iPhone SE (2016) Those who have gone from bigger, newer phones to SE - why? Thoughts so far?

[Jayson A]

I got tired of my iPhone 7 Plus size. It was cool at first, but I just got so sick of having a hard time using it with one hand. This SE is like the perfect size for one handed use and plus, it fits so well in my pocket and console in my car.

I also like having the upgraded camera, but I had no idea that portrait mode REQUIRES a face now... I was unaware of that feature. I thought it would be able to do the same thing as the 7 Plus.

 

[lostOzone]

Is it true that you can't use multitasking gestures on the iPhones with home buttons? I was seriously thinking about trading in my X for the new SE but I'd really miss those gestures.

No gesture. Home button double click to multitask is not a smooth experience.

 

[Bandaman]

The Pro Max is too freaking big to keep in my pants during exercise. Pulls them down. The phone is a bit unwieldy in general. I’m not a big person. I liked the big screen at first but for every day use it’s just a bit much. Now I can have an iPhone 8 sized phone with (mostly) the speed of the 11. I’ll also have a paid off phone instead of a leased one, which is kind of an important factor with everything going on right now. I also miss being able to use the phone with one hand.

 

[AJ44]

For me it all came down to cost. I took a look at all my expenses and this was one of a couple of things I saw I could cut with minimal impact. I had the 11 Pro Max, a spectacular phone full of features. I looked at what I used it for vs what the SE offers and it was well worth it cost wise for me personally to switch. Apple putting the same chip as the 11 sealed the deal, I plan to keep this until the next SE comes out when I had been upgrading yearly.

I much prefer using fingerprint ID over facial recognition but that wasn’t a factor in my decision.

 

[zeroomega]

I am just tired of flagship phones nowadays. They pack lots of things I seldomly used. E.g. Pixel 4's motion controls, iPhone X's animoji etc. Most of these flagship phones are huge that I can barely hold them using one hand. The notches are ugly, and the price tags are insane. That's why when the SE came out I immediately ordered one. It does not have anything I don't need. It has top spec processing power that I don't need to worry about it would become slow in a few years. And it is relatively cheap. I hope it could have the headphone jack but I guess that is impossible for Apple.

 

[Homme]

For me, i gave up my XR for the SE. well worth it

bascially for Touch ID, and others that others mentioned plus I miss it’s form factor

but the SE’s modem is the biggest reason why I switched. The XR’s is defective and using cellular on the new SE is really good, improved connectivity, strength, speed and way less interruptions over the XR

Lawsuit bemoans iPhone XR's 'inferior,' 'defective' 2x2 MIMO antennas

A class action lawsuit filed on Monday suggests Apple intentionally misled customers by failing to disclose design and performance differences between the "inferior" 2x2 MIMO antenna array in iPhone XR and the 4x4 MIMO setup in iPhone XS and XS Max.

www.google.com.au

 

[nrvna76]

I have been upgrading yearly with the most expensive iPhones. Clearly crazy and not something I need to do. Been contemplating keeping for more time, or downgrading the device. Not sure about the SE as I actually like FaceID.. The non-pro series is probably the sweet spot for me, and I may add an iPad Pro to the mix.

 

[justdefend]

Coming from an iPhone 11 and loving the switch to the SE. Never liked the size and the weight of the 11, though it never failed once and has an amazing battery life. Haven't missed the slofies and ultra wide camera because I rarely used either. But having the A13, which is basically flagship level power, in a small form factor is awesome. Camera and video quality are darn close to the 11.

 

[ssledoux]

Coming from an iPhone 11 and loving the switch to the SE. Never liked the size and the weight of the 11, though it never failed once and has an amazing battery life. Haven't missed the slofies and ultra wide camera because I rarely used either. But having the A13, which is basically flagship level power, in a small form factor is awesome. Camera and video quality are darn close to the 11.

I'm coming from an 11 also. I haven't had a small phone in YEARS. I'm anxious to get it and see what I think! I'd love to break out of this trend of getting a new device every year just because, but I'm wishy-washy. I will say that I've stuck with big phones for a while, and had been tempted to go back to an 8 on multiple occasions, so I'm really excited to try the SE.

 

[Bandaman]

I'm coming from an 11 also. I haven't had a small phone in YEARS. I'm anxious to get it and see what I think! I'd love to break out of this trend of getting a new device every year just because, but I'm wishy-washy. I will say that I've stuck with big phones for a while, and had been tempted to go back to an 8 on multiple occasions, so I'm really excited to try the SE.

Yeah I think I've over the needing to have the shiniest thing every year. I'm also over the giant phone thing.

 

[austyn23]

I sold my 11Pro and got he SE.

Is what I wanted 2 years ago, the 8 with portrait mode.
I can only portrait humans, that´s a shame; but I can live with it.

