iPhone SE (2016) Would anyone still buy the SE?

[EightyTwenty]

Unless you can get the SE for good price, as much as i love the SE (special for its size), i would go for the 7 instead.

There is a roughly $300 price difference between those phones, in Canada at least. Not really comparable at all.

 

[verito81]

Although I don’t use the jack, I truly hope any SE updates do not adopt the “thinner is better” theory. One thing I LOVE about the SE is the squared sides. It is so much more comfortable to hold than any of thom thinner models. I know that I’m in the minority, but as someone who still uses his cell phone for phone calls, I really appreciate how easy it is to hold for extended periods of time.
[doublepost=1521040698][/doublepost]

Couldn’t wait to get rid of my 6 for the SE.

thats what i did i had iphone 6 for two months didnt like the size and two weeks ago i selled and bought the iphone se perfect for me fast , size and the pick to see notifications is amazing feature loved it (my iphone 6 didnt have that !!)

 

[44267547]

It doesn't make financial sense for Apple to continue pouring money into the SE. While some here may love the phone and want it upgraded, the sales numbers for the SE are not good.

If it doesn’t make financial sense, then why would they bring the SE to the market in the first place? The answer is the SE is a global iPhone because of its low price point, where it’s more affordable in other countries. But what you’re not factoring, is the iPhone SE is cheap enough where it’s highly popular in China and India’s market. For reference, it was reported almost half of the iPhone SE sales were due to the United States and China. I think that speaks volumes that the SE initially had a market, even if it was a niche one. Apple didn’t have to offer the SE at all.

Even if they do update the SE, they don’t need to “Pour” money into making the SE a competitive iPhone. It’s not meant to be that, it’s simply meant to be an entry-level iPhone offering iOS with basic hardware.

 

[Ixon2001]

As it stands now the SE doesn't really need to be updated yet, it currently runs more than fine on iOS 11 & the fact they released the iPad 2017 last year with a A9 which i have btw, runs iOS 11 fine with a much much higher screen rez than the SE.

This is the reason i think we won't see another SE not this year at least when there still plenty life left in the current SE, iOS 12 might in fact improve performance on the SE as it so called just bug fixes and performance improvements rather than features.

Plus the A9 while released in 2015 is still has better performance wise than any snapdragon 600 series even the ones released this year & i right in thinking it's equal to the Snapdragon 820?.

If Apple did decide to upgrade the SE this year then the most cost effective way would to keep the current SE design slap in a A10, add the fingerprint sensor from either the iphone 7 or 6S & update the front camera that all they need to do.

 

[44267547]

As it stands now the SE doesn't really need to be updated yet, it currently runs more than fine on iOS 11 & the fact they released the iPad 2017 last year with a A9 which i have btw, runs iOS 11 fine with a much much higher screen rez than the SE.

This is the reason i think we won't see another SE not this year at least when there still plenty life left in the current SE, iOS 12 might in fact improve performance on the SE as it so called just bug fixes and performance improvements rather than features.

Plus the A9 while released in 2015 is still has better performance wise than any snapdragon 600 series even the ones released this year & i right in thinking it's equal to the Snapdragon 820?.

If Apple did decide to upgrade the SE this year then the most cost effective way would to keep the current SE design slap in a A10, add the fingerprint sensor from either the iphone 7 or 6S & update the front camera that all they need to do.

Agreed. I think if the iPhone SE is not updated, it’s still performs fairly well on iOS 11 and obviously shares the same architecture as the iPhone 6s. Apple may keep the iPhone SE for a minimum of another year, at which point, it may or may not be updated at all. Its Still popular enough of an iPhone across the world, where it still serves it’s purpose for an affordable price point. If Apple upgraded the SE with features like 3D Touch, Face ID or an OLED display, that would defeat the purpose of the iPhone SE reaching markets like China and India because it would increase the cost.

 

[Freddy Fruitfly]

So the main reasons (besides price) why people prefer the SE over bigger iPhones are:

• One-handed usage
  
• Portability
  
• Design

Anything else?

 

[mjschabow]

So the main reasons (besides price) why people prefer the SE over bigger iPhones are:

• One-handed usage
  
• Portability
  
• Design

Anything else?

All of those for sure. I am really liking the size, my hand doesn't hurt anymore. and using Gboard helps typing on the small device a lot.

One other thing that I'm really impressed with is battery life. It's much better than battery was on the iPhone X.

