Used iPhone 6 vs iPhone SE

[Toucansma]

I know ultimately this will come down to personal preference, but I figure I will ask for feedback anyway. My wife and I both have 5s that are on their last legs (we are on Cricket so unlocked is only option I want). We checked out 6s in store and got (2) 6s a few days ago. Very nice phone, however feels a little big. So we went back to our 5s to see the difference and they now feel too small (like the porridge is too cold or too hot...).

Looked online and locally and saw most used 6 with 64 are around $425-475. The SE we want is $499. We are torn between size, and wanted some feedback from those that have used both SE and 6. The bigger screen is nice but again it's a little bigger than used to. The 5s never really felt slow to me (except for safari ram refresh which I know will occur with 6). Camera in 6s was really nice compared to 5s. Besides that there wasn't anything that felt like an amazing feature to me yet. For me 6 vs 6s (at used price not new) doesn't seem like the money is worth it. With 7 right around corner thinking about one of these lower priced options until 7 comes (which may not be much different, however current phones need to be replaced).

Just wanted feedback from users. Thanks!

 

[The.Glorious.Son]

As a person who upgrades every fall to the newest phone, I appreciated the jump in size to the 6 from the 5S. You didn't mention the plus so we will leave that out of the equation. My hands are huge, so I can manipulate the 6 likely in the same way that you can manipulate the 5S. To me, that ease of one handed use is important. Do you feel you can get used to the size of the 6 if given some time? Can you better utilize the screen real estate? Given your 5S is on its last leg, are you forced to make a move now vs waiting until sept?

Not knowing your financial situation, I would suggest either getting a 6 and using it until Sept so you can get an honest idea if you can adjust to the size. Or, I would make that 5S last and then try the regular 7 for the 14 days. The SE is a great phone at its price point for those who like the 4" screen. But if you find it now to be a bit too small, maybe give the 4.7" an honest try. Sorry if I didn't help. It is a tough situation with a lot of moving parts.

 

[Isamilis]

If you need bigger phone, then go with 6. Otherwise, go with SE for more powerful processor, more RAM, and longer battery life.

 

[CYKBC]

Tough call man.

I buy whatever phone I want as I am a gadget fan. I prize thinness and lightweight quite a bit which made the 6s a non factor in my buying matrix.

I turned in my trusty 5s for a new 6. Screen is nicer for sure. Not just in size but quality. Apple put in a lot of hours to decrease the gap between lcd to glass to finger.

I dismissed the whole a9 chip 2gb thing saying the 5s and 6 were plenty fast. Now that I have the SE, I can tell you I was flat our wrong. Everything loads faster. I don't play any games or do anything sophisticated on my phone. Everyday tasks just become snappier and noticeably so.

Battery life... Meh. Nothing monumental. I'm just content for now with the SE because I benefit from the biturbo v8 under the hood coming from a v6.

Sips less gas, way more torque is the best way I can put it.

 

[Armen]

I know ultimately this will come down to personal preference, but I figure I will ask for feedback anyway. My wife and I both have 5s that are on their last legs (we are on Cricket so unlocked is only option I want). We checked out 6s in store and got (2) 6s a few days ago. Very nice phone, however feels a little big. So we went back to our 5s to see the difference and they now feel too small (like the porridge is too cold or too hot...).

Looked online and locally and saw most used 6 with 64 are around $425-475. The SE we want is $499. We are torn between size, and wanted some feedback from those that have used both SE and 6. The bigger screen is nice but again it's a little bigger than used to. The 5s never really felt slow to me (except for safari ram refresh which I know will occur with 6). Camera in 6s was really nice compared to 5s. Besides that there wasn't anything that felt like an amazing feature to me yet. For me 6 vs 6s (at used price not new) doesn't seem like the money is worth it. With 7 right around corner thinking about one of these lower priced options until 7 comes (which may not be much different, however current phones need to be replaced).

Just wanted feedback from users. Thanks!

Apple will most likely add more force touch based features in iOS 10 this year. the SE (although it has 6S internals) does not have a force touch enabled screen. Take that into consideration.

When I had a iPhone 5 I didn't think touchID was a big deal. Now I realize how convenient it is with my 6+.

 

[Toucansma]

As a person who upgrades every fall to the newest phone, I appreciated the jump in size to the 6 from the 5S. You didn't mention the plus so we will leave that out of the equation. My hands are huge, so I can manipulate the 6 likely in the same way that you can manipulate the 5S. To me, that ease of one handed use is important. Do you feel you can get used to the size of the 6 if given some time? Can you better utilize the screen real estate? Given your 5S is on its last leg, are you forced to make a move now vs waiting until sept?

Not knowing your financial situation, I would suggest either getting a 6 and using it until Sept so you can get an honest idea if you can adjust to the size. Or, I would make that 5S last and then try the regular 7 for the 14 days. The SE is a great phone at its price point for those who like the 4" screen. But if you find it now to be a bit too small, maybe give the 4.7" an honest try. Sorry if I didn't help. It is a tough situation with a lot of moving parts.

