iPhone SE (2022) Need advice from iphone se 3rd gen. users

[MacBH928]

I got 2nd gen. and I am not a fan of big screens that need to hands to operate, but my current phone is starting to feel slow and small to my eyes (I think I am getting older) . How do you feel about your SE 3rd gen. ?

it has the A15 which is similar in last year model iphone 14, so is it same speed?

I am split between se 3rd gen. and iphone 14, i rather have a home button but I guess I have to move with times.

 

[Bigwaff]

I gots iPhone SE 2020. Works great. I’ll rock this until it’s not supported by latest iOS… then it’s a SE 2022 or iPhone 13 mini.

 

[DaveEcc]

I have the SE3. All the advice in the forums was "just get a mini instead"... except the mini was only marginally better, and cost twice as much. I only rarely use my phone, and mainly for messaging, as I'm in front of a desktop or laptop all day. There's no way I was paying twice as much.

The screen *is* a bit small, making the keyboard a bit of a pain, but as I don't message a whole lot, it's fine.

If you're using your phone a lot, you'll likely drain the SE battery quickly. When not running a battery hog app, just using messages a couple minutes a day, I can last 3-4 days between charges.

The camera is just okay, not nearly as nice as the camera on the full phones... but I have SLR and mirrorless cameras when I care about image quality.

If you want an occasional use small phone you can fit in a pocket and/or you don't want to invest in an expensive phone, the SE can fit the bill... but yeah, it's got downsides.

 

[Reno Raines]

I love mine. Use it as my daily driver.

 

[DaveEcc]

I'll add a note, since a recent like indicates people are looking at this thread... Anything using the GPS, like maps doing driving directions, or transit helper apps drain something like 30% of the battery per hour.

 

[Al Rukh]

iPhone 14 has the unbinned version of the A15 whereas the SE3 has the binned version. I think you’ll be better of getting the 14 instead. The SE3 is a good phone but value wise it is probably the worst of them all unless you can get one at a discount.

 

[MacBH928]

iPhone 14 has the unbinned version of the A15 whereas the SE3 has the binned version. I think you’ll be better of getting the 14 instead. The SE3 is a good phone but value wise it is probably the worst of them all unless you can get one at a discount.

whats binned?

 

[Al Rukh]

whats binned?

Binned chips, in layman terms, are chips that have one or more less cores.

iPhone 13 has a binned A15 SoC (one less GPU core)
iPhone 13 Pro has unbinned A15 SoC

The SE3 uses the same SoC as 13, and the iPhone 14 uses the same SoC as 13 Pro. In the grand scheme of things, you will not notice any significant difference but it’s good to know what you’re buying at the end of the day. Hope this helps.

 

[DaveEcc]

whats binned?

In this case... pretty meaningless honestly.

Binning is separating CPUs, GPUs, whatever, based on capabilities or defects. If you have a CPU where one core doesn't work, instead of chucking it away, you sell it as a lower-end chip. If you have a CPU that doesn't work when clocked at full speed, you don't chuck it away, you sell it as a lower-end chip. Sometimes when too many high-end chips work just fine, they're artificially turned off in software, or a fuse burned in hardware, to create more lower-end inventory. This is how GPUs and CPUs have been sold for decades.

When people talk about a binned chip it's not terribly clear what they mean as every chip is binned, it's a matter of which bin they end up in. It's like sorting your Legos by color. They're all sorted into bins, piles, or whatever. You don't say the yellow ones are not binned. Usually though, when people mention binning they intend it to be a negative, and mean it's a lower-end variant. That was the intent here, but...

According to Apple, both the iPhone 14 and SE 3 have a 6 core CPU (2 performance, 4 efficiency), but the iPhone 14 has a 5 core GPU, while the SE3 has a 4 core GPU... on the other hand the SE 3 has got only 34% of the pixels, so it's actually got more power per pixel than the iPhone 14. It's not really going to make much of a difference, and may very well be in the SE 3's favor in non-benchmark use.

Sure, get the iPhone 14 for the clearer screen, larger battery, better camera, something meaningful... but due to binning? In this case the numbers say that's just silly. Anyway, anyone considering an SE 3 was looking for a small phone, so you'd be considering the 13 mini, not the 14... and wouldn't you know it, it has the same A15 2P, 4E, 4GPU cores as the SE 3. Yes, again, it has a better screen and camera, but it cost significantly more.

You don't need the best in class of everything, especially if it's worse for you. If you use your phone rarely, and want something small, like me, the SE 3 is fine. If you're on your phone all day, then yes, it makes sense to invest more in a better phone. If you need small, get a mini. If you want big, get a regular. If you want extra large, get a Pro or a Pro Max. They make different models to suit different needs.

