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Other PWM crew - SE Plus now rumored for 2023

JPack said:
Hardly any of the Apple Stores (in the U.S.) were open, yet the iPhone 12 Pro Max sold exceptionally well globally.

iPhone 8 was available for sale right up until SE2 was launched, for anyone who wanted a smaller phone.

I think it's time we stop ignoring the obvious evidence the iPhone 12 mini simply wasn't appealing to most consumers.
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Agreed. What it comes down to is the average consumer doesn’t want a smaller phone.

Although iPhone 12 Pro Max wasn’t really a new size. It was only ever so slightly larger than iPhone 11 Pro Max and the Plus-sized iPhones.

In its form factor, while comparable to the 4.7” body, the Mini was a brand new size and design.
 
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Day 3 iPhone SE Update:

This phone is odd to me. It doesn’t feel new in the slightest and I don’t want to treat it like gold like I did with iPhone 12 Pro Max, yet it also seems to be just enough from a technical perspective to keep me interested.

I suppose I’ve been out of commission for so long missing iPhone updates that iPhone SE feels like an 8s. Now for the average consumer they may not even notice the difference, but I appreciate all of the minor changes. It’s ever so slightly quicker, network performance is undeniably better, and having owned every LCD iPhone at some point I can say that the display is for the most part the best LCD Apple has shipped on an iPhone.

What this means in practice is that color accuracy is spot-on: it’s vibrant, punchy, and pops. Videos look surprisingly good, even at 4K.

What Plus-sized iPhone owners don’t realize is that with the way UI rendering works in iOS Apple can effectively only render at 1x, 2x, or 3x — not natively at 1080p. This means that iOS is rendered at 458ppi on any Plus-sized iPhone then downscaled to 401ppi. In comparison to any iPhone running a display with a native 2x or 3x point resolution this leads to what I’d say is a noticeably less natural-looking and more (for lack of a better word) fuzzy experience.

Now that’s not to say that the display on iPhone SE looks sharper: it doesn’t. I find I have to hold it further away to ensure I’m able to enjoy it. Still, after seeing iPhones with a native 326ppi or 458ppi display it made it so the resolution on the Plus-sized phones looks out of place. If they ever were to release a new iPhone in a Plus-sized chassis (which is unlikely) I’d like to see a new display with a 458ppi resolution.

Size-wise it definitely does feel smaller, which is to be expected. This is a good type of small in a way since there’s a tangible benefit to the size as opposed to iPhone 11 which offered no benefit to pocketability and just left me wanting a larger display. Still, there’s an adjustment period and I do find myself wanting the same phone in a Plus-sized chassis.

I’d say there have been no surprises yet, except that I find myself using iPhone SE almost as much as I would be using any other iPhone. Maybe reduced phone usage is just an aspiration that sounds good in theory, but we’ve become too reliant on our smartphones to truly accomplish.
 
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MICHAELSD said:
Day 3 iPhone SE Update:

This phone is odd to me. It doesn’t feel new in the slightest and I don’t want to treat it like gold like I did with iPhone 12 Pro Max, yet it also seems to be just enough from a technical perspective to keep me interested.

I suppose I’ve been out of commission for so long missing iPhone updates that iPhone SE feels like an 8s. Now for the average consumer they may not even notice the difference, but I appreciate all of the minor changes. It’s ever so slightly quicker, network performance is undeniably better, and having owned every LCD iPhone at some point I can say that the display is for the most part the best LCD Apple has shipped on an iPhone.

What this means in practice is that color accuracy is spot-on: it’s vibrant, punchy, and pops. Videos look surprisingly good, even at 4K.

What Plus-sized iPhone owners don’t realize is that with the way UI rendering works in iOS Apple can effectively only render at 1x, 2x, or 3x — not natively at 1080p. This means that iOS is rendered at 458ppi on any Plus-sized iPhone then downscaled to 401ppi. In comparison to any iPhone running a display with a native 2x or 3x point resolution this leads to what I’d say is a noticeably less natural-looking and more (for lack of a better word) fuzzy experience.

Now that’s not to say that the display on iPhone SE looks sharper: it doesn’t. I find I have to hold it further away to ensure I’m able to enjoy it. Still, after seeing iPhones with a native 326ppi or 458ppi display it made it so the resolution on the Plus-sized phones looks out of place. If they ever were to release a new iPhone in a Plus-sized chassis (which is unlikely) I’d like to see a new display with a 458ppi resolution.

