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iPhone SE (2016) Have an X, but just ordered an SE - think I'll regret it?
- Thread starter Anthony T
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Agreed. Went from XS Max to XS to X to SE. My only gripe is probably the battery. It's not bad but it's not good either. I can see myself needing to charge more often.
The 4 inch display size is a legacy factor under Jobs, but you still have to give Tim Cook credit for at least reintroducing a Phone of that size under his reign, especially when they didn’t have to, given that the majority of smart phones don’t offer that size anymore. I still believe the SE was always meant to be a ‘limited time’ offering from Apple, they knew when they were going to discontinue it long befor anyone or any tech site knew, but regardless, it doesn’t mean it doesn’t have a future, just no one knows what that future will be.
I put my XS Max next to my old 5 and seemed like a lifetime ago the phones were so small. So lucky as my eyes could actually read the screen back then.
I went from 7+ to X to XS Max these screens are beautiful.
I went from 7+ to X to XS Max these screens are beautiful.
I got my SE in on Friday and this thing is absolutely buggered. For the first few hours I couldn’t get it to charge past 70%. I thought maybe it had something to do with it being cold from being in the mailbox and/or the restore process. Yesterday, I left it connected to my computer after I continuously got restore errors after wiping and upgrading to 12.1.4 to get rid of the jailbreak.
Upon disconnecting this morning, it didn’t show a full battery but I didn’t check the percentage since I was going to update to 12.2 beta so I could restore from my backup. Restore went through and I set it up while watching the battery drain. Battery health shows 85% and operating at peak performance.
Left the house for the gym and I now can’t get a cellular connection. It bounces from extended to 3g to no service but no LTE. I’ve reset all settings, reset network settings and stopped by a Verizon store to pick up a new SIM card.
I’m now sitting in Starbucks using their WiFi and after the phone died and showed the battery depleted indicator, I waited a moment then tried again and it came back on. It went from 30% to 1% in a matter of minutes and has now been sitting at 1% for the 30+ minutes I’ve been sitting here reading, streaming Pandora and watching the network indicator do its dance.
Fun stuff. I’ve obviously started the return process on eBay and have already purchased another from Newegg. I absolutely love the size and speed of this thing.
Upon disconnecting this morning, it didn’t show a full battery but I didn’t check the percentage since I was going to update to 12.2 beta so I could restore from my backup. Restore went through and I set it up while watching the battery drain. Battery health shows 85% and operating at peak performance.
Left the house for the gym and I now can’t get a cellular connection. It bounces from extended to 3g to no service but no LTE. I’ve reset all settings, reset network settings and stopped by a Verizon store to pick up a new SIM card.
I’m now sitting in Starbucks using their WiFi and after the phone died and showed the battery depleted indicator, I waited a moment then tried again and it came back on. It went from 30% to 1% in a matter of minutes and has now been sitting at 1% for the 30+ minutes I’ve been sitting here reading, streaming Pandora and watching the network indicator do its dance.
Fun stuff. I’ve obviously started the return process on eBay and have already purchased another from Newegg. I absolutely love the size and speed of this thing.
Just curious, why didn’t you purchase the SE direct from Apple? They have them in stock currently. (Unless you purchased one when they were out of stock, not knowing they would re-launch again.)
https://www.apple.com/shop/refurbished/clearance
Now that the iPhone SE can be jailbroken it is even more attractive to use with some mild, added tweaks.
I thought the same thing until I had mine jailbroken. There's just not as much appeal to it these days as there used to be, especially with dark mode coming in iOS 13.
There's definitely some nice tweaks out there that will enhance the experience but I'm done with the cat and mouse game years ago.
You’re the second member that has explicitly said ‘dark mode is coming’ in iOS13, not that I don’t believe you, but one has to wonder, but has this been confirmed somewhere? I mean, I know we all can speculate, but where and how would you know that?
I couldn't go back...and that's not to say the SE is a bad phone (amongst its good features is the size).
Rather, I've become accustomed to the 6.1 and 6.5" of my current phones which make typing easier if not perfect yet.
I'm not sure how much money the X is worth but better selling now rather than waiting a few months as the price will only go down. Enjoy your new SE though.
Rather, I've become accustomed to the 6.1 and 6.5" of my current phones which make typing easier if not perfect yet.
I'm not sure how much money the X is worth but better selling now rather than waiting a few months as the price will only go down. Enjoy your new SE though.
I did just that. Bought a used SE 64gb that is in really good condition for $150 CAD. Sold my X for $1000. just like anything else that gets thrown at us, you get used to it. A good trick to typing on the SE is not to try so hard using as little thumb to hit the right key. Use your fat thumbs whole surface or as much as you can and aim to hit the key fully covering the letter. If that makes any sense... Along with gboard that has 10x better autocorrection/prediction. Swipe typing is so easy on this thing.