I will miss night mode, but to be honest, I don´t use it much on the day to day use; I tooked amazing night photos the first month, because I searched for situations to test the camera (same with the 0,5 ultra wide). But once the new toy euphoria was gone, I never tooked any ultra wide or night photo again (maybe a few ones, but really not so much).

And the price... I sold my 11 Pro for 95% of what I paid it and got the SE for half of thay money. I don´t want a 1200 dls phone on the pocket anymore.

I think the weight is more annoying than the size... I could accept some plastic to loose weight on an iPhone.

Maybe the rumored 5,4 inch would be a nice spot; small and with the night mode and 2 cameras? Will see, but the weight and the price is important for me know.

 

[reacher]

I can only portrait humans, that´s a shame; but I can live with it.

Look at this, I am still waiting for my SE, I could not check how it works.

 

[dms_91]

I sold my 11Pro and got he SE.

Is what I wanted 2 years ago, the 8 with portrait mode.
I can only portrait humans, that´s a shame; but I can live with it.

I will miss night mode, but to be honest, I don´t use it much on the day to day use; I tooked amazing night photos the first month, because I searched for situations to test the camera (same with the 0,5 ultra wide). But once the new toy euphoria was gone, I never tooked any ultra wide or night photo again (maybe a few ones, but really not so much).

And the price... I sold my 11 Pro for 95% of what I paid it and got the SE for half of thay money. I don´t want a 1200 dls phone on the pocket anymore.

I think the weight is more annoying than the size... I could accept some plastic to loose weight on an iPhone.

Maybe the rumored 5,4 inch would be a nice spot; small and with the night mode and 2 cameras? Will see, but the weight and the price is important for me know.

Oh wow. What is it like using the SE now? Overall? Because I bought the new SE 128gb and own an 11 Pro 64gb. Really debating on what to do.

 

[littlemidge]

Going from an Xs 64 to a SE 128. Not really costing me a penny so a worth while upgrade. Finally back to a smaller form phone. (soon as I took my Xs out the box I was like, oh...it’s really this big ?) found it hard to use one handed. :/

 

[austyn23]

Look at this, I am still waiting for my SE, I could not check how it works.

Thanks, I saw also the "Focos" app that other user mention on other post (the one with the pics with the SE). I´ll test them!

Oh wow. What is it like using the SE now? Overall? Because I bought the new SE 128gb and own an 11 Pro 64gb. Really debating on what to do.

It feels right, is comfortable, it's something you are used to, I know is old design, but also is a familiar and great to use design. The phone fits your hand and no the other way around.

Is fast, the camera is good enough. Also the 128 is nice to have. I never had problems with 64, but was always near the finish line (50, 52 gb used).

They are giving us back the perfect size and weight balance, so we get used again... and then they will release a premium 5,4 phone with this form factor and we will run after him hahaha

Tim:
"Make more money - CHECK!"

 

[dms_91]

Thanks, I saw also the "Focos" app that other user mention on other post (the one with the pics with the SE). I´ll test them!



It feels right, is comfortable, it's something you are used to, I know is old design, but also is a familiar and great to use design. The phone fits your hand and no the other way around.

Is fast, the camera is good enough. Also the 128 is nice to have. I never had problems with 64, but was always near the finish line (50, 52 gb used).

They are giving us back the perfect size and weight balance, so we get used again... and then they will release a premium 5,4 phone with this form factor and we will run after him hahaha

Tim:
"Make more money - CHECK!"

Makes sense. Think I should just use the SE for a few days to a week before deciding to keep or sell it? I’m just so used to OLED now and the 5.8” 11 Pro now.

 

[austyn23]

Makes sense. Think I should just use the SE for a few days to a week before deciding to keep or sell it? I’m just so used to OLED now and the 5.8” 11 Pro now.

If you use both at the same time, the 11Pro will always win, we have to be honest, the screen looks better, the "edge to edge" design is nicer, and the 3 cameras is a plus (I didn´t used them much, but there they are just in case).

My recommendation is to use the SE a week, without switching back and forth with the 11P; just use the SE as main and only device.

I used the 2016 SE the last week (4 inches) and got used to it. So now the 2020 SE is a beast for me.

 

[Homme]

I sold my 11Pro and got he SE.

Is what I wanted 2 years ago, the 8 with portrait mode.
I can only portrait humans, that´s a shame; but I can live with it.

I will miss night mode, but to be honest, I don´t use it much on the day to day use; I tooked amazing night photos the first month, because I searched for situations to test the camera (same with the 0,5 ultra wide). But once the new toy euphoria was gone, I never tooked any ultra wide or night photo again (maybe a few ones, but really not so much).

And the price... I sold my 11 Pro for 95% of what I paid it and got the SE for half of thay money. I don´t want a 1200 dls phone on the pocket anymore.

