Resolved My iPhone SE died: Refurbished SE or brand new iPhone 8

[jakja83]

Tried the SE vs XR recently and wanted to love the SE, but camera quality differences were huge and it felt really dated in comparison.

Battery life on XR is fabulous, it is a bit big - especially with a case. FaceID is ok, but I sometimes would prefer Touch ID as I am used to having the phone on my desk at work and opening it with my finger. Now I must pick it up or "lean in".

 

[44267547]

FaceID is ok, but I sometimes would prefer Touch ID as I am used to having the phone on my desk at work and opening it with my finger. Now I must pick it up or "lean in".

One thing you can invest in if you wanted to, is a vertical wireless charging stand for the iPhone XR, that way you can still keep the iPhone docked and it unlocks without having you to lean in, being its standing upright. It works really well and eliminates the ‘Lean’.

 

[Ladybug]

Hello guys and gals. I wanted to bring you a quick update, and the conclusion of this story. Thanks to everyone for your opinions, all of them were taken into account.

I finally made a choice, I'm keeping this iPhone 8. The battery life is great honestly, it goes from 8 to 9 hours of on screen time -it is actually better since I disabled the Screen Time feature-, it has better WiFi and 4G reception than my SE, the GPS is accurate, the screen is gorgeous, and it is somehow manageable with one hand. Actually I use it only with one hand.

Just one caveat: it was almost impossible to handle without a case. The glass back is grippy, but the aluminum sides are slippery if don't managed carefully. Now I have a transparent thin silicone case, which is yellowish, but I don't care. It is thin enough to make or confortable, and thick enough to offer a bit of extra protection in case of any Drop. I don't count on it, but I won't carry my phone with a bulky case. Without the case, the phone is glossy and beautiful, but fragile.

With an A11 and iOS 12 I finally started to use Siri. I know Hey Siri it was available for my SE but 1) the power consumption was higher, and 2) Siri was a bit retarded on iOS 10. I mean, it's not the smartest on the class, but it's pretty useful on iOS 12. By the way, if anyone knows how to block my contacts to Siri I will be grateful, I don't want to make accidental calls to anyone.

The home button with the haptic feedback is kinda cool, but Touch ID 2 is amazing. I was used to the first version with my SE, but now it's much faster, wow..

The speakers are pretty loud, and the content is a bit more enjoyable on this 4,7" screen and the stereo speakers.

I haven't tested the camera too much, but I don't see a big improvement compared to the SE one. I even take some blurry images and this didn't happen with OIS, right? A bit disappointed with the camera honestly. I've seen some pictures from the XS and they are stunning.

I don't know if I'm missing something. I truly want to use more my smartphone and I think this step forward in tech is going to help me with that. I'm going to try social and dating apps like OKCupid or Tinder, although I'm not sure if I'll open an Instagram account. I'm not a cool guy who's taking pictures of their awesome trip or parties -I don't party-, but I like to take pictures of flowers and trees and dogs and cats and walls and doors and old churches... Is it worth to open an Instagram account if you're not going to pose?

Okay, I think I made my point, you can suggest me other apps tho, social or just useful. And yes, I already set up Apple pay on this iPhone.

Reading books on iBooks is not as comfortable as I thought on this 4,7" screen, but I have the regular iPad anyway. I find the iPad mini better suited for that purpose, but it's so underpowered and out dated that in not going to buy one until they refresh it.

Congrats on the iPhone 8. I got mine last year and I am still happy with it. As for Instagram you don’t need to post selfies if you are not into that. Post your favorite shots if that’s what you prefer. My son uses his strictly for his lighting projects and potential clients to view mainly.

 

[Populus]

Tried the SE vs XR recently and wanted to love the SE, but camera quality differences were huge and it felt really dated in comparison.

Battery life on XR is fabulous, it is a bit big - especially with a case. FaceID is ok, but I sometimes would prefer Touch ID as I am used to having the phone on my desk at work and opening it with my finger. Now I must pick it up or "lean in".

