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iPhone SE (2022) Is it smart to buy an iPhone SE 3rd Gen now?

TomFromAndroid

TomFromAndroid

macrumors member
Original poster
Jan 24, 2019
34
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I like my first gen iPhone a lot...but the battery doesn't hold a charge very well and I'm finding that more apps aren't upgradable any more. I can't even do a workaround by using websites in some cases. Trouble is: (1) I don't want a big klutzy Android; I want something that fits easily in my pocket, and I have no particular need for a larger screen. And (2) I'm limited as to price, plus I don't have any real intensive needs from my phone, other than e-mail, web surfing and the occasional bank or credit card transactions.

I'm finding some attractive deals on SE Gen 3 but my big concern is how much longer the compatible iOS will be around. As I understand it, the Gen 3 can be upgraded from the iOS 16 to iOS 18...how long does Apple plan to continue support for that? (Or IOW, how soon before I end up with another phone that's being starved of usable apps?) 😏 Alternatively, I've considered just replacing the battery in my present Gen 1 and settling for whatever functions remain usable while doing other stuff on the iPad. Any thoughts that will help my decision making are appreciated.
 
The SE3 is 5G capable already and good bang for the buck. However it might not be the future AI workhorse as storage size might need to be bigger. For basic use I see a SE3 still to be a good investment. But if your old phone would be good enough for you why not just have the battery replaced? Using a SE3 myself.
 
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I guess you could say that I’m getting uneasy about the possible security issues of using an older unsupported device, especially for financial and other personal things. And I’m finding that even some not very sensitive things like online grocery shopping don’t work very well with iOS 15.8. That’s not a big deal but it does make me wonder how soon this otherwise functional phone will turn into a “brick”.
Mega ST said:
The SE3 is 5G capable already and good bang for the buck. However it might not be the future AI workhorse as storage size might need to be bigger. For basic use I see a SE3 still to be a good investment. But if your old phone would be good enough for you why not just have the battery replaced? Using a SE3 myself.is the security update issue of using an older unsupported device. And the second concern is the dwindling number of websites that allow access, in particular banks
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It’s equivalent to an iPhone 13. It will be, come September, four major versions removed from its original iOS version. It’s reaching the point where performance and battery life will be affected by iOS updates.

This, sadly, changes and evolves too quickly. I wouldn’t buy a device that’s almost four versions behind.

That said, however… if getting a newer device is impossible for you (I’d recommend the 16e or some version of the 15), then it has some usable life left, with unknown quality. iOS 26 may significantly affect its quality, who knows. Perhaps you can just wing it and try, but I’d only do that if there’s no other choice.
 
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TomFromAndroid said:
I like my first gen iPhone a lot...but the battery doesn't hold a charge very well and I'm finding that more apps aren't upgradable any more. I can't even do a workaround by using websites in some cases. Trouble is: (1) I don't want a big klutzy Android; I want something that fits easily in my pocket, and I have no particular need for a larger screen. And (2) I'm limited as to price, plus I don't have any real intensive needs from my phone, other than e-mail, web surfing and the occasional bank or credit card transactions.

I'm finding some attractive deals on SE Gen 3 but my big concern is how much longer the compatible iOS will be around. As I understand it, the Gen 3 can be upgraded from the iOS 16 to iOS 18...how long does Apple plan to continue support for that? (Or IOW, how soon before I end up with another phone that's being starved of usable apps?) 😏 Alternatively, I've considered just replacing the battery in my present Gen 1 and settling for whatever functions remain usable while doing other stuff on the iPad. Any thoughts that will help my decision making are appreciated.
Click to expand...
Per the OP headline, NO do not buy anything now unless your old phone is broken. It is the end of June and it makes more sense to wait and see what September brings. Even if you choose an old phone then, at least you will be making your decision with full current information. Speculating now is just a waste of bandwidth.

My personal opinion is that buying old tech is seldom a good deal unless one is into old tech or gets a crazy good deal.
 
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Allen_Wentz said:
My personal opinion is that buying old tech is seldom a good deal unless one is into old tech or gets a crazy good deal.
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Agreed, I think my opinion is this, in a nutshell. This moves way too quickly for an older device to be worthy of consideration. Last year’s model? Sure. Anything older and it’s a compromise.

Like I said, if there’s no other choice then there’s no other choice, but if OP can avoid it, better.
 
