iPhone SE (2016) Not upgrading to SE 2020 because it's too big?

[nickdalzell1]

Unfortunately, because every OEM seems to look to Apple as a lead, there are no other brand of phones that don't follow the Zack Morris brick phone trend.

I'm alright though, since I still have my 6S and Galaxy S5. They are not going anywhere and offer more features than any modern phone does. All modern phones do is take features away, cost far more, and are way too big unless one expects 80s parachute pants to come back in style

What will change the trend is for folks to stop accepting bad design and stop buying. loss of profits will motivate any company to change. Unfortunately everyone thinks the Apple logo is holy and lines up at any store regardless of what they do, and people have an incessant desire to buy new things they don't even need just because theirs is too 'old' when it otherwise works perfectly fine. when did gadgets become fashion? Heaven forbid the user who still loves their iPhone 2G is caught in public, they will become a social outcast!!! gasp!

 

[Adelphos33]

I posted this elsewhere, my favorite iPhone ever was the 6S - it was pocketable and capable. This SE is actually a great phone. Unfortunately the 4" size doesn't work with modern smartphone tech anymore (which needs a decent size screen to view video and photo content)

 

[nickdalzell1]

What modern tech? they have taken stuff out and do far less? who was clamoring for 4 cameras? I'd rather have the function of a home button (especially if the touchscreen dies), IR blaster, headphone jack when I forget to recharge my headset, and removable battery so my phone isn't destined for a landfill in 2 years.

There were pictures and videos to prove removing the jack wasn't necessary to do whatever they were doing with the iPhone 7. The 'it needed the space for the new taptic engine' was an excuse and unfortunately folks took it hook line and sinker.

If this were simply confined to Apple it'd be less of an issue. Anyone who wanted a smaller display or the features I listed above could just get a Samsung Galaxy or some other make. But the reality is every smartphone brand these days takes Apple's word as gospel so now we got no new phones that are notchless or have a headphone jack. The last phone with an IR blaster was the LG G3

 

[Apple_Robert]

I posted this elsewhere, my favorite iPhone ever was the 6S - it was pocketable and capable. This SE is actually a great phone. Unfortunately the 4" size doesn't work with modern smartphone tech anymore (which needs a decent size screen to view video and photo content)

I don’t watch video on my SE. I use my iPad mini 5. I have noticed that just viewing websites at times can be a pain on the 4” screen. Even at 4.7”, the new SE should be easily pocketable for me. There will be a slight adjustment but, for the price and features, the new SE should fit my needs just fine. We shall see next weekend.

 

[rui no onna]

Unfortunately, because every OEM seems to look to Apple as a lead, there are no other brand of phones that don't follow the Zack Morris brick phone trend.

As far as phone sizes, not really. Android phones have been trending bigger long before iPhones did. That's one of the reasons I've stuck to iPhones for so long. There weren't good small choices on the Android side (I prefer Motorola or Google for AOSP/minimal skinning).

 

[nickdalzell1]

fact: there is a demand for 4" phones. Why isn't there one OEM supplying that demand? Or have the laws of economics changed?

Before the Max and Plus sized iPhones you could still find an Android with a smaller 4" or even 2.5" display if you looked hard enough.

Apple kills the headphone jack. Took awhile for Samsung to do the same but most OEMs took Apple's lead. Apple kills the home button. Android Pie released shortly after with the same lousy gesture nav and even kills the navbar. Apple does notches. Android does notches. Samsung lagged on that as usual though.

I really wish there were more than Apple or Android. I miss the variety of phones like BlackBerry or sliders or flip phones. Everything today looks the same, be it TVs, cars, or smartphones. What happened to that variety? a device for every person? Heck, wasn't Android's motto 'be different but not the same'? now it's "let's all follow Apple"

 

[Apple_Robert]

fact: there is a demand for 4" phones. Why isn't there one OEM supplying that demand? Or have the laws of economics changed?

Before the Max and Plus sized iPhones you could still find an Android with a smaller 4" or even 2.5" display if you looked hard enough.

Apple kills the headphone jack. Took awhile for Samsung to do the same but most OEMs took Apple's lead. Apple kills the home button. Android Pie released shortly after with the same lousy gesture nav and even kills the navbar. Apple does notches. Android does notches. Samsung lagged on that as usual though.

I really wish there were more than Apple or Android. I miss the variety of phones like BlackBerry or sliders or flip phones. Everything today looks the same, be it TVs, cars, or smartphones. What happened to that variety? a device for every person? Heck, wasn't Android's motto 'be different but not the same'? now it's "let's all follow Apple"

You can still buy flip phones, if that is more to your liking.

 

[nickdalzell1]

I never said I wanted a flip phone. I said the variety is gone. There used to be a phone for every type. slider, candybar, flip, large display, small display, hardware keyboard, etc. There used to be a lot more than Android or iOS.