It's amazing how good of a phone this is and I spent so little for it. In terms of basic every day tasks, this phone flies. It doesn't even feel like a downgrade.
Number one reason I went for the phone was size. I wanted one handed usability so bad. I don't miss stretching and sliding my hands just to reach some where and its super comfortably light. I love how rarely I need to use two handed.
This.
Some people think that calling the SE "fast" is an exaggeration. In reality, that's what it actually feels like. I bet the small screen realestate has something to do with how snappy and quick it feels.
To those who discount this, I recommend that you play with the SE side-by-side with the iPhone X, XS, or XS Max. Just start randomly swiping through the home screen, open email, text messages, etc. and you'll be shocked to learn that the SE is, on average, faster in navigating between screens of everyday practical stuff like email, texting, etc.
Of course if you're going to play a game that requires a lot of processing power and GPU performance, then the newer models will be better at that. However, for everyday tasks, I find that my SE is faster than my X was.
Went from an SE, to the X, back the SE.
No regrets. Actually, I do regret one thing, and that's wasting time.
The SE is the greatest phone I've owned (even better than the Nokia Lumia 1020), mostly because of its size and lightweight package. I put it in my pocket and sometimes I even forget it's there. Love it.
No regrets. Actually, I do regret one thing, and that's wasting time.
The SE is the greatest phone I've owned (even better than the Nokia Lumia 1020), mostly because of its size and lightweight package. I put it in my pocket and sometimes I even forget it's there. Love it.
I got my SE on Friday. It was on 0% battery when I got it (which I was fine with, just thought it was odd). Anyway, I am returning it. The screen is just a little TOO small after having used the larger iPhones all of these past few years (iPhone 6, 6S/7 Plus, X, etc).
I think I might be better off with something like the iPhone 8. I was really happy with the 4.7" models, but liked the form factor of the 4" models better. However, my lease on my iPhone X will be up in May and I'll probably just pay it off and wait to see what happens with the upcoming phones.
I would be really happy if they released an SE 2 with edge to edge display, I'd probably change over. I also wouldn't mind something a little bigger than the SE, but smaller than the 4.7" models. I think something in between with a form factor closer to the SE would be perfect.
Hanging onto my X for now.
I think I might be better off with something like the iPhone 8. I was really happy with the 4.7" models, but liked the form factor of the 4" models better. However, my lease on my iPhone X will be up in May and I'll probably just pay it off and wait to see what happens with the upcoming phones.
I would be really happy if they released an SE 2 with edge to edge display, I'd probably change over. I also wouldn't mind something a little bigger than the SE, but smaller than the 4.7" models. I think something in between with a form factor closer to the SE would be perfect.
Hanging onto my X for now.
I noticed you didn't mention being unhappy with your X. Depending on your "use case" I have a feeling that you'll will feel as if you've taken a big step backwards. The huge drop in display quality (not just size) alone will make you a lot less happy. As much as I like the SE, iOS as it is today just doesn't quite "fit" on the SE, especially, with 3rd party apps.
Is it truly about the desire for a smaller device, the 128gb or is it a financial concern? Why not shop around for an iPhone 7? The overall device size is between the X and SE. I think you'd benefit from the more up to date internals, dual speakers, IP67, nicer display and faster Touch ID in comparison to the SE even if your usage is basically iMessage, camera, Bookfacing, Tittering and telephony.
Is it truly about the desire for a smaller device, the 128gb or is it a financial concern? Why not shop around for an iPhone 7? The overall device size is between the X and SE. I think you'd benefit from the more up to date internals, dual speakers, IP67, nicer display and faster Touch ID in comparison to the SE even if your usage is basically iMessage, camera, Bookfacing, Tittering and telephony.
It's mainly about a smaller device. I had a 7 Plus prior to getting my X, which was definitely too big. I had an iPhone 6 and I think it was a great size. Like I said, an iPhone 8 would be great (or even a 7). But at this point, I'm probably just better off keeping my X and paying it off in May. It's definitely not as bad as having the Plus, but I did prefer the smaller 4.7" models size-wise.
I went from the X to the 8 Plus to the XR and now to the SE with the current clearance deal.
With everything that was saved, and how much less strain I see on my hands, how much I can still do on the SE, and how it was 1/3 the cost of the XR, it’s been an amazing choice for me.
Your experience may be different, of course, but to anyone who wants something smaller, still functional, and highly usable in all situations? I’d highly recommend the SE.
With everything that was saved, and how much less strain I see on my hands, how much I can still do on the SE, and how it was 1/3 the cost of the XR, it’s been an amazing choice for me.
Your experience may be different, of course, but to anyone who wants something smaller, still functional, and highly usable in all situations? I’d highly recommend the SE.
Agree with everything you've said 100%. I've had my SE for just under 2 months, my only wish is that I'd switched to it sooner. Does everything I need and such a small compact convenient size compared to the previous 6s plus.