone feel much snappier than my current.
 
The new SE might be a great spec but unfortunately with IOS13 its a liability, a bit like my original SE & many many other Apple smart phones atm.
 
I'm impressed by the SE and its going to be the top choice for me when I'm ready to drop the hated and vile ATT and switch to VZW
The smart money's on T-Mobile, especially after the Sprint deal, and the increased coverage as a result. They've been solid as long as I've had them (4 or 5 months now).
 
The new SE might be a great spec but unfortunately with IOS13 its a liability, a bit like my original SE & many many other Apple smart phones atm.
Do you mean that the new SE won't run iOS 13 any better than its predecessors...or are you expressing dissatisfaction with iOS 13 generally speaking, on all phones?
 
So my partner and I are both on OG SE's. We both recently replaced the battery; it drastically improved hers, it somewhat improved mine. We both prefer the size of our current phones to the size of the 6/6S/etc., but I think four years is enough, so I bit the bullet, trusted that my muscle memory will take to the new size, and got the SE.

So, we budget out EVERYTHING. Every month I (digitally) drop a few bucks in a can marked "Cool Stuff", which really just means technology, which usually just means my next iPhone. This SE was so inexpensive that I could help her (much of the way) on a new SE to replace hers as well. She has declined, she likes hers just fine. So I'll be very interested to see if she ends up changing her mind when I've had mine here for a while.

As I mused on that, I realized that it's been a long time since I had the flagship. Not since the 4S. You could say that the original SE was more or less the flagship, as it had the then-current flagship's chip and camera. But it wasn't really (there were some small advantages to the 6S besides the screen size). I wonder when (or if) the time will come that I treat myself to the flagship iPhone? I'd have to make the leap to the post-X world of no home buttons, gesture-based interfaces, Face ID and the like...just like I've had to make the leap to the larger phone this time around.
I feel extremely confident that if you keep this SE for another 4 years, you’ll be spoiled for choices next go around! =)
You’ll be used to the size by then & almost certainly will have an option that same physical size, but with a significantly larger screen.

ps.
Send your partner some cute/classy/sexy (whatever’s your style!) “portrait mode” shots from your new phone as soon as you get it!
That oughta move the needle on their decision... that tech is great! Nice to have a pic look unique & good without resorting to filters and other such trickery. I like pics with the “contoured” light option- seems to sculpt out my face & set it perfectly amongst the shadows.
 
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