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The SE is a frankenstein phone and its great. It offers a mix of current and older tech which appeals to a lot of people and keeps them in the apple echo system. I love the SE because I don't consider it a lower end phone although it is. The 5C was a low end phone. The idea with the SE is that keeping it 50/50 new, old. This keeps the price down while giving some current tech

Let's be specific -- it keeps the current tech that matters for a smooth user experience, namely the SOC and RAM. The oldest tech on the phone, like the display and TouchID, is the least important to a good user experience and its all perfectly acceptable performance by even current standards, and doesn't have to be the best. In addition they offer the latest features for the things customers notice most -- in this case the camera. The front facing camera while important to some, is not essential for most, but at the same time they added the front flash, which improves the photos taken with the front in low light mitigating some of that over the same camera on older phones. All things considered, it does more of what a customer expects a modern phone to do as well as the top of the line phones, for a lot less, with compromises that don't tend to be the focus of the customer.
 
Got Sony. Always connected via cable. Good batteries last about 80 hours. With batteries the sound is quite decent, without batteries you can listen, but the sound isn't very good at all. Still better than no sound :)
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I always get a transparent gel case for my phone. Just £1.99, protects quite well if the phone falls on the side or the back, and because there is an edge around the sides it also protects most of the time if the phone falls flat on its face on a hard surface. And it's almost invisible and adds very little to the size.
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There was an article saying that the iPhone 6 already had significant improvements in that area. Just not enough to give it any official rating, but enough to decrease the number of unlucky customers. Even more because they didn't tell anyone, so customers kept treating their phones carefully. I wouldn't be surprised if the next iPhone 5 is improved in that regard, but not to the point where it would be officially advertised.
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I'd say find out what the _real_ price of the 5SE is (will you have to stay longer in your contract for example). If $179 is the real price, that's only a bit more than replacing a cracked screen. Or just assume that there will be a better 5SE very soon, for $399. So you'll pay $220 extra for having the new SE vs. the old SE. If you buy now, you still have a better phone than your 5s, with a new screen and a new battery.

Virgin Mobile is no contract, the price I pay for the phone is what I pay; just $30 a month for service. I figured I'd be getting a fixed screen, better battery life again, plus all the upgraded internals for basically what it would cost to fix stuff currently wrong.

Even if a new model came out, it would be much more expensive than what I could get now with this SE. I like a deal, I just hate spending money! Though like most, I'm afraid of something better immediately coming along behind.
 
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When it was released it had the specs to match the most recent (6 month previous iPhone), so it had pretty much the best specs (in terms of RAM, GPU and CPU) possible at the time, same as the camera technology. We get you hate it, but I've found the SE to be the best iPhone ever. Hopefully it gets a RAM/CPU spec next year.
The iPhone SE is only my second smartphone ever, after owning the iPhone 4 from 2010. So I probably don't hate it, but I'm also not living in the fantasy it will ever be upgraded. It doesn't need a faster processor and when it will need one, it will also be about time for better screen technology and everything else. Apple will make a complete new handsized iPhone someday, but never an SE 2. The SE stands for 'special edition' and that's what it is. It's not a new line of phones, it is a single new phone based on the iPhone 5 body, not more and not less.
 
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Thank god. If they updated it they would make it thinner, with shorter battery life, less weight, fewer ports, and Apple only ports. Then they would not understand why people did not see the difference between the SE and the 7 (or 8). This is the impact of Ive. Make all of the products the same, thin multicolor, fashion accessories that get replaced every 2 years and fill the dumps.
I don't know about Samsung or htc, but Apple recycles their phones. Why throw it out when you can get it to Apple for recycling?
 
I have a 6S now but my next iPhone will be an SE. I can get by with a 16 gb but will likely buy something larger in the future. My 6S is still running fine ATM.
 
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This. I want the most compact iPhone I can get. I'd love to see a 3.5" iPhone SE or maybe a 4" SE in the body of an iPhone 4.
It's funny because when people see me using my iPhone SE they think it's a toy and make a joke. I've even had someone say while I was using my 6s man what size is that it looks so small. Most people are using 5.5" phones or larger today. I don't want to go bigger than my 6s but if Apple can shave some of the height off by eliminating the bezels on the iPhone 8 and still keep it 4.7 I'd buy one.
 
SE is the best iPhone out there in my opinion, rock solid design and performance in a pocketable size.
The 6 and above are just simply too large for all but the biggest pockets even in its non plus form!!

I get people might want a bigger screen but thats got to come at the expense of portability
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It's funny because when people see me using my iPhone SE they think it's a toy and make a joke. I've even had someone say while I was using my 6s man what size is that it looks so small. Most people are using 5.5" phones or larger today. I don't want to go bigger than my 6s but if Apple can shave some of the height off by eliminating the bezels on the iPhone 8 and still keep it 4.7 I'd buy one.

Not bothered about what other people think - buy the model that fits your lifestyle and that you like!
 
Some great comments on the prospects of or wished for forthcoming changes on the SE.

I have a wish item that I've never seen mentioned-- which may mean it makes no sense,

Besides better low light camera performance, I'd really like to see a Smart Cover feature! I really like the instant on our iPads by just opening up the cover. I dislike seeing the lock screen and it's time or entering a passcode or sliding to unlock.

Apple could even sell a Star Trek communicator type cover with it-- with the option of it making certain sounds or saying certain random phrases when you open it! "Beam me up, Scotty!" "Spock, here!" "Two to beam up, Captain!"
 