Also, not sure if you're coming from the X, but damn it's so nice to have Touch ID back. Made me realize that Face ID is just not ready for primetime yet. I had to put in my passcode way too many times with that phone.

 

[4x4bob]

So the main reasons (besides price) why people prefer the SE over bigger iPhones are:

• One-handed usage
  
• Portability
  
• Design

Anything else?

I'm assuming "portability" means size. Yes SIZE matters. The larger form phones are just too damn big whether it be apple or droids. Years ago the joke was 'how small are they going to make phones'..... now, you might as well just use an iPad as a phone, it's ridiculous.

Outside of the SE, none of today's phones can comfortably fit inside a jeans pocket without fear of breakage or like you've got a brick in your pocket.

 

[Freddy Fruitfly]

Also, not sure if you're coming from the X,

I'm not, I am still using an iPhone 5s which does the trick for my purposes.

I'm assuming "portability" means size.

Yes, its size. I might be one of those who regrets upgrading to a larger sized iPhone. I'm basically trying to find enough reasons why I shouldn't do so.

 

[mjschabow]

I'm assuming "portability" means size. Yes SIZE matters. The larger form phones are just too damn big whether it be apple or droids. Years ago the joke was 'how small are they going to make phones'..... now, you might as well just use an iPad as a phone, it's ridiculous.

Outside of the SE, none of today's phones can comfortably fit inside a jeans pocket without fear of breakage or like you've got a brick in your pocket.

Agreed. A coworker today was asking me how in the heck I could go back to that size and I said that I hope all phones start going back to this size, or at least this form factor with less bezels. Doing a quick measurement, if you made the SE look exactly like the X, you could probably pack close to a 5" screen. That would be amazing.

 

[44267547]

So the main reasons (besides price) why people prefer the SE over bigger iPhones are:

• One-handed usage
  
• Portability
  
• Design

Anything else?

Those reasons are the only reasons why somebody would be interested in the iPhone SE. It has the same exact iOS as the other iPhones, so that clearly is not a consideration. The SE is all about the form factor and portability when carrying.

 

[HarryWild]

Time for Apple to bring a 4.2" premium iPhone X! Since it is the smallest, it should be price at $1,500 to $1,800 depending RAM. For that price should have the best cameras, SoC and OLED screenalong top face ID.

 

[44267547]

Time for Apple to bring a 4.2" premium iPhone X! Since it is the smallest, it should be price at $1,500 to $1,800 depending RAM. For that price should have the best cameras, SoC and OLED screenalong top face ID.

Seems you’re contradicting yourself. You’re saying in the above Post the SE should be priced at $1500-$1800 and then the below post you’re saying it should continue the tradition of being “Apples budget friendly iPhone”. How would an $1800 iPhone SE be budget friendly? So which is it? No logic behind your post(s) at all.

The new 4" SE2 built in India will be coming out in March 2018! It will continue the tradition of being Apple's "budget friendly" iPhone for people who cannot afford a regular iPhone.

 

[MartyvH]

The SE could easily be continued as the "budget" iPhone and the standard 4.7" iPhone could get the X treatment at the premium end, staying at a 4.7" screen. I would be persuaded to buy that 4.7". (I could not with the 6, 7 or 8.) The popularity of the 4.7" iPhone is plenty of justification for Apple and it could be at a premium price just like the 8, 7 and 6 before it. This would be realistic for Apple to do.

Yes, its size. I might be one of those who regrets upgrading to a larger sized iPhone. I'm basically trying to find enough reasons why I shouldn't do so.

I regretted a larger phone and there are plenty of reasons why you shouldn't "upgrade". I had a 5" Sony Xperia Z1 which is about the same size as the iPhone X, with large bezels just to make it worse, on a 24-month contract. 12 months in, I was hating it and 15 months in I saw myself as virtually having a smaller phone the minute I didn't have any penalty with the contract.

I had the Z3 Compact lined up at 15 months. By the time the contract was up the Z5 Compact had come out. In retrospect I should have bought the Z3 Compact at 15 months because of problems with the Z5 that I had bought new but outright as a grey import....

The SE is one of my best phones ever. It could be my favourite with the Z5 Compact as runner-up. (The UI differences between Android and iOS are not big and I had experience with iPads at work. There's not much to understand if you know Android.) I love and enjoy the compact size of the phone every day. Not for a second do I think that I went too cheap. The features are high quality.

