Even with 20-20 vision I was surprised to find myself reading book text enlarged in the Kindle app on my iPhone SE faster than the printed page... reminiscent of flashcards, great for long airplane flights.
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What It's Like Using an iPhone SE in 2019
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I love my new XS but I do miss my SE. It's a toss-up for me...love my big new screen but I love the form factor of the SE, and how it fit my hands.
I love my SE! Fits in my pocket! lightweight for my outdoor activities. Touch ID/home button makes it easier to figure out which way is up compared to my X.
For me the SE is still the best iPhone. Nearly all other models had Hardware issues (*gate here, *gate there...) and compared to the SE all of them were highly overpriced.
I really love iOS, i have an Apple tablet and the SE and use them for 100% of my computer activities. But i don’t understand why Cook makes the smartphones so damm expensive, while on the other hand the tablets are getting cheaper? Smartphones are dead, people spend only between 150-300$ for this and most of them use their phone about 3-5 years nowadays.
The SE was ahead his time when looking at the price point. Apple needs such a low budget phone right now, were nobody jumped on the 1000$ train and they simple don’t have anything in the pipe that others don’t have for less, a foldable phone isn’t in sight either.
Apple has become a grandfathers brand seen from the aspect of innovations and price point. The working people and the young can’t and don’t want to pay that much for ordinary, boring looking phones. So the only move Apple has left is to become cheaper, to lure the masses in their eco system.
A new SE could let them get a foot in the rapidly closing door of the digital markets. Google understood that. Sure Android is still not as good as iOS, but they fixed the biggest problems and now it’s on eye level. The average user can jump between both without loosing anything. And everyone can be part of the google ecosystem.
My SEs battery will last until summer estimated from what it looks like at the moment. If there is no new SE for around 300€, i will switch to the Xiaomi MI 9 SE, which is just brilliant for around 260$. Sure a little bigger, but a fair price. Apple isn’t fair anymore!
I really love iOS, i have an Apple tablet and the SE and use them for 100% of my computer activities. But i don’t understand why Cook makes the smartphones so damm expensive, while on the other hand the tablets are getting cheaper? Smartphones are dead, people spend only between 150-300$ for this and most of them use their phone about 3-5 years nowadays.
The SE was ahead his time when looking at the price point. Apple needs such a low budget phone right now, were nobody jumped on the 1000$ train and they simple don’t have anything in the pipe that others don’t have for less, a foldable phone isn’t in sight either.
Apple has become a grandfathers brand seen from the aspect of innovations and price point. The working people and the young can’t and don’t want to pay that much for ordinary, boring looking phones. So the only move Apple has left is to become cheaper, to lure the masses in their eco system.
A new SE could let them get a foot in the rapidly closing door of the digital markets. Google understood that. Sure Android is still not as good as iOS, but they fixed the biggest problems and now it’s on eye level. The average user can jump between both without loosing anything. And everyone can be part of the google ecosystem.
My SEs battery will last until summer estimated from what it looks like at the moment. If there is no new SE for around 300€, i will switch to the Xiaomi MI 9 SE, which is just brilliant for around 260$. Sure a little bigger, but a fair price. Apple isn’t fair anymore!
I see so many charge issues, and they have always been fluff in the connector (easily picked out via bent paperclip)
or a bad cable.
[doublepost=1551449851][/doublepost]The SE is the best iPhone created. Lightweight, cheap, nearly as fast as the latest.
While it supports the latest iOS, I will continue with it.
Would I jump to a new Apple small form factor iPhone, Yes.
It's not even all about hands.
Many people like the smaller size to carry in a front pocket without having to squeeze it in.
It's also the only iPhone with a headphone jack still for sale. If Apple released a small and plus iPhone with touch id and headphone jack, I'd gladly update my 6S+. If they'd release an SE with an updated CPU and more RAM, it would be an even more attractive option.
It amazes me how many people like the SE. especially coming from Apple diehards / tech enthusiasts.
I just wouldn’t be able to use something that’s so behind feature-wise.
Water resistance, OLED, Face ID, faster LTE & WiFi, stainless steel / glass, dual SIM, 3D Touch...