Thanks! Financially I can afford the 6s, I just don't know if it is worth the extra money to me ($300 more per phone). I used to get every major iPhone release (from 1st on), but then I slowed down. One-handed to me is big and my hands are average. I think your 6 idea might be the best, as I can adjust to see if I can get used to it, then I can switch to 7 if I like it. If not I'll go to SE or whatever they have later on. P.S. 5s has physical calling problems so I can't stretch it out or I would.
[doublepost=1461211912][/doublepost]

If you need bigger phone, then go with 6. Otherwise, go with SE for more powerful processor, more RAM, and longer battery life.

Is the battery in real life that much different than the 6 or 6s (for the SE)?
[doublepost=1461212451][/doublepost]

Tough call man.

I buy whatever phone I want as I am a gadget fan. I prize thinness and lightweight quite a bit which made the 6s a non factor in my buying matrix.

I turned in my trusty 5s for a new 6. Screen is nicer for sure. Not just in size but quality. Apple put in a lot of hours to decrease the gap between lcd to glass to finger.

I dismissed the whole a9 chip 2gb thing saying the 5s and 6 were plenty fast. Now that I have the SE, I can tell you I was flat our wrong. Everything loads faster. I don't play any games or do anything sophisticated on my phone. Everyday tasks just become snappier and noticeably so.

Battery life... Meh. Nothing monumental. I'm just content for now with the SE because I benefit from the biturbo v8 under the hood coming from a v6.

Sips less gas, way more torque is the best way I can put it.

To me it still (6s) doesn't seem like it's that much different but I also haven't used it much. So how would you compare your SE to 5S (even so 2 generations apart). Do you find the screen size hinders you at all, compared to the 6?

Apple will most likely add more force touch based features in iOS 10 this year. the SE (although it has 6S internals) does not have a force touch enabled screen. Take that into consideration.

When I had a iPhone 5 I didn't think touchID was a big deal. Now I realize how convenient it is with my 6+.

I haven't played with forcetouch much, but I agree. However 10 will be out around the iphone 7 or 6ss (whatever it is ). I will keep that in mind though!

 

[xixi.li]

honestly ,SE is really good

 

[Toucansma]

honestly ,SE is really good

Ok thanks! What did you have before?

 

[Channan]

I would definitely choose the SE over the 6. After trying the 6s, you think your iPhone 5s feels a bit small, but you'd most likely get used to it again, and the SE has much better specs than the 6.

 

[PaladinGuy]

I would definitely choose the SE over the 6. After trying the 6s, you think your iPhone 5s feels a bit small, but you'd most likely get used to it again, and the SE has much better specs than the 6.

I agree with this. Now, if you're comparing the 6S to the SE, that's a harder decision. You'd really have to want the smaller size and cheaper price to opt for the SE over a 6S. 6 vs SE is a pretty clear decision, in my opinion.

 

[catean]

Go for the SE. I downgraded from the 6S to the SE and at the moment it is the perfect phone.

 

[xixi.li]

Ok thanks! What did you have before?

iPhone 6.
and i agree with Isamilis

 

[nordique]

Ok thanks! What did you have before?

If you're getting a new phone, get the SE

Techwise, a 6 has more in common with and is closer to a 5s in power (mind you the 5s is still a capable phone).

Getting an SE is worth it at this point in time, unless you feel highly about getting a larger display.


I have both an iPhone 6, on iOS 8 and an iPhone 6s on iOS 9 and the 6s lasts slightly longer (with normal usage when not using or activating low power mode). Both last long enough to get me through a full day, and the SE purportedly lasts slightly longer than either the 6 or 6s.

If you already had an iPhone 6 I would recommend you keep it as it still runs fantastic and is more than enough power for surfing the web, texts, emails, phone calls etc...

But since you're getting a new phone, get the more powerful SE.

 

[ecschwarz]

My vote is for the SE, too. I used to have a 6 (got on launch day) and, while it's a great phone, the SE is much faster and the battery life is outstanding. I sold it mostly to cover the cost of the SE and had a friend that did the same thing. In our experiences, this are no regrets with this decision.

In just about every way, the SE is the same or better than the 6 (more RAM, faster, better rear camera; similar LTE radio, same Wi-Fi radio, same Touch ID), with the only exceptions being the screen size/contrast ratio and FaceTime camera. In many ways, it actually is more 6S than 6, yet is cheaper than both by a significant amount. If you don't mind the size of the device, the SE is fine for most apps and really wasn't an issue for me in that regard (took about a week to get used to typing on the smaller screen).

The other issue is longevity of the device. While the 6 will certainly have software support for quite awhile, the SE has the more modern A9 processors and I'm willing to bet that this fall we'll see the 6 be discontinued outright and the 6S drop in price to fill out the middle of the price range. If Apple sells the SE and 6S for a couple of years, you'll most likely see more support in general for A9-based devices.

 

[Jetro]

I got the 6s over the se coming from a 5s for over 2 years. I was tired of having the old design and wanted all of the new technology. To me it's just right in size and like trump I have small hands I like all of the s edition iPhones.