How can anyone comfortably text on an se? It's insane and I don't exactly have large hands. If you're 60 and use it only for voice calls it's probably perfect. Somehow we all used to type on those tiny keys on our flip phone. I don't think many people can go back in time to that.
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.
iPhone SE (2016) Apple needs to make it clear they are still interested in Smaller iPhones or not!
- Thread starter animatedude
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
It’s muscle memory. I absolutely adored my 3GS, 4 and 5. I had to go a few days without my XR last week and had to use a 6s for a few days; it was awkward at first but after just a few hours it was like I’d never switched to a 7 Plus way back in 2016.
The SE crowd is complaining because they are too lazy to try an iPhone 8, which you can get these days for not much more than the price of an SE.
Personally, I have a 7 Plus and I make clerical errors if I’m texting long paragraphs. I constantly click the wrong letters. I usually just get on my iPad Pro or Mac Book Pro if I need to type something lengthy. But smaller phones I do not think there is a market for that.
The iPhone 8 4.7” is a small phone which a decent screen size. Why not get that? It’s pretty small.
Give me a full screen phone in a body the size of the SE with modern specs (much the way the SE matched the 6S specs) and I’ll sell my X the second my preorder arrives.
Back in the second half of 2017, I bought a 64GB and a 128GB SE and tried using them because the battery was failing in my 6S+. I just couldn't get into them because they are just too freakin small. Typing on them is a pain. I barely used them for less then a month and then put them in a drawer where they've been sitting ever since.
I love my XS Max and will never go to a smaller screen again. I just can't do it.
I love my XS Max and will never go to a smaller screen again. I just can't do it.
After my iPhone 4 was stolen in 2012 I got an android phone. My intention was only to use it until my upgrade was due and then come back to the iPhone. However amongst other things I liked the fact that I could get a phone with a larger screen on android. Since 2012 I’ve used a big phone. After a while of using android phones I wanted to come back to the iPhone. I got the iPhone 5S and I used it for 28 days before selling it. I just couldn’t handle the small screen. I had to go back to android and wait and until the 6 plus was released before I could come back to the iPhone. So I know that I definitely can’t use a small phone like the SE.
Last edited:
It’s insane? When I owned my SE, I managed perfectly well typing on it with no issues whatsoever. Is it an ideal situation to text on all the time? Probably not for everyone, since I have moved onto the larger iPhones, but not once did I ever complain about it, because I would gladly accept the 4” form factor versus griping about the texting.
Perfect timing for this thread.
I have an SE and it’s barely hanging on. I was waiting on a new version to be released but nope that’s not happening. What’s my next move?? Is there a model that’s new-ish, but also on the smaller side?
My only experience with a bigger phone has been a 1-2 week experiment with the iPhone 6. Returned it and got the SE.
Hoping to find a solution and get a new phone this weekend.
I have an SE and it’s barely hanging on. I was waiting on a new version to be released but nope that’s not happening. What’s my next move?? Is there a model that’s new-ish, but also on the smaller side?
My only experience with a bigger phone has been a 1-2 week experiment with the iPhone 6. Returned it and got the SE.
Hoping to find a solution and get a new phone this weekend.
I hope that they will make it, just so the minority with a zoolander phone fixation will stop spamming everyone with their de.anda for one.
I don’t understand two things in this thread:
- This sentiment that because someone doesn’t like something, it should not be offered to those who do.
- The original post. What is that date? What stock are you talking about?
(Edit- this thread has been merged with another. Not sure what number post the former original post is now.)
A small phone is ideal for me because I use it for quick interactions, I don’t watch video or look at Facebook photos on the go, I have zero issues easily reading on the screen or typing very quickly and accurately, I highly value being able to use my phone one-handed in any situation, and I hate bulky objects in my pocket.