The list goes on.
I just wouldn’t be able to use something that’s so behind feature-wise.
Water resistance, OLED, Face ID, faster LTE & WiFi, stainless steel / glass, dual SIM, 3D Touch...
The list goes on.
For me, it's primarily a phone first.
Water resistance would have been nice though.
I suspect there remain quite a lot of people who miss the headphone jack and would prefer touch id, at least as options. You don't hear much from such people on this forum as much anymore as it is obvious Apple has no plans to produce anymore phones or tablets with the jack and/or touch id, and is unresponsive to people wanting those features. The pushing of the bluetooth AirPods is their priority. I'm still holding onto my 6S+ and 2017 iPad Pro until I can no longer get new batteries, or they finally die. With this situation being what it is, I've bought two new smartphones from LG since the release of the iPhone 7. So far the LG V series phones have phone jacks, great D/A converters for sound, and pretty good touch id. The V20 even had a removable battery, but LG has dropped that with the V30 and V40.
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And they’ll easily find a customer in me. I saw a patient while waiting for my Doc, and she had thr XR Asked her if I could hold it and sure enough, it’s too unwieldy for my hands; even as a phone, I’d get tired just holding it properly. SE it is!
Yup, I am here to tell you all that making a phone such a big deal In your life means you lose. All this emotion for a piece of metal and glass when there are far more important things makes me laugh. Ahhh. The simple human.
Apple discontinued the iPhone SE in September when iPhone XS and XR models were released, but in January, Apple started selling off its remaining stock via its clearance site for $249.
Every time Apple restocks the clearance site, available iPhone SE models go quick, suggesting there's still quite a lot of interest in the 4-inch device. We recently picked up an iPhone SE to see just what it's like using one in 2019.
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The iPhone SE was Apple's last 4-inch iPhone, and compared to a 5.8-inch iPhone X, a 6.1-inch iPhone XR, or a 6.5-inch iPhone XS Max, it's tiny. Coming from one of these phones to the iPhone SE almost makes the iPhone SE feel like a toy.
On the plus side, it's so small and light that it's easy to use one handed, something you can't necessarily do with Apple's biggest iPhones. With its aluminum backing, the iPhone SE is more durable than Apple's new all-glass smartphones.
The iPhone SE pre-dates Face ID, of course, so it's using a Touch ID Home button, which is great for those who continue to prefer fingerprint sensors to facial recognition.
There's also a headphone jack, which has been eliminated from all current iPhones (and the most recent iPad Pro models), and it has separate volume up and down buttons along with a power button at the top of the device instead of a side button.
Apple released the iPhone SE in 2016, so it's using three-year-old hardware. It has an A9 processor, which was also used in the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus back in 2015, along with 2GB RAM (vs. 3 in the XR and 4 in the XS).
You might think it'd be noticeably slower than newer iPhones, but, surprisingly, for built-in apps it's speedy. When using Mail, Messages, Calendar, FaceTime, and other similar built-in apps, the iPhone SE is as speedy as 2018 iPhones.
It's not, however, able to hold up when using apps built for newer iPhones with more modern processors, nor does it have the same augmented reality capabilities. The camera is fine and is the same camera in the iPhone 6s, but it's lacking the improvements made over the last three years.
If you don't care about camera quality, prefer a smaller screen, and don't need to use processor-intensive apps and games, the iPhone SE is a compact, easy-to-hold smartphone that still holds up even in 2019.
Apple's clearance site continues to have iPhone SE models in stock that are unlocked, but ship with Verizon and T-Mobile SIMs. The iPhone SE with 32GB of storage is priced at $249, while the iPhone SE with 128GB of storage is available for $299.
Ahead of when the iPhone XS, XS Max, and XR were released, there were some rumors suggesting Apple was working on a second-generation version of the iPhone SE 2.
Some of that information was conflated with iPhone XR rumors, though, and since the 2018 devices launched, we've heard no more about another 4-inch iPhone except for some chatter suggesting Apple has nixed all plans for a new iPhone SE.
At this point in time, it looks like the iPhone SE will continue to be the last 4-inch device available from Apple.