I believe you. Camera on A12 devices is awesome. SE camera was OK, but not much different from a mainstream mid-range smartphone camera. This year, the camera on XS and XR is especially good, and I bet it is because of the big neural engine on A12 and the image processor.

Anyway, if XR is a bit too big for you (for me is huge), maybe you could be happy with an iPhone 8? Problem is, the camera is just good, not awesome. But size-wise I find it pretty ergonomic.

@Ladybug Thank you! Maybe I'll give it a try, and upload some of the random pictures I take. I won't have followers, but it doesn't matter too much. That's not Twitter xD

 

[gary77]

Congrats on going for the iPhone 8 i got myself one today infact, but just one question did you get a headphone to lightning cable with you're phone? as i didn't with mine and according to the apple site it still listed as being in the box just be interested to know if you got one as well

 

[Populus]

Congrats on going for the iPhone 8 i got myself one today infact, but just one question did you get a headphone to lightning cable with you're phone? as i didn't with mine and according to the apple site it still listed as being in the box just be interested to know if you got one as well

Well, I can answer that question: Actually I bought the iPhone 8 twice. The first one was when I opened this thread, and then I returned it because I decided to wait until Black Friday. The second one I bought it on Black Friday, with a 50€ gift card.

The first smartphone was manufactured on C8 plant (first two characters on the serial number), the last week of August, and the second one was manufactured a week later, first week of September, on F4 factory. Both C8 and F4 facilities are located on China, and the F4 plant belongs to Pegatron.

Summing up: the first iPhone 8, from C8 facility, came with the lightning to mini-jack converter; the second one, purchased on November 23rd, came without the lightning to mini-jack converter. That makes me think that the first iPhone I bought was from the remaining stock of old priced iPhone 8, and then, the one I bought on Black Friday was from the production aimed to the new reduced price.

Oddly enough, the first one (C8, aimed to a higher retail price) had the issue with the lightning port, where sometimes depending on some movement with the headphones connected, those were disconnected, and I had to un-plug and re-plug them to get back the connection to my EarPods. The second one (F4) came without this issue (probably a problem with the lightning port soldered to the mother board), and the screen looks a bit better. So being it cheaper and better built, I couldn't care less about the lightning to headphones mini-jack. But I still think Apple should keep including it.

 

[gary77]

Well, I can answer that question: Actually I bought the iPhone 8 twice. The first one was when I opened this thread, and then I returned it because I decided to wait until Black Friday. The second one I bought it on Black Friday, with a 50€ gift card.

The first smartphone was manufactured on C8 plant (first two characters on the serial number), the last week of August, and the second one was manufactured a week later, first week of September, on F4 factory. Both C8 and F4 facilities are located on China, and the F4 plant belongs to Pegatron.

Summing up: the first iPhone 8, from C8 facility, came with the lightning to mini-jack converter; the second one, purchased on November 23rd, came without the lightning to mini-jack converter. That makes me think that the first iPhone I bought was from the remaining stock of old priced iPhone 8, and then, the one I bought on Black Friday was from the production aimed to the new reduced price.

Oddly enough, the first one (C8, aimed to a higher retail price) had the issue with the lightning port, where sometimes depending on some movement with the headphones connected, those were disconnected, and I had to un-plug and re-plug them to get back the connection to my EarPods. The second one (F4) came without this issue (probably a problem with the lightning port soldered to the mother board), and the screen looks a bit better. So being it cheaper and better built, I couldn't care less about the lightning to headphones mini-jack. But I still think Apple should keep including it.

Thanks for the detailed reply i wasn't aware that Apple has removed the adapter until i opened the box earlier, i couldn't find any news on that Apple had announced the cable had been removed and when i picked up the phone in the store i luckily picked up a spare cable and was told by the employee said that it came with on in the box.

I assumed that i had the wrong contents taken from say an iPhone XS or something.

When i spoke to Apple Support they gave me 2 choices either return the phone in exchange for another or they would send out a replacement adapter, i've to decide on what to do.