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iPhone XS Sell XS or SE 2020?

M

Matiaz

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Aug 9, 2018
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New phones in house, but I would like to leave one for backup. SE got 86% battery and XS 79%.

Which one you think would be better device to keep and will get updates longer? XS generally better phone and more ram, but SE got newer chip and better battery health 🤔
 
Matiaz said:
New phones in house, but I would like to leave one for backup. SE got 86% battery and XS 79%.

Which one you think would be better device to keep and will get updates longer? XS generally better phone and more ram, but SE got newer chip and better battery health 🤔
Click to expand...
I'd say the SE. It's two years younger than the XS and I expect it should get at least iOS 18, if not security updates. My son has the SE 2020 and runs iOS 17 fine.
 
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Possibly something else to consider in your decision. If it's necessary to use one of these devices as a backup, are you likely to want to restore a current backup to it?

If so, you're going to want a device that is able to run the same version of iOS, because you can't restore a newer backup to a device on an older version of iOS. So, if say your newer iPhone runs iOS 18, you're not going to be able to restore to the XS if it's stuck on iOS 17.

If you're just using it without restoring a backup then it won't matter. But something to mention.
 
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eyoungren said:
Possibly something else to consider in your decision. If it's necessary to use one of these devices as a backup, are you likely to want to restore a current backup to it?

If so, you're going to want a device that is able to run the same version of iOS, because you can't restore a newer backup to a device on an older version of iOS. So, if say your newer iPhone runs iOS 18, you're not going to be able to restore to the XS if it's stuck on iOS 17.

If you're just using it without restoring a backup then it won't matter. But something to mention.
Click to expand...
This is also a good point. So SE seems to be pretty much nb choice.

Thanks to all for the help!
 
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For backup I’d just keep the one I like the most, which in my case would be the Xs, but YMMV. One major iOS version wouldn’t factor in my decision.
 
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It might be... neither. Apple dropped the 5S and 6 at the same time, the 6S and 7 at the same time, and the 8 and X at the same time so it wouldn't be surprising if they drop the XS/XR, 11/SE 2020 at one time as well.

In other words, I wouldn't be surprised if they last the same time update-wise. And if that's the case, my current prediction would be to expect at least iOS 18 support on both.
 
Paddle1 said:
It might be... neither. Apple dropped the 5S and 6 at the same time, the 6S and 7 at the same time, and the 8 and X at the same time so it wouldn't be surprising if they drop the XS/XR, 11/SE 2020 at one time as well.

In other words, I wouldn't be surprised if they last the same time update-wise. And if that's the case, my current prediction would be to expect at least iOS 18 support on both.
Click to expand...

The 8 and X came out the same time (well, within about a month) and had the same processor, so it makes sense that they were dropped at the same time. The others are a bit odd.
 
Sorinut said:
The 8 and X came out the same time (well, within about a month) and had the same processor, so it makes sense that they were dropped at the same time. The others are a bit odd.
Click to expand...
It's certainly a different situation than the other two, but it does fit the pattern of Apple dropping two different devices numerically.
 
Matiaz said:
New phones in house, but I would like to leave one for backup. SE got 86% battery and XS 79%.

Which one you think would be better device to keep and will get updates longer? XS generally better phone and more ram, but SE got newer chip and better battery health 🤔
Click to expand...

How is actual battery life?

The SE 2020 has a pretty small battery. I’ve found that an iPhone Xr with like 85% battery health still provides longer battery life than the SE 2020 at 100%.
 
Sell the phone that gets you more money.

Both phones will be losing iOS update support relatively soon. It doesn’t matter which phone you sell given it’s a backup only.
 
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