Article Link: What It's Like Using an iPhone SE in 2019
I LOVE my SE. I traded in my 6 Plus for it specifically because I hated the larger format.
The funny thing is people often comment on how I'm one of the few people who actually answers the phone right away. That's because it's always with me. Many people with large phones tend to leave them on tables and desks because it's too uncomfortable to keep in their pockets full time.
I'm not against large screens. I just don't want a large phone. If they made an SE with an edge to edge screen, the screen would be 5 inches instead of 4, yet still be nice and small on the outside.
The funny thing is people often comment on how I'm one of the few people who actually answers the phone right away. That's because it's always with me. Many people with large phones tend to leave them on tables and desks because it's too uncomfortable to keep in their pockets full time.
I'm not against large screens. I just don't want a large phone. If they made an SE with an edge to edge screen, the screen would be 5 inches instead of 4, yet still be nice and small on the outside.
The 5C was $549 (16GB) at launch. For $100 more, you could get the 5S which was far superior and more future-proof (it still runs the latest iOS version today!).
The SE was $399 (16GB) at launch.
I remember 5C being marketed as a budget option, but thinking that at $549 it's no budget phone. It came at a time when they were still obfuscating the full price through carrier contacts. For example, Apple's press release advertised the 5C as starting at $99 and the 5S at $199. Personally, I bought my wife an unlocked 64GB 5S at full no-contract price. I regarded the 5C as a rip-off.
While I agree mostly with your points above, if you only use the phone for talking and occasional texting/email, what makes you pick the Apple phone over any other cheaper Android phone? I can speculate two reasons: to remain in the Apple "walled garden", and for its reputation for being more secure. With some of the issues of late regarding snooping apps in the App Store, the security prerogative is less compelling. It's also possible to use messaging apps like Signal for secure messaging on both Apple and Android/Windows/Linux devices. The less than $300 price tag for the re-released SE is also attractive, making this the only iPhone to compare with cheaper Android phones at similar price points.You don't need to understand their need and love for the iPhone SE; it is their prerogative. It is not just MacRumors readers who prefer this size iPhone - a lot of people using this device don't know about MacRumors. They seem to have a life.
Funnily, most people still use their smartphones as telephones that are not multimedia screens - they have huge flat-screen 1080p and above TVs for that. Neck pain and worn cervical vertebrae at a young age is the reward for using a smartphone for reading books, texting for hours on end, etc.
Email texts are about the same size and not that important anymore. Most people above the age of 40 who need help needing reading glasses, use them with their phones - the younger ones don't need help.
Water resistance, don't care. OLED, don't care. Face ID, don't want, don't care. Faster LTE, mine is fast enough. Faster WiFi, again fast enough. Stainless Steel/glass, I like whatever my SE made of? (leather case) Dual Sim, sure. 3D Touch, don't care.
It would be nice if Apple did a second generation SE 2 but Apple has a lot on it plate now with folding phones taking place. Apple will have a folding iPhone in 2025. After that, Apple could possibly bring back a brand new SE 2 in 2026-2027 timeframe.
It's a nice option for people with smaller hands, less need for visuals, and who prefer the smaller form factor for easy pocketing and transport. Obviously there are more people who prefer the larger phones, which is why they now predominate in the market. I would prefer that Apple offered more choice options with features like headphone jacks, touch id, and small form factor as possibilities. The fact that Android phone manufacturers have an unfortunate tendency to copy everything Apple does makes this more of an issue - they too begin dropping phone jacks, touch id, small form factor choices, no more removable batteries, etc., leaving customers with fewer and fewer options.
I believe that many people got the larger phone because that was the only option with the newer tech.
The solution is simple. If Steve were alive he would see this.
Take the same screen size as the 6 - 8. Use the same design as the new iPad Pro which is a variation of the SE. If you were to use a boxy case design like the SE on a 6 - 8 screen, it would be about the same width. Then reduce the height by using Face Id. I would also increase the thickness until the camera doesn't stick out. Use the extra space to put in a bigger battery.
This phone would fly off the shelf....
I just want the SE design applied to an iPhone the size of the X.
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That would make me drool I think...
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That would make me drool I think...