I'm after what the crowd-sourced "best" iPhone is.
But I want it not from an objective perspective ("the iPhone 4 was a huge leap forward..." etc.) - I want you to vote for up to 3 generations that viscerally gave you a sense of "wow" or pure enjoyment.
For me, it's iPhone 5s, SE1, and 12 mini - can you tell I'm in love with this form factor?
Please only vote for a model you owned - I would probably vote for the 13 mini (should be objectively better than the 12 mini - nearly same form factor but better specs), but I haven't owned that one so it's the 12 for me.
The 5s was my first iPhone - loved the design. Perfect. I still think it's a beautiful piece of engineering/industrial design. 12 mini would be better if it had a flush camera. But that brushed aluminum back... lovely design.
SE1 was just 5s but with 6s guts - that processor and iOS 12 (I think) improved performance and gave that phone an awesome recent-retro vibe (people would always ask if my phone was an original iPhone haha) along with good enough performance. I love the flush camera. Miss that. So understated and classy. And the one-hand size is just swell to use (and I'm a big dude - 6'2" and big hands). I also loved that I could stand it up on its bottom surface for watching something while eating or looking at instructions for something that required both hands.
12 mini - so excited and gratifying to have the return to form, in the middle of the insanity that was 2020 covid - the box edges, one-hand operation, can stand up on the bottom, and a new power - with the silicon case, it will stick to my fridge! I often pull up recipes and throw it on my fridge face. Out of the way and accessible. (the larger iPhones with MagSafe are too heavy and slide down). Also super useful when I'm in the lab and looking at a picture of a wiring diagram or something - I can throw it onto the metal shelving and have it right at eye level while working. Excellent non-marketed feature. I will have my mini as long as possible, and then when I am forced to, I will eek out another year by buying a used 13 mini (unless, miraculously, another mini gen comes along). .5 camera zoom was a first for me in this gen as well - so much of what I take images of benefit from this (capturing a whole industrial machine wiring cabinet in one shot before disassembly/debug is just lovely).
My least favorite - iPhone XR. Can't really explain why, but I think it just felt like an android phone with iOS. Huge, not-great screen, too-smooth and formless. Felt generic and un-inspired.
Others I've owned - iPhone 6s, iPhone 8, iPhone 7
Feel free to add your own flavor to the discussion (when you got it, notable memories with that phone, etc.), or just vote!
I originally had planned to have it broken out by pro, max, plus, etc. but the poll wouldn't give me enough options, so I lumped them together a bit.
But I want it not from an objective perspective ("the iPhone 4 was a huge leap forward..." etc.) - I want you to vote for up to 3 generations that viscerally gave you a sense of "wow" or pure enjoyment.
For me, it's iPhone 5s, SE1, and 12 mini - can you tell I'm in love with this form factor?
Please only vote for a model you owned - I would probably vote for the 13 mini (should be objectively better than the 12 mini - nearly same form factor but better specs), but I haven't owned that one so it's the 12 for me.The 5s was my first iPhone - loved the design. Perfect. I still think it's a beautiful piece of engineering/industrial design. 12 mini would be better if it had a flush camera. But that brushed aluminum back... lovely design.
SE1 was just 5s but with 6s guts - that processor and iOS 12 (I think) improved performance and gave that phone an awesome recent-retro vibe (people would always ask if my phone was an original iPhone haha) along with good enough performance. I love the flush camera. Miss that. So understated and classy. And the one-hand size is just swell to use (and I'm a big dude - 6'2" and big hands). I also loved that I could stand it up on its bottom surface for watching something while eating or looking at instructions for something that required both hands.
12 mini - so excited and gratifying to have the return to form, in the middle of the insanity that was 2020 covid - the box edges, one-hand operation, can stand up on the bottom, and a new power - with the silicon case, it will stick to my fridge! I often pull up recipes and throw it on my fridge face. Out of the way and accessible. (the larger iPhones with MagSafe are too heavy and slide down). Also super useful when I'm in the lab and looking at a picture of a wiring diagram or something - I can throw it onto the metal shelving and have it right at eye level while working. Excellent non-marketed feature. I will have my mini as long as possible, and then when I am forced to, I will eek out another year by buying a used 13 mini (unless, miraculously, another mini gen comes along). .5 camera zoom was a first for me in this gen as well - so much of what I take images of benefit from this (capturing a whole industrial machine wiring cabinet in one shot before disassembly/debug is just lovely).
My least favorite - iPhone XR. Can't really explain why, but I think it just felt like an android phone with iOS. Huge, not-great screen, too-smooth and formless. Felt generic and un-inspired.
Others I've owned - iPhone 6s, iPhone 8, iPhone 7
Feel free to add your own flavor to the discussion (when you got it, notable memories with that phone, etc.), or just vote!
I originally had planned to have it broken out by pro, max, plus, etc. but the poll wouldn't give me enough options, so I lumped them together a bit.
