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iPhone SE Reviews: Impressive Performance in a 'Tired Design'

In regards to the good ol’ iPhone 8 design, if it ain’t broke don’t fix it.

Surprised by how one reviewer mentioned that the camera is just as good as the 13 Mini (aside from no night mode). Now I’m intrigued.
 
BrownyQ said:
I love seeing review round-ups like these, because it so blatantly shows the bias of tech world reviewers.

When you spend the entire year looking forward to the latest, greatest, cutting edge tech, you tend to lose sight of what the average consumer (which in turn is the vast majority of people) really wants and looks for in devices.

And for those in the market for the SE, it's a low price and a familiar design.
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One gets faux excited, one makes you fall asleep, overall yeh they’re biased and repetitive.
 
Freida said:
You CLEARLY don't understand the target audience for this. Some of us want this design specifically for the TouchID and one hand operation. Its perfect in many ways. XR is literally the opposite of what some of us would want.
Also, why would you want XR style and you already have that option?
I have the SE from 2020 and I bought this one for my partner. Its the perfect phone for our usage and a massive bonus is that its so cheap.
This will sell like hot cakes and the design is not over done. You just don't understand the market for this
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I don’t know why you’re getting so defensive. There are plenty of people (my parents for example) that want a cheap phone with a large display without all the bells and whistles fancy cameras etc. there is a big market for that and I fully believe that would sell better than this.
 
Its not about defensivness. Its about the fact that what you are asking for already exists and you want to take away the choice that a lot of us love and want to stay as is.
Your parents can get iPhone 11, or XR or whatever you suggested and the rest that wants SE can get SE. Everyone happy.
Why dismissing something when a lot of us really enjoy this form factor for tons of benefits?


Seanm87 said:
I don’t know why you’re getting so defensive. There are plenty of people (my parents for example) that want a cheap phone with a large display without all the bells and whistles fancy cameras etc. there is a big market for that and I fully believe that would sell better than this.
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My only complaint is that they don’t have a plus size too. My moms 6 plus is need of replacing and she wants a home button (more for the usability than the touchid) in the larger size. The 8 plus (the last bIg iPhone with a home button) is too long in the tooth as well and really hasn’t come down in price At the refurb store when they even have it in stock.
 
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I realize that I'm not the target market for this phone, but I don't understand some of the arguments in favor of it:

"Some people want a smaller phone" - OK, but the SE is almost exactly the same size as an X/XS/11/12 Pro while having a much smaller screen and giant bezels; how is that an advantage?

"One-handed operation" - Don't all iPhones in this size class work with one hand?
 
MayaUser said:
even the youtubers are calling boring design, old design but not tired :)))
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the so called "experts" on YouTube aren't the target audience for the device and they review in such a way!

I guess the target audience would be some that wants an iPhone but doesn't want to spend loads of money and dont care for all the bells and whistles or someone that likes having the home button and/or Touch ID
 
I think these reviewers suddenly forgot that Apple makes 4 other models of iPhones users can choose if they want a modern design, better cameras etc. The iPhone SE is designed for my mother who has a 6s that’s on its last legs. Also, if you don’t want an iPhone 13 series, there are older model iPhones you can get just as cheap as the new SE with just as fast processor.
 
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Freida said:
You CLEARLY don't understand the target audience for this. Some of us want this design specifically for the TouchID and one hand operation. Its perfect in many ways. XR is literally the opposite of what some of us would want.
Also, why would you want XR style and you already have that option?
I have the SE from 2020 and I bought this one for my partner. Its the perfect phone for our usage and a massive bonus is that its so cheap.
This will sell like hot cakes and the design is not over done. You just don't understand the market for this
Click to expand...
When the iPhone 6 went out people complained about it being "too big, unusable with one hand" and now it's "the perfect phone for one-hand operation". What a time to be alive!

It sells like hotcakes because it's the cheapest iPhone, period.
 
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tooloud10 said:
I realize that I'm not the target market for this phone, but I don't understand some of the arguments in favor of it:

"Some people want a smaller phone" - OK, but the SE is almost exactly the same size as an X/XS/11/12 Pro while having a much smaller screen and giant bezels; how is that an advantage?

