Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Worth upgrading to a SE from a 5s?
- Thread starter minato21
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
The battery life and performance is slightly better. The 5s already runs pretty smooth, so the stutter you are seeing might just be iOS at fault. If you've got the money, upgrading is definitely an option, although I personally wouldn't.
One thing you need to consider is whether you are definitely OK with a smaller screen. When I had my 5s and I got the 6 it seemed huge. Now I have a 6s Plus and the 6 seems tiny.
So keep that in mind when buying another 4 inch phone.
So keep that in mind when buying another 4 inch phone.
I asked the same question on here a couple of weeks ago as I mainly wanted better battery life. I thought I would stick with the 5s but ended up going for the se when stock arrived at Apple Store. I am very happy with it and the battery life is for me a lot better than I was getting on the 5s. It runs nice and fast when I'm web browsing or jumping between apps.
If your iPhone 5s' battery is old and worn, the SE will obviously get much better battery life. Consider replacing the battery in an old iPhone 5s to save some money.
The iPhone 5s is still a really good phone and should easily last another two years. The problem is not knowing when another good 4" iPhone will come out, so you might want to upgrade to the iPhone SE just for a more future proof device.
If we knew Apple would release a new "SE" every year, I'd say wait a year or two and then upgrade. So it's a gamble that you need to decide.
The iPhone 5s is still a really good phone and should easily last another two years. The problem is not knowing when another good 4" iPhone will come out, so you might want to upgrade to the iPhone SE just for a more future proof device.
If we knew Apple would release a new "SE" every year, I'd say wait a year or two and then upgrade. So it's a gamble that you need to decide.
YES! SE has a better camera, battery life, and right now is about the last of the window where you'd still get something decent for your 5s. Only thing is I miss that reflective chamfered edge... probably more than a mature person should....
Way too many updates in the SE to not want to upgrade. 12mp camera, 2gb of RAM, A9 processor, Apple Pay. Sell your 5s for as much as you can now and get one.
I did that upgrade, but mostly because I wanted more storage, and it made more sense to upgrade the other internals at the same time. I really haven't noticed any difference in performance. The battery life is maybe 50% better, but that's mostly because the 5s' battery had already been through two years of use.
stay with your Iphone 5S not a big difference.
If Iphone SE had front camera was 5MP with wide camera lens and 32Gb minimum storage, with 3D touch then i would have said go for it.
16Gb is to less storage especially in 2016, were you record in 4K video.
If Iphone SE had front camera was 5MP with wide camera lens and 32Gb minimum storage, with 3D touch then i would have said go for it.
16Gb is to less storage especially in 2016, were you record in 4K video.
Thanks for all the replies, didn't expect to get that many. The most I get with my 5s is like 4-5 hours usage (got to 6 hours once) and 12 hours standby. But my only reason for an upgrade would be the A9 and the better battery but was wondering if it's worth it. Where I live I can sell my 5s for around $300-$400 easy. But I might stick to my 5s unless iOS 10 ruins it
That sounds like a good idea. I wouldn't get the SE now though, with the iPhone 7 right around the corner.
Assuming the iPhone 7 doesn't come in 4" , that would be hard to use with my small hands haha. the 5s is perfect size for me
If I didn't use the 6S plus I'd agree.
Having played around a lot with the SE I got for my mom. the touch id felt so slow.
In my real world usage that was the only negative for me.
Coming from a 5S I'd absolutely upgrade
That's what I thought too before I got my 6. Now I have a 6s Plus and I'm not looking back!
Definitely switch if you feel the 5S is the perfect size and you can get $300 for your 5S not to mention your current battery has degraded to lasting just a few hours.
The performance upgrade would be similar to going from an iPhone 6 to an iPhone 6s, and that is entirely subjective and depends on the person.
I think the 2GB of ram makes a big difference in user experience especially when multitasking or having multiple safari tabs open (no refreshing) and certainly the A9 is a much faster chip but we are talking about the difference of opening the messages app slightly faster or the calendar app slightly faster - sure it adds up over the entire time you use the device for the day but overall its ends being milliseconds faster.
The SE has other things such as apple Pay (completely useless to me but may not be to you OP) which are additional features that may be worth looking into
And the camera is nicer but then again you have to weight the cost of upgrading and whether or not that price is worth it.
If it is, then go for it. No need to have an older device with older technology.
But if it works just fine for you right now, then best save $ and put it elsewhere or simply save it for future use.
It is entirely up to you. I think there is a perfectly sound argument for upgrading, and there is also a perfectly sound argument for not upgrading. Sounds to me though you may benefit more from an upgrade.
I think the 2GB of ram makes a big difference in user experience especially when multitasking or having multiple safari tabs open (no refreshing) and certainly the A9 is a much faster chip but we are talking about the difference of opening the messages app slightly faster or the calendar app slightly faster - sure it adds up over the entire time you use the device for the day but overall its ends being milliseconds faster.
The SE has other things such as apple Pay (completely useless to me but may not be to you OP) which are additional features that may be worth looking into
And the camera is nicer but then again you have to weight the cost of upgrading and whether or not that price is worth it.
If it is, then go for it. No need to have an older device with older technology.
But if it works just fine for you right now, then best save $ and put it elsewhere or simply save it for future use.
It is entirely up to you. I think there is a perfectly sound argument for upgrading, and there is also a perfectly sound argument for not upgrading. Sounds to me though you may benefit more from an upgrade.
Wow, you've got an iPhone 5 running iOS 6 - does it run faster than your SE in general usage?
(sorry to go off-topic!)
haha no problem, I can certainly answer that - some apps do open faster and some tasks do appear faster on the iPhone 5 surprisingly (though perhaps due to less animations vs iOS 7-9 design philosophy)