iPhone SE (2016) New SE1 vs. Apple Refurb 13 mini

[geta]

When I bought my 15 pro max, I traded in my 12 pro max for $830. I don't think that's peanuts. I got a $1200 phone for $370, and in 3 years, I will repeat that process. I don't really think there is a "need" to upgrade after 3 years, but (in my humble opinion) there is a sweet spot right there on trade-in value. Investments? What is with posters putting words in my mouth?

No one put words in your mouth, these were your words -

I've never understood buying older phones. sure, you spend less, but the depreciation of value actually increases as phones age. I'd recommend investing in a new 16e and then upgrading every 3 years or so (or however that product cycle works out). Your initial investment will be more, but trade-in value will offset that moving forward. That's what makes sense to me anyways.

What is with posters and their short term memory…?

 

[rwh63]

Battery reads 100% capacity. During transfer it uploaded to 15.8.3, so I don’t know original. Had them put a screen protector in it. Added a new black bumper for now. Prefer a full case. I like the Speck brand. Want to protect the back. You can see how pitted the other for being in a case.

 

[Andeddu]

Battery reads 100% capacity. During transfer it uploaded to 15.8.3, so I don’t know original. Had them put a screen protector in it. Added a new black bumper for now. Prefer a full case. I like the Speck brand. Want to protect the back. You can see how pitted the other for being in a case.

So any gel case will do as long as you clean it & the phone every 1-2 weeks. I used this OGSE as my daily driver for 8-9 months and then as a secondary WiFi only device at home for another year and it looks as good as new. I used a Spigen screen protector too which did a great job of preserving the screen.

It’s completely retired now and back in its box. I am tempted to bring it back out again though after using my 8 as my secondary device for the last 6 months.

 

[rwh63]

i actually carry my phone while doing lots of dirty jobs, so not surprised lots of fine particles work into the case and cause damage. was wondering if there are back protectors available. gonna use the 32 gb phone as a 'work' phone, and the 128 as my dress phone. does feel good to have a new device.

now need to retire my 2011 macbook pro for an m4. looking at $1700 for a 14" pro chip model.

 

[vvvvvv]

Purchasing and using an unsupported 10 year old cell phone alongside the prospect of a brand new $2000 MacBook Pro. I am having a hard time following the logic (if any) in this thread.

 

[rwh63]

its emotions, mr spock, its what makes us human. illogical humans.

i like small iphones. i need a new laptop.

 

[vvvvvv]

Fair enough! It took me ages to move on from my 13 mini, but ultimately the transition wasn’t bad after a couple days. My SE1 battery says 98% battery health and it lasts around an hour.

 

[sdfox7]

Purchasing and using an unsupported 10 year old cell phone alongside the prospect of a brand new $2000 MacBook Pro. I am having a hard time following the logic (if any) in this thread.

its emotions, mr spock, its what makes us human. illogical humans.

i like small iphones. i need a new laptop.

Agree. For me it’s sentimental. When you think about everything you’ve done in life since your older phones were introduced, it’s amazing how durable and long these phones last. My 6S for example has spanned 4 different US presidents and still receives some app updates! The entire time I owned the 6S I was a sophomore in college, then went on to graduate and get my MBA.

I skipped the iPhone 7. They basically took away the headphone jack, added some new colors and called it a new phone.

My iPhone 8 is the last iPhone with a white faceplate.

My SE 2 is what I call the Covid phone, with an incredible $399 introductory price. I couldn’t resist buying one to use and/or add to my collection. Great phone and competitive price range, at a time when people needed the ability to buy technology to work remotely.

SE 3 is special of course because it’s the final home button iPhone.

 

[ayephoner]

No one put words in your mouth, these were your words -



What is with posters and their short term memory…?

oh. so we're going to have a full-on semantics argument, huh?

I used the word 'investment' as a verb, meaning to purchase. You then quoted me and acted as if I was portraying that purchase as a commodity, something to be traded or that would appreciate value.

My only point was that the financial difference between having a new phone every 3 years (or so) and buying used phones isn't all that much because of how much you can get for trading in a 3 year old device. This message was posted clearly, but you honed in on the use of the term "invest" to make it seem that I was saying new iPhones are a better place to put your savings than a 401k.

 

[rwh63]

Got the new SE hooked up with Xfinity mobile. hopefully it will do everything it currently does for the next year or so. will try to get my hands on a 13 mini at some point to test drive. i have no interest in the giant-sized $1000 offerings.
Took a look at them while at xfinity. seem grotesque compared to the SE, small and svelte.