Everything today is dumbed down and assumes all people are morons. Can't easily root an Android anymore, thanks to Google locking it down. cars today are all full of more gizmos than the cockpit of a Boeing 747, where's the simple car for those who don't want it? There's literally no one catering to real free market desires anymore. the new model is 'we make this, you take it'. and 'if you don't like the change, suck it up buttercup, get used to it!'

Not long ago demand used to be supplied. Now no matter how many people want a smaller display or headphone jack their only option is to use an older model. There's no one catering to the demand! And before anyone says 'you can't survive catering to a niche' try saying that about Rolex, Omega, or Lamborghini. They do quite well catering to a niche.

 

[Apple_Robert]

I am using an iPhone SE 32 GB and I still love it. I considered this Fake SE, but decided against it as I have dealt with larger phones before. Cook should have been honest and called this phone what it really is: The iPhone 8s.

As for me, I’ll stick with the real SE I currently own, the Fake SE is not my cup of tea. My battery is about 88 percent so I’ll need to get that replaced at some point, but other than the battery my real SE does everything I need it to do.

Your mileage may vary, and if you like the Fake SE then more power to you.
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Go on Amazon and you can find gel stickies to put on the back. They are grippy and will make it much easier to hold. Egrip or something like that I think they are called. Work very well.

Edit: Try this link, there are number of things here you can use to make it grippier:

Amazon.com: Iphone Egrips

Amazon.com: iphone egrips

amzn.to

The new SE is not a fake. You are posting hyperbole. The SE was a special edition phone. Apple never stated that SE only meant a 4” screen then, much less now. The new SE is still a special edition phone which uses a recycled frame and upgraded internals, just like the original SE; imagine that. Your claim of fake is debunked.

The notion many have on here that the SE must have a 4” screen to be called SE, is nothing more than some forum members throwing around logical fallacy and hoping they get support from others.

 

[nickdalzell1]

Why did Apple even start making plus-sizes in the first place? they were doing great just doing 3.5" displays. Were that many people actually wanting a huge brick?

Either way, there are so many people who wanted the 4" display. Why didn't Apple or anyone else listen? Just ignore demand! Isn't that what actually kills businesses? ignoring your customers?

 

[turbineseaplane]

Unfortunately the 4" size doesn't work with modern smartphone tech anymore (which needs a decent size screen to view video and photo content)

what?

That makes no sense

 

[Adelphos33]

Why did Apple even start making plus-sizes in the first place? they were doing great just doing 3.5" displays. Were that many people actually wanting a huge brick?

Apple's iPhone sales increased significantly with every single screen size increase (5, 6, adding the plus variant) until they got to the X basically. Since then sales have been flattish, but that is probably because they reached close to the maximum size.

 

[nickdalzell1]

IF you remove 2 or 3 of those unnecessary cameras you'd get all the space you'd need for 'modern tech' and keep the size people actually wanted.

Was Apple actually losing sales though with the 3.5" display size? What actually prompted the increase in the first place? Steve dying? No one was asking for a larger screen in droves.

I just take comfort in the reality that the old PowerBook G4 Titanium laptop had a larger screen and even smaller bezel than the largest MacBook Pro made today.

 

[Apple_Robert]

Apple's iPhone sales increased significantly with every single screen size increase (5, 6, adding the plus variant) until they got to the X basically. Since then sales have been flattish, but that is probably because they reached close to the maximum size.

I think the market as a whole is starting to flatten due to the huge cost of the large phones.

 

[nickdalzell1]

With everyone mostly leasing and not paying outright for most new things today (cars, homes, phones, etc) I doubt it. If one had to pay the full cost of anything the decisions of companies lately would end their business faster than Enron. You can't survive as a business by angering or not catering to your user base. You can thank subsidies from carriers for Apple not shooting themselves in the foot, and Google Android doing the same.

 

[turbineseaplane]

Apple's iPhone sales increased significantly with every single screen size increase (5, 6, adding the plus variant) until they got to the X basically. Since then sales have been flattish, but that is probably because they reached close to the maximum size.

Sounds like a good time to test the lower end of the size spectrum again (sub 4.7”)

I will say, your comment did confirm what I have long suspected about the iPhone…
Apple is out of new ideas here

 

[nickdalzell1]

Apple can't do a bad decision. No matter what they do people will still camp out at Apple stores everywhere (well, once the virus ends). Antennagate couldn't stop them, Steve denying Antennagate couldn't stop them, Bendgate couldn't stop them. Even the Lisa couldn't stop them.

I don't think it's being out of ideas per se. It's that people are tired of seeing the same thing over and over and over again. Losing features but costing more $$$. People are getting smarter. They want the next big thing. Remember how the first iPhone changed how smartphones were made? Where's the next whiz bang idea? Apple can't thrive on milking an old name/platform.

 

[Edd70]

I never said I wanted a flip phone. I said the variety is gone. There used to be a phone for every type. slider, candybar, flip, large display, small display, hardware keyboard, etc. There used to be a lot more than Android or iOS.

