Original iPhone SE performance on iOS 14 vs 13?

[baryon]

I have an original iPhone SE and I wonder if the performance and battery life are any worse on iOS 14 than on 13. I have made some bad decisions about upgrading iOS that I have regretted especially since there is no way to undo it, so I want to make sure I don't make a mistake this time.

 

[lyceumHQ]

Came here to ask the same. Not for myself as I have an Xr but my Aunty has an original SE.

 

[ctjack]

Just updated. Overall nothing lagging, crashed once in settings but that is it. Snappy as previous ios 13.6.
Problem is that overall font rendering(not crisp and bold/big) for calendar is awful. Also if you open your folders, now it is ugly and cramped and smaller than before. And font is really small/icons small when you open your folder on the main screen. My calendar(swipe to the left) used to give me a good prospect on the work ahead, but now to-do list of calendar is just horrible.
I guess they just gave it to SE, but ios 14 is meant for Xr, 11 like screens to tell the truth.

 

[Apple_Robert]

I have noticed the SE goes through battery a lot quicker on iOS 14. I had been running betas on the SE.

 

[ctjack]

I have noticed the SE goes through batter a lot quicker on iOS 14. I had been running betas on the SE.

I have noticed that. Was 52% and still on charging while updating, then i disconnected charger and after 5 min update was done - now i have 6%.
Also unlocking animation is lagging noticeably, but unlocking time seems to be the same.

 

[Burebista]

Please keep us updated on how it goes. I no longer have an SE as a daily driver (went Pixel), but considering whether to install iOS 14 nevertheless.

From what you guys are reporting so far, the decrease in battery life is expected - it happened every time after a major update. I think iOS 11 to 12 took the biggest hit for me.

But the lagging is totally unexpected, the SE never lagged. It could be a real deal breaker.

 

[pdr733]

Will be watching this topic too. I also have the SE as a spare phone/number (the main one is Android at the moment) but will wait for the experiences before I upgrade. OTOH, I upgraded my 2017 IPad right away to IpadOS 14.

 

[Wandering Wastrel]

I'm leery of updating my SE (original) as well. It's my only phone, and I want to hear from others how well it works before I decide.

 

[iPhonNick]

I'm using an iPhone SE (original) for work/normal use. I charged the phone up to 100% and unplugged it, this morning (about 6:55 AM). Had to make a lot of phone calls and reading/sending some mail with Outlook thorough the day. Right now (11:37 PM), the phone is sitting at 79% battery left and hasn't charged ever since then. For me, battery life is great.

I have to say that performance has improved, compared to iOS 13.7. Scrolling animations are a bit smoother for me and apps seem to open faster. Unlock animations are the same for me. TouchID, however, seems to work slightly faster.
The only issue I've seen on this phone is keyboard lagging in the notes app. In WhatsApp, Outlook and Evernote: I have no issues.

The battery on my phone is about 4,5 years old and is sitting on 87% max capacity

 

[C DM]

I'm using an iPhone SE (original) for work/normal use. I charged the phone up to 100% and unplugged it, this morning (about 6:55 AM). Had to make a lot of phone calls and reading/sending some mail with Outlook thorough the day. Right now (11:37 PM), the phone is sitting at 79% battery left and hasn't charged ever since then. For me, battery life is great.

I have to say that performance has improved, compared to iOS 13.7. Scrolling animations are a bit smoother for me and apps seem to open faster. Unlock animations are the same for me. TouchID, however, seems to work slightly faster.
The only issue I've seen on this phone is keyboard lagging in the notes app. In WhatsApp, Outlook and Evernote: I have no issues.

The battery on my phone is about 4,5 years old and is sitting on 87% max capacity

That's almost amazing battery performance for an older (and smaller) phone after a full day, let alone with phone call and mail usage. I think I'm usually down to 79% or below before noon most days using iPhone 7 (with 83% battery capacity of an almost 3 year old battery).

 

[ctjack]

So after reboots and couple days, i have no problems with the phone. Everything is sorted out now. Hovewer i still have to track screen time on battery, since i can not calculate how is it doing. Otherwise i still don't like widgets on a small screen, but other than that everything is fine.

 

[neliason]

My experience with original SE has so far been great. I think the phone is much more responsive. Nothing seems slower and most things seem faster.

Regarding battery I can’t say yet. My first impression is battery life is worse. But, my battery is considerably degraded. So it is hard to really judge. Even if battery life is worse it doesn’t seem unacceptable. I think the better performance is worth any battery degredation.

 

[baryon]

I went ahead and installed iOS 14 on my SE now and it seems great. My battery is nearly brand new and at 100% health, and I'm making it through the day without issues though I only have like 20% left at the end. It used to be a little bit more but I may just have been using it more in the past few days.

Performance however is definitely better, scrolling and swiping is more responsive and stock apps seem to open quicker. Other apps like Messenger are a bit more laggy but it seems more like a matter of specific updates and optimizations than iOS being laggy as a whole.

I like the new features, like pinning favorites to the top of Messages, the widgets and my favorite: being able to type in times for events and alarms, rather than having to scroll the minutes up and down. I also like that when you choose a date for an event in calendar, you get a little graphical calendar, and not just an endless list of dates, it's just so much better.