 

[DarkSorrow82]

I carry an iPhone 15 Pro Max and an iPhone SE 3rd Gen for everyday use. Sometimes the SE feels good in my hands cause it’s smaller than the 15 PM.

 

[asus389]

SE phones are also popular with people who prefer LCD screens because they get eye strain from OLED. Its a small group, but its an real issue for some people.

 

[Reverend Benny]

@MacBH928

Where I work we are offering the SE2022 as a "budget" alternative and the iPhone 14. And to be honest, I was kinda torn between them both when I was getting a new main workphone (I use a 13Pro as my personal device).

But having passed 40 years of age and that my eyes are slowly degrading I went for the 14. Another thing I have learned to appreciate is FaceID, it just works.
These days many apps can be protected using FaceID and I use it on most of them.

But, the SE2022 is smaller. If size is of importance I would prob go for the 13 mini which is a brilliant little device. A bit to small for me as I use zoomed mode to make the text slightly larger. But still a nice size.

The 14 has more RAM so it will prob live a bit longer and feel faster when it comes to apps that are more memory hungry.

 

[MacBH928]

In this case... pretty meaningless honestly.

Binning is separating CPUs, GPUs, whatever, based on capabilities or defects. If you have a CPU where one core doesn't work, instead of chucking it away, you sell it as a lower-end chip. If you have a CPU that doesn't work when clocked at full speed, you don't chuck it away, you sell it as a lower-end chip. Sometimes when too many high-end chips work just fine, they're artificially turned off in software, or a fuse burned in hardware, to create more lower-end inventory. This is how GPUs and CPUs have been sold for decades.

When people talk about a binned chip it's not terribly clear what they mean as every chip is binned, it's a matter of which bin they end up in. It's like sorting your Legos by color. They're all sorted into bins, piles, or whatever. You don't say the yellow ones are not binned. Usually though, when people mention binning they intend it to be a negative, and mean it's a lower-end variant. That was the intent here, but...

According to Apple, both the iPhone 14 and SE 3 have a 6 core CPU (2 performance, 4 efficiency), but the iPhone 14 has a 5 core GPU, while the SE3 has a 4 core GPU... on the other hand the SE 3 has got only 34% of the pixels, so it's actually got more power per pixel than the iPhone 14. It's not really going to make much of a difference, and may very well be in the SE 3's favor in non-benchmark use.

Sure, get the iPhone 14 for the clearer screen, larger battery, better camera, something meaningful... but due to binning? In this case the numbers say that's just silly. Anyway, anyone considering an SE 3 was looking for a small phone, so you'd be considering the 13 mini, not the 14... and wouldn't you know it, it has the same A15 2P, 4E, 4GPU cores as the SE 3. Yes, again, it has a better screen and camera, but it cost significantly more.

You don't need the best in class of everything, especially if it's worse for you. If you use your phone rarely, and want something small, like me, the SE 3 is fine. If you're on your phone all day, then yes, it makes sense to invest more in a better phone. If you need small, get a mini. If you want big, get a regular. If you want extra large, get a Pro or a Pro Max. They make different models to suit different needs.

that is a very evil but also economic way of selling bad chips! if its broken just sell it as lower end chip.

I thought the 13 mini was phased out?

thanks for the explanation!

I carry an iPhone 15 Pro Max and an iPhone SE 3rd Gen for everyday use. Sometimes the SE feels good in my hands cause it’s smaller than the 15 PM.

operating one handed is very important for me. I recall Apple claiming how their iphones was better than android because your thumb could reach all corners of the screen.

 

[DarkSorrow82]

that is a very evil but also economic way of selling bad chips! if its broken just sell it as lower end chip.

I thought the 13 mini was phased out?

thanks for the explanation!



operating one handed is very important for me. I recall Apple claiming how their iphones was better than android because your thumb could reach all corners of the screen.

It’s hard to do 1 handed on my iPhone 15 PM. The SE does it flawlessly though lol.

 

[Faize]

that is a very evil but also economic way of selling bad chips! if its broken just sell it as lower end chip.

In truth it's probably not broken. TSMC N5P is a very mature process at this point and manufacturing defects are rare.

Most likely, Apple is just disabling a fully functional GPU core in order to keep the specs on newly manufactured phones exactly the same as those manufactured back in 2022.

 

[MacBH928]

In truth it's probably not broken. TSMC N5P is a very mature process at this point and manufacturing defects are rare.

Most likely, Apple is just disabling a fully functional GPU core in order to keep the specs on newly manufactured phones exactly the same as those manufactured back in 2022.

they consumers will go crazy if they knew they are paying a huge price difference for the same chip that Apple intentionally disabled a core to handicap it 😂