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iPhone SE Reviews: Impressive Performance in a 'Tired Design'
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Smashing home button is a lot easier vs finger gymnastic gestures for a lot of people.
My guess is that the price hike is there to offset the cost of the 5g modem. It's not all pure profit for Apple.
It is frustrating that Apple has left us with the choice between a notched phone or a phone with a 7 1/2 year old design, which is eons in consumer technology. I have the previous SE, which is visually the same, and it looks embarrassingly dated- I've been asked with distain: "what is THAT?" I have this phone because I wanted a modern processor but couldn't stomach a notch.
I need a new phone this year (but not necessarily immediately), so I guess I'll pray they make a desirable new iPhone then.
I need a new phone this year (but not necessarily immediately), so I guess I'll pray they make a desirable new iPhone then.
Your point is perfectly valid, but just to be clear, my reason of why Apple is making a good call not changing the shape has nothing at all to do with R&D on Apple's end. My point is entirely the other direction--a change in design would be a negative for many of the target users.
If Apple intends to keep the SE with a button, but switched it to a flat-sided design, it would (by necessity) not be the same shape as any previous iPhone. Therefore, any potential buyers would need to get new cases for it, from whatever the selection of "New SE" cases ends up being. By keeping every iteration exactly the same size and shape as the previous, buyers can "just get another one of what they have" without needing to replace the case (or anything else form-factor-related that they might be used to), and there are years worth of cases and accessories floating around if you want a new one.
Obviously there are some people, like yourself, who want the old-school design (so the slightly-more-expensive iPhone 11, which has flat sides and a larger screen but no button, isn't of interest), but would like it to be shaped more like the iPhone 5. But there are others who just want to replace their aging or broken phone, and keep everything else the same.
I have no idea what the ratio is among potential SE customers is between "I want an old-style phone but don't like the shape" and "I want a phone exactly like what I already have (but maybe with better guts)", but it's not unreasonable to assume that the latter group, who's already averse to change, is larger than the former.
Exactly. ar work there are people I know on 6 and 6 plus who upgraded to 2020 se. It’s just a phone and texting device and love it. Same for anyone who just wants an affordabor phone. These revi don’t know what they’re saying. Out of touch.
If you're embarrassed by the way your chosen sheet of glass and metal looks while you're out in public, you probably have your priories misplaced. Instead of focusing on which phone will visually impress other human beings, maybe try to figure out why that matters to begin with? I know it sounds snarky, or like I'm mocking you, but I'm being serious. It's not very healthy.
Personally, I don't care what others think of my phone's aesthetics. Only thing that matters is I'm happy with it.
Second, a lot of my co-workers are cheapskates. Several still with iPhone 6/6s/7/8/SE2 and since they're usually at construction sites, plenty have cracks all over. I guess I just don't associate with folks who care about their phones other than it's functional.
I will continue to buy this design until they discontinue.
It does look dated. It looks very dated. I added that in to clarify that others agree with me. It served its purpose and was light weight and fast, but I'm ready to join the vast majority of people and buy something modern looking again. I got a 2020 SE for each of my parents too, and they're happy with them.
Edit: I'm not upgrading because I want a modern looking phone, but I'd rather have a modern looking phone if I'm upgrading anyway. 128Gb isn't enough storage for me any more, and I'd like a bigger screen and better cameras.
Bonus edit: While we're being serious/snarky, you think humans simply don't try to look their best? No haircuts, no nice clothing, no jewellery/fancy watches etc etc? No one ever bought an Apple iPhone/watch/laptop partially because they thought they were cool? Really?
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By the way, for anyone still using a 6S as their primary phone... how do you tolerate how slow it is? I have one I used as as a work phone until recently, and it's sooooo slow compared to my 2020 SE. It is generally functional, though it's buckling under the pressure of WeChat and freezes frequently.
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If they had a plus, I would refresh every 1 or 2 years. As is, I have an 8+ that I upgraded from a 7+ and have no idea what I would do if it dies and I can’t replace it with a similar phone.
I am using the original SE and am thinking of replacing it. I thought I might find some useful info here, but the's so much weird bickering over the device. Many keep repeating the same tired things about this phone being for old people, poor people, or technophobes. I'm a long ways from being a grandparent and can buy whatever is considered the best. But it's just a phone and a depreciating asset that will be 1-upped in several months. Not everyone feels it is necessary to be as invested in a device with their money and time.
I’m still using a (refurb) 8+, with no desire to move to the newer phones! If they made an SE Plus, I’d be all over it..
I forced my wife to upgrade from the 6s+ because I couldn’t take waiting for her aps to do anything when she was showing me things. She liked how light the 6s line was compared to the 8 family, but the 12 was much lighter and nearly identical in size, so she is happy.
Now I can’t stand the all swipe interface of her phone when I need to borrow it, but she’s happy.
I care about looks and design and that’s why I haven’t spent a dime on any notch model iPhones. I really don’t like it and to me it is sloppy design.
Agreed.
It’s one of those times where Apple should put the tech reviewers in the 2nd tier of review rounds and instead focus on sending out review units to reviewers who work for publications/sites read by ‘regular’ people.
(ie people who don’t post on forums about Apple products!).
'Tired design' that still has a home button with fingerprint detection instead of the fundamentally flawed face detection, and that's why at some point I'll probably buy it when my SE2 is too old.
I’m a few years time, I could see the XR being combined with the iPhone 13 mini though:
ie Something like the original iPhone X / mini with an LCD display & the Touch ID side button from the iPad Air.
Agree with you that the SE should stay relatively compact.
I’m long sighted and had an iPhone 7 and it worked great with display zoom mode.
I’m sure the SE would too.
I think that’s the thing with the SE. (In western markets - because I don’t know about other markets) it really is for people who don’t use their iPhone that much but who want it to be super reliable when they do use it and don’t want to have to relearn how to use new models.
Hopefully for everyone that buys the 2022 SE the battery is a lot better than the 2020 SE- the battery was poor to start with, and after one year the battery has reduced to 85%, and I have to bring a charger everywhere with me as the battery fades so fast. I know I could replace it, as I've done that in the past, but replacement batteries tend to frazzle even worse after one year.