At one point I did use an iPhone 6s Plus for 3 months, but ended up hating every moment of it. I needed two hands to use it or I had to balance it precariously in one hand, which wasn’t possible in many situations and often inconvenienced me; it was irritatingly huge in my pocket; couldn’t sit with it in my pocket so I was always trying to find a place for it on crowded restaurant tables or other inconvenient situations; and I just all-around resented having to carry around something so big and heavy and drop-prone everywhere I went. And I still never used it for video or looking at social media photos. It added no value to my life. It was just big and heavy for the sake of it.
I’ve tried my friends’ iPhone 6/7/8’s over the years, but it’s just a compromise, still nowhere near ideal for me. It still doesn’t give me any added value, it’s still just bigger for the sake of it. Just big enough to take away my ability to grasp the phone and reach the entire screen with my thumb. There’s a reason why the original phones/smartphones were designed at a maximum width and remained that way for so long, before phablets.
I understand that for a lot of people, their phone is their main consumption device or maybe even their main computing device; or their eyes are bad. I’m glad phablets exist for them. But for me, phablets add no value over a small phone, it only subtracts value. My smartphone is a Swiss Army knife. It just needs to get the basic job done and be as unobtrusive as possible.
Price has little to do with it for me. I would gladly pay a lot for a really nice small Swiss Army knife that had a few more tools packed in, if I had that option. But Apple knows they can charge even more for a bigger device and the general public will want it and pay for it because size is generally perceived as value. It’s no question that small phones aren’t as high in demand, but that’s not the only factor at play in the small phone’s near disappearance.
There are a few scattered small phones in or coming to the market, and I do think the small phone will make a return eventually—or some new tech that achieves the same idea. I just pray my SE holds up that long.
- This sentiment that because someone doesn’t like something, it should not be offered to those who do.
- The original post. What is that date? What stock are you talking about?
(Edit- this thread has been merged with another. Not sure what number post the former original post is now.)
A small phone is ideal for me because I use it for quick interactions, I don’t watch video or look at Facebook photos on the go, I have zero issues easily reading on the screen or typing very quickly and accurately, I highly value being able to use my phone one-handed in any situation, and I hate bulky objects in my pocket.
At one point I did use an iPhone 6s Plus for 3 months, but ended up hating every moment of it. I needed two hands to use it or I had to balance it precariously in one hand, which wasn’t possible in many situations and often inconvenienced me; it was irritatingly huge in my pocket; couldn’t sit with it in my pocket so I was always trying to find a place for it on crowded restaurant tables or other inconvenient situations; and I just all-around resented having to carry around something so big and heavy and drop-prone everywhere I went. And I still never used it for video or looking at social media photos. It added no value to my life. It was just big and heavy for the sake of it.
I’ve tried my friends’ iPhone 6/7/8’s over the years, but it’s just a compromise, still nowhere near ideal for me. It still doesn’t give me any added value, it’s still just bigger for the sake of it. Just big enough to take away my ability to grasp the phone and reach the entire screen with my thumb. There’s a reason why the original phones/smartphones were designed at a maximum width and remained that way for so long, before phablets.
I understand that for a lot of people, their phone is their main consumption device or maybe even their main computing device; or their eyes are bad. I’m glad phablets exist for them. But for me, phablets add no value over a small phone, it only subtracts value. My smartphone is a Swiss Army knife. It just needs to get the basic job done and be as unobtrusive as possible.
Price has little to do with it for me. I would gladly pay a lot for a really nice small Swiss Army knife that had a few more tools packed in, if I had that option. But Apple knows they can charge even more for a bigger device and the general public will want it and pay for it because size is generally perceived as value. It’s no question that small phones aren’t as high in demand, but that’s not the only factor at play in the small phone’s near disappearance.
There are a few scattered small phones in or coming to the market, and I do think the small phone will make a return eventually—or some new tech that achieves the same idea. I just pray my SE holds up that long.
Last edited:
I have heard Motorola razor thin small flip phone may be coming back. I really liked that phone. Small, pocketable, super easy battery change. Anyone here more about the razor or was it a joke on net.