Everything today is dumbed down and assumes all people are morons. Can't easily root an Android anymore, thanks to Google locking it down. cars today are all full of more gizmos than the cockpit of a Boeing 747, where's the simple car for those who don't want it? There's literally no one catering to real free market desires anymore. the new model is 'we make this, you take it'. and 'if you don't like the change, suck it up buttercup, get used to it!'

Not long ago demand used to be supplied. Now no matter how many people want a smaller display or headphone jack their only option is to use an older model. There's no one catering to the demand! And before anyone says 'you can't survive catering to a niche' try saying that about Rolex, Omega, or Lamborghini. They do quite well catering to a niche.

I don’t know. When iPhones were still small, I remember many complaints because Android phones were coming with larger screens and people wanted that. It’s been 5 years since the 6 came out. The needle has been moved as to the definition of “small”.

If meeting the demand means greater profits, business typically responds. That makes me question the notion that Apple isn’t catering to demand. Who’s to say how big the demand for small iPhones is? I imagine Apple’s marketing research department knows better than anyone here.

 

[nickdalzell1]

There are many they disappointed. They wanted 4" and got 5. The new SE2 isn't what customers want. That is pretty much the definition of ignoring your customer base. Which, sadly, most companies do. How they don't go under is beyond me.

It makes more sense to satisfy more people than less. Yeah, I know, you can't satisfy 100% of people 100% the time. But it still makes far more sense to satisfy 90% rather than cater to 40%. They had zero to lose by offering a 4" display SE 2. They might even have gotten MORE profit by making more people happy.

I just feel insulted by the mantra of most companies today. If you're wanting a small display, proper one-handed use, IR blaster, headphone jack, etc etc you're a dinosaur and irrelevant. Buy a Buick, get AARP and leave the tech world to the young, Boomer. That's what it feels like. It's all about catering to stupid people and young people. Smart folks and people over 30? they don't matter.

 

[Edd70]

There are many they disappointed.

Define many. What are you basing this on?

 

[rui no onna]

I just feel insulted by the mantra of most companies today. If you're wanting a small display, proper one-handed use, IR blaster, headphone jack, etc etc you're a dinosaur and irrelevant. Buy a Buick, get AARP and leave the tech world to the young, Boomer. That's what it feels like. It's all about catering to stupid people and young people. Smart folks and people over 30? they don't matter.

Frankly, majority of my aunts and uncles prefer large phones. Text on smaller phones are too dang small for their eyesight.

 

[JPack]

Unfortunately, because every OEM seems to look to Apple as a lead, there are no other brand of phones that don't follow the Zack Morris brick phone trend.

Huh? Android phones in 2011 were first to introduce 5" and 6". That was before Apple copied the trend.

The whole idea of 6.1" LCD as a mid-range device came from countless Chinese manufacturers before Apple adopted it in 2018. If anything, Apple was the last to move to large displays. Apple is the only smartphone manufacturer in the world that has introduced a new <5" device.
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There are many they disappointed. They wanted 4" and got 5. The new SE2 isn't what customers want. That is pretty much the definition of ignoring your customer base. Which, sadly, most companies do. How they don't go under is beyond me.

It makes more sense to satisfy more people than less. Yeah, I know, you can't satisfy 100% of people 100% the time. But it still makes far more sense to satisfy 90% rather than cater to 40%. They had zero to lose by offering a 4" display SE 2. They might even have gotten MORE profit by making more people happy.

If you use made up numbers, of course it fits your narrative. The reality is, forecasting and analysis firms like IDC and IHS Markit have predicted >80% of the smartphone shipments will be >5" by 2020.

 

[ctjack]

It makes more sense to satisfy more people than less. Yeah, I know, you can't satisfy 100% of people 100% the time. But it still makes far more sense to satisfy 90% rather than cater to 40%. They had zero to lose by offering a 4" display SE 2. They might even have gotten MORE profit by making more people happy.

Somebody said: "If you want something to be done in a perfect way then do it yourself".
I can see it everywhere. Corporations never make the best possible solution. They are about maximizing their profits. That is it.
It is true for cars, true for groceries, true for vegetables and fruits.
So if we can't make the phone which we like, then the only way is to accept what others offer.
It is like wifi6: none in the high end MBP16 and plenty in SE and Iphone 11. Just because they want to squeeze your money with next upgrade. So your choice either to swallow it or reject it.

 

[jpn]

i apparently missed some latest rumours.
this graphic was generally thought to reflect rumoured sizes.

its from a japanese site (sorry the graphic itself has japanese in it, but the word that is used in each graphic simply means "inch")
i was considering holding off purchasing the new 2020 iPhone SE until the rumoured 5.4 inch launches this Sept/Oct 2020.
but if it really does look like the the 5.4 inch model will have physically larger dimensions than the new SE, i will probably just buy the SE now to replace my ageing 6s.

 

[blairh]

The graphic from Ming Chi is not meant to be accurate with respect to the size of the 5.4” model. The other one posted earlier is. Expect the 5.4” model to be between the size of the new SE and the old SE. It will satisfy most people seeking a smaller one-handed iPhone. The days of a 4” screen are over for good.