The seemingly insignificant but important features take all the pain away, unlike my old phones and even the Z5 Compact which had high specs (on paper, but it was lag city even with 2GB of RAM and after a factory reset set up as a new phone - RAM management is not good in Android).

And iOS 11 is trouble-free! I just installed it on the weekend. It feels like a new phone. No battery life hit, no nothing!

 

[Freddy Fruitfly]

Thanks, MartyvH.

Posts like yours are very helpful. Much appreciated.

 

[HarryWild]

Seems you’re contradicting yourself. You’re saying in the above Post the SE should be priced at $1500-$1800 and then the below post you’re saying it should continue the tradition of being “Apples budget friendly iPhone”. How would an $1800 iPhone SE be budget friendly? So which is it? No logic behind your post(s) at all.

The new 4" SE2 built in India will be coming out in March 2018! It will continue the tradition of being Apple's "budget friendly" iPhone for people who cannot afford a regular iPhone.

In India, not the U.S. marketplace. U.S. gets the upcoming premium 4.2" model that is after sales tax $2K!

 

[Scepticalscribe]

The only problem with that is I feel it defeats the original selling point of the SE. I know quite a few people with the SE and price isn’t the driving factor for their choice. The common reason I’ve seen is they own it because of its size purely.

If Apple make it the same size as a standard iPhone but with a more budget spec, I think there would be no point in its existence. People might as well just buy an iPhone 7 or 8. My wife had the SE because the iPhone 6 she has was too big and I’ve heard that reason a lot from owners.

Exactly.

It’s big enough to make a difference to some people. My wife had an iPhone 6 at launch and hated it every day for 24 months. As soon as her contract was up she got an SE and is adamant she wouldn’t go bigger as long as the SE is available. If you’ve got small hands and a small figure then carrying a large smartphone in your pocket is a pain in the arse. My standard size iPhone 6S is as big as I want to go as to me as soon as a device becomes uncomfortable to carry around, it ceases being useful.

This is why a Plus model has never ever been a consideration for me.

And again, exactly.

Personally, I hate those larger phones, they are heavy, cumbersome, and unpleasant to use; my preference in the "old days" were the lovely clam phones.

If SE users want a bigger iPhone why wouldn’t they buy an iPhone 7 or 8? The unique selling point of the SE has always been it’s smaller size and I think too many people assume it’s customers only buy it because it’s cheaper.

Exactly.

I bought it for its form factor and the fact that it is the only iPhone I could comfortably fit into a jeans or jacket pocket.

So the main reasons (besides price) why people prefer the SE over bigger iPhones are:

• One-handed usage
  
• Portability
  
• Design

Anything else?

Size. Ease of use.

All of those for sure. I am really liking the size, my hand doesn't hurt anymore. and using Gboard helps typing on the small device a lot.

One other thing that I'm really impressed with is battery life. It's much better than battery was on the iPhone X.

Also, not sure if you're coming from the X, but damn it's so nice to have Touch ID back. Made me realize that Face ID is just not ready for primetime yet. I had to put in my passcode way too many times with that phone.

Agreed.

I'm assuming "portability" means size. Yes SIZE matters. The larger form phones are just too damn big whether it be apple or droids. Years ago the joke was 'how small are they going to make phones'..... now, you might as well just use an iPad as a phone, it's ridiculous.

Outside of the SE, none of today's phones can comfortably fit inside a jeans pocket without fear of breakage or like you've got a brick in your pocket.

Exactly.

I'm not, I am still using an iPhone 5s which does the trick for my purposes.



Yes, its size. I might be one of those who regrets upgrading to a larger sized iPhone. I'm basically trying to find enough reasons why I shouldn't do so.

Well said.

Agreed. A coworker today was asking me how in the heck I could go back to that size and I said that I hope all phones start going back to this size, or at least this form factor with less bezels. Doing a quick measurement, if you made the SE look exactly like the X, you could probably pack close to a 5" screen. That would be amazing.

Amen to that.

Those reasons are the only reasons why somebody would be interested in the iPhone SE. It has the same exact iOS as the other iPhones, so that clearly is not a consideration. The SE is all about the form factor and portability when carrying.

Yes, it is. I don't want those fashionable monsters that so may others have been raving about - I want something easy to use, portable, with a comfortable size, and something that is both reliable and proven. The iPhone SE does all of that.