"One-handed operation" - Don't all iPhones in this size class work with one hand?
Click to expand...

The SE is a decent amount smaller than the X and Xs, which are both smaller than the 11 and 12 Pro.
 
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tooloud10 said:
I realize that I'm not the target market for this phone, but I don't understand some of the arguments in favor of it:

"Some people want a smaller phone" - OK, but the SE is almost exactly the same size as an X/XS/11/12 Pro while having a much smaller screen and giant bezels; how is that an advantage?

"One-handed operation" - Don't all iPhones in this size class work with one hand?
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Most of the comments related to size and weight are related to the similarly priced XR, which some are advocating for rather than the SE. Below are the dimensions from Apple's web page. Believe me, I have owned both and there is a big difference in size, weight, and one handed operation.

1647271384070.jpeg
 
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Freida said:
Its not about defensivness. Its about the fact that what you are asking for already exists and you want to take away the choice that a lot of us love and want to stay as is.
Your parents can get iPhone 11, or XR or whatever you suggested and the rest that wants SE can get SE. Everyone happy.
Why dismissing something when a lot of us really enjoy this form factor for tons of benefits?
Click to expand...

It does exist but at a higher price point. I mean that’s fine that you like the design but it won’t be around forever. What then?
 
"But you don’t get a faster refresh rate, which would make scrolling look a little smoother, you don’t get the same pop and punchiness of OLED, and it’s definitely one of the smallest screens sold on a new smartphone today. Text looks small at the default setting, and you can enlarge it, but that means doing more scrolling."

Not sure what they expect here. Even the 13/13 Mini don't have the higher refresh rate.

Also, the default text size on the SE is bigger than the 13 Mini's, and has less of a "squeezed" aspect ratio, so....
 
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While I prefer my iPhone 13 Pro, I am glad Apple is continuing this line. I have been critical of Apple for not understanding the consumer-level needs (ex. $1600 monitor), but with the iPhone SE, they got it right. Not everyone needs (or wants) a huge screen or three camera lenses. There are a good number of people who just want a nice phone that fits in their purse/pocket that works. They don't want to play games or do crazy VR stuff. They aren't making sophisticated movies (if any, at all), and the pictures they take are basic ones of their kids and pets. For these people, the iPhone SE is a nice phone that won't cost them a ton of money. For everyone else, the traditional lineup is great. Give people options!
 
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I don't live in the future. I live in presence and for that reason I don't need to worry "What then" as when that happens I will have all the info at hand. Right now I would be guessing. Nice try though

Seanm87 said:
It does exist but at a higher price point. I mean that’s fine that you like the design but it won’t be around forever. What then?
Click to expand...
 
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tooloud10 said:
I realize that I'm not the target market for this phone, but I don't understand some of the arguments in favor of it:

"Some people want a smaller phone" - OK, but the SE is almost exactly the same size as an X/XS/11/12 Pro while having a much smaller screen and giant bezels; how is that an advantage?

"One-handed operation" - Don't all iPhones in this size class work with one hand?
Click to expand...
While they may look the same for example the 11 is considerably larger (39.4% by volume) and heavier (34.4%) than the SE 2022. Something you really may only be able to appreciate if you hold them. Also due to the smaller screen and that it also sits lower due to the top bezel and that it has a home button instead how having to use a gesture, the SE is much much easier to use one handed. Again this can best be realized by holding/using them back to back.
 
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And yet if it was the same price as XR style I would still pick this and I'm sure I wouldn't be alone.
Why is it so difficult for people to understand that some people just prefer this design over the notch one without TouchID?



ingambe said:
When the iPhone 6 went out people complained about it being "too big, unusable with one hand" and now it's "the perfect phone for one-hand operation". What a time to be alive!

It sells like hotcakes because it's the cheapest iPhone, period.
Click to expand...
 
The fun part is there's a whole market for this tired design which a lot of the reviewers don't even comprehend because they live in the perfect 1st world countries.
 
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