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

[Phone Junky]

The 5 / 5S / SE1 was just right.

For you. Obviously the masses don't agree. Apple produces for the masses.

 

[jdclifford]

They should have made the screen bigger. 4.7" is just too tiny.

It's called the iPhone mini (5.4" screen).

 

[Htsi]

The "tired" design specifically fits into hundreds of existing MfI (Made-for-iOS) hardware designs (industrial scanners, medical devices, etc), and retiring it would throw all these third-party vendors and their customers under the bus. Sometimes mature design stability is a good thing.

This argument was used for iPad mini

 

[AppleHore]

The og iPhone screen was definitely too small. The 5 / 5S / SE1 was just right.

That’s subjective. I think the iPhone 13 Pro Max is still too small to type on, but the weight of it stresses my hands.

 

[BRX1138]

This thread is a goldmine for "your momma" jokes.

For real tho: My mom is hell bent on NEVER EVER AGAIN using a phone that deviates from the iPhone 8 (iPhone SE) form factor. To my mom, the iPhone 8 is the end-all, be-all of cellular phone technology, and even getting her to realize that the iPhone SE was the same exact design was hard enough - getting her to adopt a massive, heavy, buttonless, bezel-free black mirror (which the Verge author and MacRumors editors likely use) isn't going to happen. Apple knows this.

So, I agree completely with so many others in this thread - the Verge author (or, to be fair, whoever wrote this MacRumors summary of the Verge article, as I haven't read the original source review) was clearly missing the point of who Apple's target market is for this device.

I would assume that Apple knows much better than MacRumors or Verge on what's going to sell, who it's going to sell to, for how long it'll sell, for how much it'll sell, etc.

Also, the users who are saying "But at least make the iPhone SE twice as big!" or "At least give the the iPhone SE four additional cameras!" or "At least upgrade the iPhone SE's screen tech to circa 2027 quality!" or "At least embed HAL 9000 as the iPhone SE's processor!" are kinda forgetting the point of this device.

I'd also like to add one final disclaimer: I don't really care about Apple any more than I care about Google or Samsung or Microsoft (ok, but f_ Facebook). I really just wanted to voice a hearty "hear! hear!" to those pointing out what phone their mom uses, because: MY MOM TOO.

HI MOM! : D

 

[piblondin]

The og iPhone screen was definitely too small. The 5 / 5S / SE1 was just right.

The 5's form factor was great. I wish it was still the base for the current SE.

 

[rui no onna]

This thread is a goldmine for "your momma" jokes.

For real tho: My mom is hell bent on NEVER EVER AGAIN using a phone that deviates from the iPhone 8 (iPhone SE) form factor. To my mom, the iPhone 8 is the end-all, be-all of cellular phone technology, and even getting her to realize that the iPhone SE was the same exact design was hard enough - getting her to adopt a massive, heavy, buttonless, bezel-free black mirror (which the Verge author and MacRumors editors likely use) isn't going to happen. Apple knows this.

So, I agree completely with so many others in this thread - the Verge author (or, to be fair, whoever wrote this MacRumors summary of the Verge article, as I haven't read the original source review) was clearly missing the point of who Apple's target market is for this device.

I would assume that Apple knows much better than MacRumors or Verge on what's going to sell, who it's going to sell to, for how long it'll sell, for how much it'll sell, etc.

Also, to the users who are saying "But at least make the iPhone SE twice as big!" or "At least give the the iPhone SE four additional cameras!" or "At least upgrade the iPhone SE's screen tech to circa 2027 quality!" or "At least embed HAL 9000 as the iPhone SE's processor!" are kinda forgetting the point of this device.

I'd also like to add one final disclaimer: I don't really care about Apple any more than I care about Google or Samsung or Microsoft (ok, but f_ Facebook). I really just wanted to voice a hearty "hear! hear!" to those pointing out what phone their mom uses, because: MY MOM TOO.

HI MOM! : D

I think my mom would actually appreciate better cameras/Night Mode. Alas yes, it would be a dark day when Apple stops making iPhones with home button TouchID. I've offered to get her the 12/13 mini but that was a no-go. She absolutely hates using my dad's iPhone 11 (which I'll probably upgrade to the 14 Pro if they switch to pinhole/cutout instead of notch).

There's nothing wrong with mom's SE 2020 and despite being a cheapskate, she's okay upgrading to the SE 2022 now in fear of it being the last iPhone with home button.

Apple currently sells 7 models with FaceID and notched all-screen design ranging from $499-1599 in price. The price difference is pretty negligible between the SE and 11, and performance hasn't really improved by much from A13 to A15. Those who want FaceID and all-screen designs have far more options than folks wanting the old classic design with home button and TouchID.

 

[mac-mike]

"Tired design"

There are people out there like my mom who love this design and don't ever want it to change. That is this phone's target audience. Updating the "tired design" would hurt, not help this product.

If you want a newer design, just get a 13 series; the SE is not for you.

After seeing some of the "expert" reviews, I was all set to post my observation that my baloney detector had gone off, but then I saw you and a few others had already pointed out what should be obvious. Youtube and other tech reviewers don't represent average users, who purchase most smartphones. So thanks for that! My wife and I are still using our iPhone 8s and other than craptastic batteries, they meet our needs. If we were to buy new phones, I think the iPhone SE3 would be at the top of our shopping list.

 

[remington79]

It’s not tired it’s retro

 

[DJTaurus]

What a ? of a phone this is