Size-wise it definitely does feel smaller, which is to be expected. This is a good type of small in a way since there’s a tangible benefit to the size as opposed to iPhone 11 which offered no benefit to pocketability and just left me wanting a larger display. Still, there’s an adjustment period and I do find myself wanting the same phone in a Plus-sized chassis.

I’d say there have been no surprises yet, except that I find myself using iPhone SE almost as much as I would be using any other iPhone. Maybe reduced phone usage is just an aspiration that sounds good in theory, but we’ve become too reliant on our smartphones to truly accomplish.
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Nice ones man. How bad is the battery?
 
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tonybarnaby said:
Nice ones man. How bad is the battery?
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I haven’t had it die on me but if you’re a power user you should be able to run it down over the course of a day. Still I’ve had no issues even on days with 7 hours of screen on time.

Maybe I’ve been spending so much time on iPhone SE since it’s a “new” phone. I found yesterday I only used it to write a blog post in the morning then check the sales at Whole Foods later in the day. Maybe over time this will work to help me reduce reliance on my phone.

It’s well-built but the small size and light weight does make it like feel a bit of a toy.
 
MICHAELSD said:
I haven’t had it die on me but if you’re a power user you should be able to run it down over the course of a day. Still I’ve had no issues even on days with 7 hours of screen on time.

Maybe I’ve been spending so much time on iPhone SE since it’s a “new” phone. I found yesterday I only used it to write a blog post in the morning then check the sales at Whole Foods later in the day. Maybe over time this will work to help me reduce reliance on my phone.

It’s well-built but the small size and light weight does make it like feel a bit of a toy.
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Out of curiosity, what do you blog about? You have the writing style of a professional writer, so I’m curious what you’re into?

I may just buy one and give it a shot. Best Buy has the 7 battery case on sale for $92
 
I went to T-Mobile ready to buy an se yesterday, but the wait time was over an hour so I left lol
 
tonybarnaby said:
Out of curiosity, what do you blog about? You have the writing style of a professional writer, so I’m curious what you’re into?

I may just buy one and give it a shot. Best Buy has the 7 battery case on sale for $92
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Thanks, glad you picked up on that.

Formerly iPhone/iOS, now it’s Tesla-related news which still falls into the same tech sector. (To answer the usual follow-up question I don’t own a Tesla but I am a proponent of electric vehicles.)
 
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MICHAELSD said:
Thanks, glad you picked up on that.

Formerly iPhones/iOS, now it’s Tesla-related news which still falls into the same tech sector. (To answer the usual follow-up question I don’t own a Tesla but I am a proponent of electric vehicles.)
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Good deal. I think I’m going to T-Mobile and pick one up. Any reason not to from your experience?
 
tonybarnaby said:
Good deal. I think I’m going to T-Mobile and pick one up. Any reason not to from your experience?
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The size may be the only drawback. It will feel like a smaller phone. Still I’d be curious to hear your thoughts about it. Besides the camera and home button it’s basically the same as iPhone 11.

Why not buy it from Apple? The shipping is next-day and they don’t have a restocking fee. Although I have seen iPhone SE as low as $50 on prepaid carriers.
 
MICHAELSD said:
The size may be the only drawback. It will feel like a smaller phone. Still I’d be curious to hear your thoughts about it. Besides the camera and home button it’s basically the same as iPhone 11.

Why not buy it from Apple? The shipping is next-day and they don’t have a restocking fee. Although I have seen iPhone SE as low as $50 on prepaid carriers.
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Good point I think I will
 
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Remarkably iPhone SE is working.

By that I mean it’s been six days and it has dramatically reduced my phone usage and overall Screen On time.

It was delivered last Wednesday when I somehow managed to put just over five hours of Screen Time in a night.

Thursday, my first full day with it, was my worst day with almost eight hours of usage. This more closely mirrors what a day with iPhone 12 Pro Max would be like.

Friday my Screen Time went to just fifty minutes.

Saturday is reflecting 5 hours 38 minutes of usage albeit with one major caveat: 4 hours and 34 minutes of that was the Music app so it’s counting CarPlay. The actual adjusted figure would be an hour and four minutes.

Similarly Sunday reflected 6 hours and 21 minutes of Screen Time with 5 hours and 19 minutes being the Music app mainly due to CarPlay. Adjusted again this would be an hour and two minutes.

Yesterday I didn’t use my phone to listen to music (SiriusXM has an impressive bass boost) and my Screen Time is sitting at 1 hour 37 minutes.

