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iPhone SE (2016) Am I the only person who went from iPhone X to iPhone 8 to iPhone SE?

S

s54

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Original poster
Sep 25, 2012
505
586
Remember this thread? - https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/am-i-crazy-to-switch-fro-x-to-8.2112572/

Yeah, call me crazy (and I know you will lol), but I just "downgraded" once again to the A1723 iPhone SE in 128 GB. This year, I burned some money going from X to 8 to SE. But in the end, it was all worth it.

If you told me in the beginning of this journey that I would end up with the iPhone SE, I would say that you're nuts. Well, here I am, 8 months later, rocking the iPhone SE. Without diving too much into it, here are my top reasons for ditching the 8 in favor of the SE:

  • Size, size, and size! Something about it being small that appeals to me. (that's what she said! :D). Absolutely missed the one handed use. And while I could have used the 8 with one hand, it wasn't as ergonomically friendly or as easy to maneuver. With the SE, I never need to readjust my grip. So, it is more convenient. That's not to say the iPhone 8 was too big, but it was bigger nonetheless. I can't for the life of me imagine having the iPhone 8+! That, to me, is nuts. At the rate we're going, we're going see people holding iPad-sized smartphones a few years from now.
  • This ties with the previous point, but the phone feels so light! When you pick it up, it literally feels like there are no internals.
  • Fast enough for my needs. After owning the X and the 8, I realized that I had paid for gimmicky crap that I never use. I concluded that modern smartphones are full of features that are just plain stupid (e.g. animated emoji). What's more, I never play games or do anything graphic-intensive. Yes, I take a lot of photos when I travel internationally (hence 128 GB and A1723), but I feel that the 12 mp camera on the iPhone SE is plenty good for that, despite lacking the imagine stabilization feature. I don't need or want face ID either because I prefer to be able to unlock my phone from weird angles (;)) and without lifting it off the desk. Actually, I want to limit phone use altogether, which brings me to my next point...
  • I needed to cut down on the amount of time I spend on my phone and I feel that going to a less powerful phone with a smaller screen was one of the ways to accomplish this. I'm of the opinion that most people are addicted to their smartphones like some people are to drugs. Especially when you factor in social media. I felt that I needed to break this addiction (texting, social media, youtube, etc.), which is why I deleted my FB, Twitter, and Instagram accounts. I am officially social-media-free, aside from Workplace and Slack, which I'm forced to use by my employer. If you cut these things out, then owning an expensive smartphone with a big screen and very powerful hardware starts to make less sense. That's where the iPhone SE comes in. Perfect little simplified smartphone. Although, generally speaking, I can't find one useful thing the X/8 could do that my SE can't.
 
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I have the se that I gave my husband so he can watch youtube and such but will not let me activate it for him for his daily phone, he has a dumb basic phone that sometimes works. I pick it up and cannot believe how small the screen is. I hate the bezels so much because it makes the actual screen size is the size of a credit card. If you like it enjoy
 
Apple sells over 400 phones per minute. During this time, I wonder how many SE users upgraded to iPhone X.
 
I didn't have an X, nor a 8, but I "downgraded" from a iPhone 6s Plus to an SE. I was very happy with my decision.

s54 said:
Size, size, and size!
Click to expand...
The biggest factor for me was the size of the 6s Plus.

It really hit me on how inconvenient the large phone was when I was trying to take one handed photos of my premature baby laying on my chest to sent to her mother that was in the ICU of the hospital, and was not allowed to see the baby. It was so hard to do one handed photos, I kept dropping my phone or the photos were blurry.

I probably could have gone with a 7 or 8 non-plus size, but the SE was so cheap, and I don't really like the design of the 6, 6s, 7, 8....

The SE ended up being the perfect size to use one handed, and I have my Macs and an iPad Mini for when the SE screen size is just not big enough.

Actually, I much rather use my iMac for just about anything when I am at home. If I know I am about to have a long texting conversation, I will jump on my Mac and use the keyboard to type.
 