I have a 6S now but my next iPhone will be an SE. I can get by with a 16 gb but will likely buy something larger in the future. My 6S is still running fine ATM.
With the 64GB SE selling for as low as $350 new, full price/no contract (if you go with a prepaid carrier), it makes little sense to go with the 16GB model.

My 64GB SE has been an amazing device. I hope they still offer one by the time I'm ready to replace this one.
 
Some great comments on the prospects of or wished for forthcoming changes on the SE.

I have a wish item that I've never seen mentioned-- which may mean it makes no sense,

Besides better low light camera performance, I'd really like to see a Smart Cover feature! I really like the instant on our iPads by just opening up the cover. I dislike seeing the lock screen and it's time or entering a passcode or sliding to unlock.

Apple could even sell a Star Trek communicator type cover with it-- with the option of it making certain sounds or saying certain random phrases when you open it! "Beam me up, Scotty!" "Spock, here!" "Two to beam up, Captain!"

You do realize that the SE with TouchID unlocks without slide to unlock, or really even looking at it?

Also, the Smart Cover defeats the security of Touch ID, and passcode, and therefore, won't likely ever be supported by Apple.
 
Lack of 3D touch was a deal breaker for me. Still keeping my 4s, waiting for SE update.

There will not be a 3D Touch update for the SE. That would require a fundamental redesign, which Apple is not going to do on the lowest priced phone in their line-up. If you're lucky you might get an SE-sized iphone 8 in September, or next March, with Touch ID.

The 4s is a deal breaker for me. The 5 is even too slow, and my 5s is just painful to use. I can't even imagine the logic that demands Touch ID from a new phone, when the baseline experience is a 4s.
 
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There will not be a 3D Touch update for the SE. That would require a fundamental redesign
Just a new display assembly. I don't think it that 'fundamental'.

The 4s is a deal breaker for me. The 5 is even too slow, and my 5s is just painful to use. I can't even imagine the logic that demands Touch ID from a new phone, when the baseline experience is a 4s.

I think you meant 3D Touch, not Touch ID. The logic is very simple - I'm not buying a new phone that lacks harware support for interface guidelines of current OS.

4S is a bit slow when starting an app, and can't hold two big apps in memory, but it does everything I want from it, so there is no pressure to upgrade. I don't like iPhone 7.
 
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Just a new display assembly. I don't think it that 'fundamental'.



I think you meant 3D Touch, not Touch ID. The logic is very simple - I'm not buying a new phone that lacks harware support for interface guidelines of current OS.

4S is a bit low when starting an app, and can't hold two big apps in memory, but it does everything I want from it, so there is no pressure to upgrade. I don't like iPhone 7.

It's not just a new display assembly, it's the Taptic Engine too, and chipset support. The 6s was also thicker as a result. They had to remove the headphone jack to accommodate it in the 7. In order to add it to the SE they'll have to figure out where to put all of the hardware necessary to support it, in a case that's already tightly packed. So yes, a fundamental redesign to accommodate all of that. It's not likely to happen inside the existing SE case design. Especially since Apple doesn't seem to have a problem offering old and new technology alongside each other in current products to hit price points, as the new MBP with and without TouchBar technology demonstrates.

As for the logic, it's all yours. You aren't using 3D Touch now, but you are using a very old phone with limited features at the limits of its life. The SE is half the price of the flagship 7, and offers almost everything else a person needs to use a modern iPhone. If Apple introduces a new 4" phone with 3D Touch it will likely be twice as much as the SE sells for now. And that phone is likely a year away, if not longer. But that's your choice. Personally I would have upgraded from a 4s when the SE debuted for half the price of the flagship, and enjoyed all the benefits it offered as a modern iPhone, for the next year or two, as a stop gap measure until a new 4" phone with 3D Touch is released. Considering you've stretched your once flagship 4s out to 5 years of use, then 2-3 years for half the price of the current flagship seems to fit your buying and use pattern, putting you in the position to pay full price for another flagship phone that you may be able to stretch out another 5 years. By skipping the SE, you're now looking at stretching that 4s out another year or two until Apple delivers something you deem worthy of a replacement, during which time you'll likely need repairs, and a battery replacement at a minimum if you haven't already -- money in my opinion is better spent on newer technology.

But I'm not here to convince you of anything, as you seem to have made up your mind. I'm just pointing out that the next SE upgrade is highly unlikely to add 3D Touch for all the reasons I've stated.
 
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Personally I would have upgraded from a 4s when the SE debuted for half the price of the flagship, and enjoyed all the benefits it offered as a modern iPhone
I agree, I should have bought SE when it was released. I was upset that it didn't had 3D touch and I couldn't understand why, it seemed like an oversight. I thought I'll wait for 7, but I absolutely repudiate camera bulge.

It's not just a new display assembly, it's the Taptic Engine too, and chipset support. The 6s was also thicker as a result.
Got it.
 
What I would love to see is a 4.7" phone using the body style of the 5, which I think was the best phone design Apple has made.
 
One year later, it makes sense to see Apple update its small SE. But this should to stay in 4 inches if not no interest.


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What I would love to see is a 4.7" phone using the body style of the 5, which I think was the best phone design Apple has made.
It's a bit of a usability issue.

When you start scaling the screen up and the device gets larger, sharp edges feel more pronounced due to the change in how the device is held.

Chamfered sharp edges look great,but can become uncomfortable with the large sizes. This forced Apple to redesign around a more easy to hold rounded edges.

Unfortunately means that if you want a bigger phone, you get a device that is slightly less pretty, but more comfortable.

Which means unless Apple can somehow cram a 4.7" display into a phone that's closer to the 5s body size, we'll likely not get such an iconic looking design again.
 
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