The main difference yesterday was that I grabbed my phone after dinner despite my better judgment making me not want to, and effectively I didn’t enjoy my time on it since it’s mostly just a recycle of what I’d be doing in the morning. I also already read any texts on my Apple Watch.

I like to check up on email, messages, forum posts, etc. in the morning/afternoon after already getting in some sort of exercise and having coffee. That’s really the beauty of iPhone SE: I can get on it, type a post like this (one-handed I might add) then I don’t want to spend any more time than necessary on it.

I’ve found actually watching YouTube isn’t as compelling as I thought it would be since I get fatigued quickly. The display gives the illusion of 4K quality and seems sharp, but it’s missing all of the finer detail as is to be expected as it’s still a ~ 720p resolution. Even the best downscaling in the world isn’t going to change that.

It’s actually extremely odd since I find myself at a loss for what to do with myself after getting all of the important messages and sites out of the way for the day. On Sunday I went for probably my longest drive ever and stayed out all day.

From a lifestyle perspective iPhone SE is becoming a success. I do still wonder if I’d feel the same way about iPhone 12 Mini since I’d pay slightly more for the more modern experience if only, well, you know. I will note that if I keep this phone I’m going to be confused about what to get once it comes time to upgrade.
 
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MICHAELSD said:
Remarkably iPhone SE is working.

By that I mean it’s been six days and it has dramatically reduced my phone usage and overall Screen On time.

It was delivered last Wednesday when I somehow managed to put just over five hours of Screen Time in a night.

Thursday, my first full day with it, was my worst day with almost eight hours of usage. This more closely mirrors what a day with iPhone 12 Pro Max would be like.

Friday my Screen Time went to just fifty minutes.

Saturday is reflecting 5 hours 38 minutes of usage albeit with one major caveat: 4 hours and 34 minutes of that was the Music app so it’s counting CarPlay. The actual adjusted figure would be an hour and four minutes.

Similarly Sunday reflected 6 hours and 21 minutes of Screen Time with 5 hours and 19 minutes being the Music app mainly due to CarPlay. Adjusted again this would be an hour and two minutes.

Yesterday I didn’t use my phone to listen to music (SiriusXM has an impressive bass boost) and my Screen Time is sitting at 1 hour 37 minutes.

The main difference yesterday was that I grabbed my phone after dinner despite my better judgment making me not want to, and effectively I didn’t enjoy my time on it since it’s mostly just a recycle of what I’d be doing in the morning. I also already read any texts on my Apple Watch.

I like to check up on email, messages, forum posts, etc. in the morning/afternoon after already getting in some sort of exercise and having coffee. That’s really the beauty of iPhone SE: I can get on it, type a post like this (one-handed I might add) then I don’t want to spend any more time than necessary on it.

I’ve found actually watching YouTube isn’t as compelling as I thought it would be since I get fatigued quickly. The display gives the illusion of 4K quality and seems sharp, but it’s missing all of the finer detail as is to be expected as it’s still a ~ 720p resolution. Even the best downscaling in the world isn’t going to change that.

It’s actually extremely odd since I find myself at a loss for what to do with myself after getting all of the important messages and sites out of the way for the day. On Sunday I went for probably my longest drive ever and stayed out all day.

From a lifestyle perspective iPhone SE is becoming a success. I do still wonder if I’d feel the same way about iPhone 12 Mini since I’d pay slightly more for the more modern experience if only, well, you know. I will note that if I keep this phone I’m going to be confused about what to get once it comes time to upgrade.
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The 1 handed aspect is something I haven’t had since the flip phone days. I have always gone for the biggest phone possible. You’re correct when you say it feels kind of like a toy, but it’s definitely solid. My screen protectors won’t arrive til Friday, so I’ll be extra careful. iPhone screens scratch just looking at them.

$80 for a battery case and $399 for the phone (I went 64gb since I don’t store pics and use very few apps) is nice, so we’ll see how I like it. If it were iPhone 11 size or even 11 pro size I would be a bit happier, but we’ll see if my eyes can handle it since I couldn’t handle the 11 lcd.

In 2 years I’m switching to Verizon, so I hope by then to get a free phone and it’ll be the flagship model, not the budget se.
 
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tonybarnaby said:
The 1 handed aspect is something I haven’t had since the flip phone days. I have always gone for the biggest phone possible. You’re correct when you say it feels kind of like a toy, but it’s definitely solid. My screen protectors won’t arrive til Friday, so I’ll be extra careful. iPhone screens scratch just looking at them.