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My finance has the SE which I bought her as a birthday gift nearly 2 years ago. I agree, it's lovely. I like the screen, the camera is super, as is the video camera in it. Two iOS updates later and it's still a speedy lil thing and the contract is so reasonable - I pay £19 a month for her. AND I prefer the colour to my X as she has rose gold which is my favourite colour from Apple.
In fact, I have the X and the colours are HORRIBLE from them and very non-Apple. The space grey just doesn't look right to me under the glass and the silver (which I had to settle on) is boring and lacking soul compared to the rose gold or even the white on my old 4S which my X replaced.
I love my X BUT I got a great contract deal for it. Let me make it clear that there's no way that I would have paid £73-78 per month on a contract - to me, that's what mugs do.

In all honestly, IMO, the SE is probably the best iPhone of all time because of its speed, size, reliability, A9 in a tiny phone etc. The worst for me is the Plus models. I just hate them - they look so stupid IMO and will date very very quickly.
 
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BODYBUILDERPAUL said:
My finance has the SE which I bought her as a birthday gift nearly 2 years ago. I agree, it's lovely. I like the screen, the camera is super, as is the video camera in it. Two iOS updates later and it's still a speedy lil thing and the contract is so reasonable - I pay £19 a month for her. AND I prefer the colour to my X as she has rose gold which is my favourite colour from Apple.
In fact, I have the X and the colours are HORRIBLE from them and very non-Apple. The space grey just doesn't look right to me under the glass and the silver (which I had to settle on) is boring and lacking soul compared to the rose gold or even the white on my old 4S which my X replaced.
I love my X BUT I got a great contract deal for it. Let me make it clear that there's no way that I would have paid £73-78 per month on a contract - to me, that's what mugs do.

In all honestly, IMO, the SE is probably the best iPhone of all time because of its speed, size, reliability, A9 in a tiny phone etc. The worst for me is the Plus models. I just hate them - they look so stupid IMO and will date very very quickly.
Click to expand...

Make it water proof and add the dual camera and I might consider selling my x for that phone.
 
There’s plenty of people who love the SE design/size/performance/cost and have made the switch. Although I would never want a iPhone the size of an SE, I hope Apple does a simple update using the existing body/screen and put a updated cpu/gpu, camera and 2nd gen touchid for the people that truly love the design.. It will sell
 
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Two major selling points for the iPhone SE:

1.) Four inch form factor. It’s that simple. Anyone that’s opting for the SE doesn’t care about having the latest iPhone or technology, they want the SE that’s Small/discreet and not intrusive in the pocket.

2.) Price point. With the rising cost of smart phones, the iPhone SE price point is unheard of with Apple, which is an attractive to those who don’t want a larger display iPhone or in countries where iPhones are extremely expensive, the iPhone SE still has some purpose.
 
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I considered it myself! I actually kept my SE and only went to the X for the new design. For so long Ive been wanting them to get rid of those large bezels. I fell in love with it when I saw it in person and bought the X. Overall, I dont mind the X. I absolutely love the cameras. But recently, I pulled out my SE to try out iOS12 betas on, and my oh my did I miss that phone! I contemplated going back, but I do love the design of my X.

If Apple could/would make an iPhone SE (same form factor) but just the face ID and reduced bezels, that would be perfect for me! I dont think you are crazy for going from an X to an SE. If something were to happen to my X, I would likely use my SE instead of trying to replace the X.
 
I've got both the 8 and the X and had the SE. I don't think I could live with the SE today, though. The screen is just too small. I even feel that the 4.7" on the 8 is stretching the limits of what I'm comfortable with these days.

It's funny how far we've come! I remember getting a Nokia N95 8GB and being excited not just by the 8GB which seemed huge, but by the increase in screen size from 2.6" to 2.8" which was noticeable.
 
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eyeseeyou said:
Make it water proof and add the dual camera and I might consider selling my x for that phone.
Click to expand...

Same here. I’d add screen quality.

IMHO the SE is an underrated phone. Its power to weight/size ratio is really good.

I sometimes find my X to be a little too large, and I have XL hands. Doesn’t fit in my shirt pockets all that well.
Yes, it’s a nice phone, but for me, smaller would be better.
 
Matz said:
Same here. I’d add screen quality.

IMHO the SE is an underrated phone. Its power to weight/size ratio is really good.

I sometimes find my X to be a little too large, and I have XL hands. Doesn’t fit in my shirt pockets all that well.
Yes, it’s a nice phone, but for me, smaller would be better.
Click to expand...

For me, since I’m used to bigger screens at this point, if it meant that the retail price would be lower I’d be fine with an lcd screen versus a more expensive oled. I’m even struggling with 64gb’s of storage.
 