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I’ve seen the iPhone SE 3rd gen for less then $150, but locked to a carrier. If you’re seeing it for that kind of price then I say buy it and use it for the next few years until Apple stops supporting it.
 
JCsHands2 said:
I’ve seen the iPhone SE 3rd gen for less then $150, but locked to a carrier. If you’re seeing it for that kind of price then I say buy it and use it for the next few years until Apple stops supporting it.
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Yes, that’s exactly the kind of price tag that’s tempting me. If it was anything close to regular MSRP I’d never consider it.
 
TomFromAndroid said:
Yes, that’s exactly the kind of price tag that’s tempting me. If it was anything close to regular MSRP I’d never consider it.
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I’ll just buy used if I were in your situation. About a year ago I bought a $75 iPhone SE 3rd gen on offer up. Unlocked in excellent condition. The guy was 30 mins late so he offered to cut the price lol. I ended up using this for a few weeks than reselling it for $130. Since the 16e came out I bet the price for the se 3 is lower. With the price being so low who cares if the support ends in 2 years.
 
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SE 3 is pretty bad. Battery life is horrible, I suspect because many units come with defective batteries. Other than “smaller phone”, it is not any good. Aluminum felt cheap too comparing to “big boy” models like 14, 15, 16. You honestly won’t like it, especially considering that the phone you have is an older but very convenient form factor that no longer exists - 4 inch display + square edges. That is the best display size so far. I have lots of nostalgia about my now-dead iPhone 5.

You might think about upgrading to 13 mini but honestly, at this point just get a regular 15 or 16, they won’t feel much bigger than SE3 but at least have all new options + square edges
 
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TomFromAndroid said:
Yes, that’s exactly the kind of price tag that’s tempting me. If it was anything close to regular MSRP I’d never consider it.
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Total Wireless is giving the SE3 away for free right now. After 60 days it can be unlocked and you can move onto another carrier.

You will get 3ish more years of software upgrades and then another 2 years or so of security updates.

If you prefer a smaller, lighter phone, the SE3 kind of seems like a no brainer at that price point.
 
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uacd said:
SE 3 is pretty bad. Battery life is horrible, I suspect because many units come with defective batteries. Other than “smaller phone”, it is not any good. Aluminum felt cheap too comparing to “big boy” models like 14, 15, 16. You honestly won’t like it, especially considering that the phone you have is an older but very convenient form factor that no longer exists - 4 inch display + square edges. That is the best display size so far. I have lots of nostalgia about my now-dead iPhone 5.

You might think about upgrading to 13 mini but honestly, at this point just get a regular 15 or 16, they won’t feel much bigger than SE3 but at least have all new options + square edges
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Yes, the battery life is the one complaint that I have with my present SE. I wouldn’t expect the newer ones to be a whole lot better.
 
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Battery life is mediocre but it's cheap, I got a SE 3 as well and it's surprisingly fast. It is just a bit slower than my 15 Pro really but the display is noticably slow with animations lagging a lot in comparison. I had the older SE as well and it's essentially the same device but faster. It's good enough but most importantly it's cheap. Got it for 150 bucks used and it still had Applecare on it. Sure a 16e is better but that's a very different price tag.

SpotOnT said:
Total Wireless is giving the SE3 away for free right now. After 60 days it can be unlocked and you can move onto another carrier.
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So essentially go do that then. Except check the unlock time. I bought a 13 off metro where I was told 60 days but it's now been overhauled and it's a full 12 months. So I really doubt the 60 days. But as it's essentially free and my 13 was 100 bucks I couldn't care less.
 
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All Verizon value brands are still 60 days for an unlock. Just did the Total Wireless deal for a friend who needed an iPhone with a SIM card slot for international travel, and it did indeed unlock after 60 days of paid service.

The biggest drawback in my book for these phones is they only have 64GB of storage. But OP would know if 64GB would work for them or not.
 
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SpotOnT said:
All Verizon value brands are still 60 days for an unlock. Just did the Total Wireless deal for a friend who needed an iPhone with a SIM card slot for international travel, and it did indeed unlock after 60 days of paid service.

The biggest drawback in my book for these phones is they only have 64GB of storage. But OP would know if 64GB would work for them or not.
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Thanks for the unlock info, that's another issue I've been wondering about.

64GB will work fine for me...I have yet to fill up the 32 GB in my present phone! :)
 
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