 

[Apple_Robert]

If it doesn’t make financial sense, then why would they bring the SE to the market in the first place? The answer is the SE is a global iPhone because of its low price point, where it’s more affordable in other countries. But what you’re not factoring, is the iPhone SE is cheap enough where it’s highly popular in China and India’s market. For reference, it was reported almost half of the iPhone SE sales were due to the United States and China. I think that speaks volumes that the SE initially had a market, even if it was a niche one. Apple didn’t have to offer the SE at all.

Even if they do update the SE, they don’t need to “Pour” money into making the SE a competitive iPhone. It’s not meant to be that, it’s simply meant to be an entry-level iPhone offering iOS with basic hardware.

I think the SE had previously stronger sales than it does today. Unless I am missing something (which very well could be) I don't see the sales numbers where they were. As such, I don't see the Se lasting much longer.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

I think the SE had previously stronger sales than it does today. Unless I am missing something (which very well could be) I don't see the sales numbers where they were. As such, I don't see the Se lasting much longer.

US and First World sales, perhaps; but China and India are massive markets, and the sales of the SE are pretty strong in those countries.

 

[Apple_Robert]

US and First World sales, perhaps; but China and India are massive markets, and the sales of the SE are pretty strong in those countries.

I can see that. My comments were primarily directed towards the U.S. If Apple keeps the SE in the US even though sales are pitiful, I would be shocked.

Given technology, I would be more inclined to believe Apple will come out with a slightly different cost-effective phone very soon. I think Apple can do a lot more, and still cut the price over the old model SE.

I have nothing against the SE. I have owned one until recently.

 

[Euroamerican]

Still thinking of upgrading my 5S to an SE. Why? I love the size and weight of the 5S, and the only reason I may upgrade is that the darn battery is dying and Apple wants US$79.00 to replace that battery.

And frankly, I REALLY don't want to pay the much higher tab for the bigger screen models. I spend a lot of money on my Apple stuff, and I am not really happy with what seems like an early wearing out of the 5S.

I like how light the 5S is in my hand, in my pocket, and how I can use it one handed. I have medium size men's hands, but the 6S seems uncomfortable. My wife has smaller hands than me and loves the 6S, but I'm not convinced getting a bigger screen outweighs the size/weight and pocket size.. And then there is that price again for going larger.

 

[The-Real-Deal82]

I can see that. My comments were primarily directed towards the U.S. If Apple keeps the SE in the US even though sales are pitiful, I would be shocked.

Given technology, I would be more inclined to believe Apple will come out with a slightly different cost-effective phone very soon. I think Apple can do a lot more, and still cut the price over the old model SE.

I have nothing against the SE. I have owned one until recently.

As long as they keep the size of the device the same as the SE then it’ll be popular within its niche. Just making a budget iPhone is ignoring the very draw of a smaller handset unless it’s smaller than a standard iPhone 8.

 

[44267547]

Still thinking of upgrading my 5S to an SE. Why? I love the size and weight of the 5S, and the only reason I may upgrade is that the darn battery is dying and Apple wants US$79.00 to replace that battery.

And frankly, I REALLY don't want to pay the much higher tab for the bigger screen models. I spend a lot of money on my Apple stuff, and I am not really happy with what seems like an early wearing out of the 5S.

I like how light the 5S is in my hand, in my pocket, and how I can use it one handed. I have medium size men's hands, but the 6S seems uncomfortable. My wife has smaller hands than me and loves the 6S, but I'm not convinced getting a bigger screen outweighs the size/weight and pocket size.. And then there is that price again for going larger.

I would say anybody that primarily wants the iPhone SE is due to the form factor. It Still has the iOS experience, although the keyboard being very small is the only drawback I don’t like. Especially from using a larger iPhone. If we ever see an updated SE, the only thing I think it really needs is an improved display (Higher resolution), improved camera and processor coupled in the same processor.

 

[mjschabow]

I would say anybody that primarily wants the iPhone SE is due to the form factor. It Still has the iOS experience, although the keyboard being very small is the only drawback I don’t like. Especially from using a larger iPhone. If we ever see an updated SE, the only thing I think it really needs is an improved display (Higher resolution), improved camera and processor coupled in the same processor.

Yeah and Gboard and SwiftKey totally solve the keyboard problem too

 

[Smartass]

If they'd fit a bigger screen in that body, and gave its camera an upgrade i'd buy it instantly. I've had it with phones that cannot be controled by one hand. And the new X is too heavy for my taste..