The-Rift said:
The only issue with SE is 1st gen Touch ID which is slow;
Click to expand...
This was probably my biggest complaint when I went from a 6s Plus to an SE.

the difference between Touch ID 1 and 2 is very noticeable, especially when I first made the switch.

After using the SE for a year, I have gotten used to the slower Touch ID, but would love for Apple to release a new SE with Touch ID 2.
 
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s54 said:
Remember this thread? - https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/am-i-crazy-to-switch-fro-x-to-8.2112572/

Yeah, call me crazy (and I know you will lol), but I just "downgraded" once again to the A1723 iPhone SE in 128 GB. This year, I burned some money going from X to 8 to SE. But in the end, it was all worth it.

If you told me in the beginning of this journey that I would end up with the iPhone SE, I would say that you're nuts. Well, here I am, 8 months later, rocking the iPhone SE. Without diving too much into it, here are my top reasons for ditching the 8 in favor of the SE:

  • Size, size, and size! Something about it being small that appeals to me. (that's what she said! :D). Absolutely missed the one handed use. And while I could have used the 8 with one hand, it wasn't as ergonomically friendly or as easy to maneuver. With the SE, I never need to readjust my grip. So, it is more convenient. That's not to say the iPhone 8 was too big, but it was bigger nonetheless. I can't for the life of me imagine having the iPhone 8+! That, to me, is nuts. At the rate we're going, we're going see people holding iPad-sized smartphones a few years from now.
  • This ties with the previous point, but the phone feels so light! When you pick it up, it literally feels like there are no internals.
  • Fast enough for my needs. After owning the X and the 8, I realized that I had paid for gimmicky crap that I never use. I concluded that modern smartphones are full of features that are just plain stupid (e.g. animated emoji). What's more, I never play games or do anything graphic-intensive. Yes, I take a lot of photos when I travel internationally (hence 128 GB and A1723), but I feel that the 12 mp camera on the iPhone SE is plenty good for that, despite lacking the imagine stabilization feature. I don't need or want face ID either because I prefer to be able to unlock my phone from weird angles (;)) and without lifting it off the desk. Actually, I want to limit phone use altogether, which brings me to my next point...
  • I needed to cut down on the amount of time I spend on my phone and I feel that going to a less powerful phone with a smaller screen was one of the ways to accomplish this. I'm of the opinion that most people are addicted to their smartphones like some people are to drugs. Especially when you factor in social media. I felt that I needed to break this addiction (texting, social media, youtube, etc.), which is why I deleted my FB, Twitter, and Instagram accounts. I am officially social-media-free, aside from Workplace and Slack, which I'm forced to use by my employer. If you cut these things out, then owning an expensive smartphone with a big screen and very powerful hardware starts to make less sense. That's where the iPhone SE comes in. Perfect little simplified smartphone. Although, generally speaking, I can't find one useful thing the X/8 could do that my SE can't.
Click to expand...
I have the X now and I kinda like the 8 still. But no way in hell I would get an se. I hated the se.
 
anitak1982 said:
I have the se that I gave my husband so he can watch youtube and such but will not let me activate it for him for his daily phone, he has a dumb basic phone that sometimes works. I pick it up and cannot believe how small the screen is. I hate the bezels so much because it makes the actual screen size is the size of a credit card. If you like it enjoy
Click to expand...
He watches videos on an se?
 
vertical smile said:
I watch YouTube videos on an SE. Why not?.
Click to expand...

The point being I think you *missed* was its a 4” dispay, where the ‘preferred’ method of watching videos would be a larger display. Not There is anything ‘wrong’ watching videos on an SE, its the display size that would not be the optimal method for XYZ reasons for some.
 
Relentless Power said:
The point being I think you *missed* was its a 4” dispay, where the ‘preferred’ method of watching videos would be a larger display. Not There is anything ‘wrong’ watching videos on an SE, its the display size that would not be the optimal method for XYZ reasons for some.
Click to expand...
That is pretty much what I said, just with a lot more words. Maybe you *missed* it:

vertical smile said:
It is not my preferred way of watching YouTube, which would be a TV or Computer, but it still works.
Click to expand...
 
Love the SE but no I can’t go back to a 4” screen and those small letter keys. Hopefully we get an SE sized device that is all screen in 2019.
 
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