You are definitely stubborn minded with regards to keeping that 13 Mini - and I get it as I won't give up my 7 Plus for the XR, 11 or SE 2022 - especially after using the 13 series of phones. I would be over the moon to be able to use any of the sizes of new OLED phones. And while I could use the standard 13 without eyes strain (not the 13 mini or 13 Pro), it gave me motion sickness so there is no tolerating the PWM effect.
The same people who complain about the SE’s “ancient and low resolution” LCD 326ppi display, are also the same folks who sing praises about their “beautifully sharp” iPad Pro LCD displays which have a much lower 264ppi. It’s a typical appeal to wealth (argumentum ad crumenam) logical fallacy - the iPad Pro is newer and cost me $1000 hence ergo it must be better than the iPhone SE with its $429 display. There’s probably a bit of confirmation bias in there too - all these tech reviewers said the iPhone SE display is terrible so it must be even though I can’t really tell the difference myselfI have some "SE myths" I’d like to bust in this thread, and I’m going to start with the display
It seems like whenever you see a review of the iPhone SE one of the biggest drawbacks that will inevitably come flying your way has to do with its 720p display. And I think it’s a great example of people prioritizing specs and numbers over what they’re actually seeing with their eyes. Which is why many of those very same reviews often counter their display criticisms with comments about how it still looks good, and the lower resolution likely won’t be an issue for most people in real world use.
So maybe, just maybe, the resolution isn’t really an issue at all and the SE’s display is still holding its own just fine in 2022?
I don’t know… but as someone who regularly works on projects where a focus on resolution and detail is super important, and as someone who’s used a number of Apple displays that offer significantly higher resolution and features like pro motion, etc.. with nearly 3 weeks of heavy SE3 use under my belt, I do know if I felt the clarity of the display was an issue or a compromise for me in any way I wouldn’t hesitate to say as much.
I’m not saying the resolution increases and refresh rate improvements other iPhones are offering aren’t welcome, I’m saying content still looks great on the SE3 and (more importantly for me at least) text is crisp and impressively comfortable to read, even when held from nearly 2 feet away.
When you consider the average size of the 4K televisions in our homes is likely 40-55+ inches, how many pixels do you think need to be pushed out of a tiny 4.7-inch screen in order for content to look crisp and clear? Apparently not more than the SE is offering.. not to my eyes at least (and my vision is good).
So clearly it’s not just the number of pixels a small display like this is pushing that matters, it’s the quality of the display.. factors like color and contrast.. and the (retina) technology behind it.
I also spend a lot of time scrutinising micro details as a graphic designer and feel that 1080p should be the minimum resolution, and I have been very vocal on this forum that the XR and 11, for example, are not high enough resolution/PPI for the size of the display (I can see pixels on text). But I have found using an SE 2022, for around 30mins, that I didn't hate the PPI of the text like I thought I would (coming from a 7 Plus). The contrast of text has been increased over the Plus phones as text looks darker and slightly thicker, which I'm not sure I like. But I still feel strongly that the screen is very small for me.I have some "SE myths" I’d like to bust in this thread, and I’m going to start with the display
It seems like whenever you see a review of the iPhone SE one of the biggest drawbacks that will inevitably come flying your way has to do with its 720p display. And I think it’s a great example of people prioritizing specs and numbers over what they’re actually seeing with their eyes. Which is why many of those very same reviews often counter their display criticisms with comments about how it still looks good, and the lower resolution likely won’t be an issue for most people in real world use.
So maybe, just maybe, the resolution isn’t really an issue at all and the SE’s display is still holding its own just fine in 2022?
I don’t know… but as someone who regularly works on projects where a focus on resolution and detail is super important, and as someone who’s used a number of Apple displays that offer significantly higher resolution and features like pro motion, etc.. with nearly 3 weeks of heavy SE3 use under my belt, I do know if I felt the clarity of the display was an issue or a compromise for me in any way I wouldn’t hesitate to say as much.
I’m not saying the resolution increases and refresh rate improvements other iPhones are offering aren’t welcome, I’m saying content still looks great on the SE3 and (more importantly for me at least) text is crisp and impressively comfortable to read, even when held from nearly 2 feet away.
When you consider the average size of the 4K televisions in our homes is likely 40-55+ inches, how many pixels do you think need to be pushed out of a tiny 4.7-inch screen in order for content to look crisp and clear? Apparently not more than the SE is offering.. not to my eyes at least (and my vision is good).
So clearly it’s not just the number of pixels a small display like this is pushing that matters, it’s the quality of the display.. factors like color and contrast.. and the (retina) technology behind it.
I totally agree with you - obviously, the bias comes because we have newer & bigger displays and we have all had a chance to use the latest and greatest (especially tech reviewers who are using the bleeding edge). This has become the norm so the SE 2022 feels dated. I think, if nothing else, people expect more from Apple as a design company and its 2022 - the SE 2022 is using a design from 2014. But if you use a phone as a tool primarily then there is nothing wrong with the SE series. "Buy the tool for the job required" - not everything has to be endlessly compared to everything else (although this can be fun as it creates discussion and content to spend the minutes of our days).