$80 for a battery case and $399 for the phone (I went 64gb since I don’t store pics and use very few apps) is nice, so we’ll see how I like it. If it were iPhone 11 size or even 11 pro size I would be a bit happier, but we’ll see if my eyes can handle it since I couldn’t handle the 11 lcd.

In 2 years I’m switching to Verizon, so I hope by then to get a free phone and it’ll be the flagship model, not the budget se.
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I’m also curious to see how you like iPhone SE since you’re replacing your iPhone 8+ without any ulterior goals other than to upgrade to a new phone.

I find the opposite to be true: iPhone displays are incredibly difficult to scratch. Ever since I saw the scratch tests for the first-generation iPhone and it coming away completely unscathed from keys and other sharp objects I’ve had no concerns about it getting scratched. The only everyday object that can really scratch it is sand or other extremely fine particles. After almost 14 years I can say that scratches have not been an issue on the front or back and that the glass is incredibly scratch-resistant.

I still hold out hope every iPhone generation that Apple will solve PWM, and I will be happy but also understandably annoyed if iPhone 13 is the phone that fixes it. I stay up-to-date on the other threads and I have heard reports about panel variance or even potentially software updates improving the situation on iPhone 12, but that’s all untested speculation at best.
 
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MICHAELSD said:
I’m also curious to see how you like iPhone SE since you’re replacing your iPhone 8+ without any ulterior goals other than to upgrade to a new phone.

I find the opposite to be true: iPhone displays are incredibly difficult to scratch. Ever since I saw the scratch tests for the first-generation iPhone and it coming away completely unscathed from keys and other sharp objects I’ve had no concerns about it getting scratched. The only everyday object that can really scratch it is sand or other extremely fine particles. After almost 14 years I can say that scratches have not been an issue on the front or back and that the glass is incredibly scratch-resistant.

I still hold out hope every iPhone generation that Apple will solve PWM, and I will be happy but also understandably annoyed if iPhone 13 is the phone that fixes it. I stay up-to-date on the other threads and I have heard reports about panel variance or even potentially software updates improving the situation on iPhone 12, but that’s all untested speculation at best.
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In regards to scratching screens, I only bring that up due to what I have read. That, and the fact nearly every iPhone for sale on swappa has “light scratches on screen” in most of the non-mint phones.

I updated to the se because my 8+ charging port is broken (can only wireless charge) plus the back is shattered. And I’m a bit curious about the se, assuming I can’t find a pwm free phone for the next few years this will hold me over. I’d be 10/10 if I could use the 12 pro max, but with this se I am at about a 6/10 on the excitement scale. Really hopeful that the se + Apple battery case will last longer than my 8+ @ 90% battery.
 
Well, the dream is dead. The se2 has given me the “pwm style” headache that the 11 also did. It HAS to be down to the dithering or something. My 8+ is like reading a book, but the newer phones (even lcd) hurt my head. It’s a very distinct headache, where it feels like a caffeine headache. I am returning the se and my Apple battery case and I will be ordering a Motorola phone. A Moto phone is $250 or less and will last 2-3 years.
 
tonybarnaby said:
Well, the dream is dead. The se2 has given me the “pwm style” headache that the 11 also did. It HAS to be down to the dithering or something. My 8+ is like reading a book, but the newer phones (even lcd) hurt my head. It’s a very distinct headache, where it feels like a caffeine headache. I am returning the se and my Apple battery case and I will be ordering a Motorola phone. A Moto phone is $250 or less and will last 2-3 years.
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That’s odd and disappointing to hear. How have other recent Apple products been for you?

The only eye strain I experience from iPhone SE is due to the relatively tiny display and lower pixel density. I do have to say if it wasn’t for the noticeably lower PPI the improved color accuracy does feel like an upgrade, especially for games.

Last I checked you may still be able to order a new 8+ for $250 from a prepaid carrier.
 
I’m just going to ride this 8+ out. If I buy a new phone it’ll be the $260 Moto one 5g ace. 6.7” lcd with 5000mah battery. Surely it’s good for 2 years and by then I’ll be on Verizon and hopefully an iPhone that works for me
 
tonybarnaby said:
I updated to the se because my 8+ charging port is broken (can only wireless charge) plus the back is shattered. And I’m a bit curious about the se, assuming I can’t find a pwm free phone for the next few years this will hold me over. I’d be 10/10 if I could use the 12 pro max, but with this se I am at about a 6/10 on the excitement scale. Really hopeful that the se + Apple battery case will last longer than my 8+ @ 90% battery.
Click to expand...
Will Apple service your 8 Plus to fix the issues?
 
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