I think the weight is more annoying than the size... I could accept some plastic to loose weight on an iPhone.

Maybe the rumored 5,4 inch would be a nice spot; small and with the night mode and 2 cameras? Will see, but the weight and the price is important for me know.

the app halide supports portrait mode on non humans for the SE

 

[subjonas]

Just curious for those who are going from larger, newer, pro devices to the SE, what device are you coming from, and what made you want to switch to the SE?

Just wanted to point out, there are no phones newer than the SE. 😆

I don’t have the new SE nor a big/flagship phone, but back in the day I did downsize from a flagship iPhone plus to a 4” because of the same reasons people here mentioned. Just wanted something pocketable and one-handed to use when needed, not an always-with-me consumption device. That’s just not my lifestyle nor my work need. (The exception is music consumption, but that doesn’t benefit from a bigger screen.)

No one would ever say I have big hands for a guy, but I don’t see how anyone can reliably type on a phone that’s the size of the new se. I know up until the iPhone 6+, hundreds of millions of us did it. I just don’t know how I could go back to that feeling, when even the iPhone 11 felt more narrow than the 8+ I’m used to. The feeling in hand is definitely awesome on the se, but I just type way too much to ever be able to reliably use it.

I actually type much faster on the smaller screens. I can practically no look type like I do with a real keyboard. It probably has a lot to do with everything being in my field of view.

I’ve had an iPad mini and a 4” phone for many years, and I’ve felt equally at ease typing on both, though I’m faster on the 4” since it’s smaller. I think it’s the keyboard software intelligence that makes typing on a 4” screen keyboard just as easy as on a 7.9”. You really don’t have to be all that precise because the keyboard just needs the general pattern. A lot of times I do the same as mattopotamus, where I don’t even look at the keyboard as I type, and I go very fast with shockingly few words to go back and correct, usually none at all. I sometimes do that on my mini as well, though not as often because it’s easier to do on the smaller keyboard, as mattopotamus mentioned.

I really knew I had an issue when I started shopping for clothing and jackets, and pocket size ended up being a deciding factor.

Lol that’s too funny.
Also we have strikingly similar iPhone and iPad histories. This may have come up in another thread.

 

[engbren]

I have an iPhone X which I've had since new and am thinking of swapping it out for a new SE. I also have an iPhone 8 for work and the X is my personal phone. With the dual sim capability of the SE, I could consolidate down to carrying just a single phone. The battery life on my X is now appalling, so debating whether to get a new SE and sell my X, or to replace the battery in the X. Costwise, both options net out pretty close (within $100 AUD) The key benefits of the iPhone X that I use and like are the bigger screen and the dual camera system (2x zoom). I've never been impressed with the 8's camera relative to the X camera as it seems to deliver fairly grainy images, so keen to see more about the SE camera results.

 

[mattopotamus]

I have an iPhone X which I've had since new and am thinking of swapping it out for a new SE. I also have an iPhone 8 for work and the X is my personal phone. With the dual sim capability of the SE, I could consolidate down to carrying just a single phone. The battery life on my X is now appalling, so debating whether to get a new SE and sell my X, or to replace the battery in the X. Costwise, both options net out pretty close (within $100 AUD) The key benefits of the iPhone X that I use and like are the bigger screen and the dual camera system (2x zoom). I've never been impressed with the 8's camera relative to the X camera as it seems to deliver fairly grainy images, so keen to see more about the SE camera results.

After 24 hours to address battery and the camera:

The camera is in a completely different league. The SE is way better than the X and it’s not even close. I didn’t realize how bad the camera on the X is until I started comparing the shots side by side.

battery after a full day was solid. I am sitting at 27%, and I took the phone off the charger at 8:37am yesterday. Screen on time says 4h03m. When I hit 20% I will turn on low battery mode, but I want to see how long it takes to get down to 10% and I’ll charge it.

 

[ssledoux]

Just wanted to point out, there are no phones newer than the SE. 😆

True. I was referring to newer as in the last year’s releases.

 

[RobbyIdol]

I sold my iPhone 11 Pro and bought 2 SE's for me and my wife with the money. She needed to update her 7, and I couldn't justify the cost of the 11 Pro when the new SE does 95% of everything I need it to. It's not about making the SE a "better" phone than the flagship stuff. It's not. But it is a strong, almost shocking, phone for the price. And if you want flagship power, but don't want to spend $1000+ to get it, the new SE can't be beat.

I had an 8 for about 3 years before getting my 11 Pro. So the form factor on the SE will be like going home for me. I wouldn't call the 11 Pro camera gimmicky, but is far less useful day to day than you'd think after spending nearly $1200 to get it. I actually take a lot of photos with my iPhones. I got great shots with my 8 for years and thought the 11 Pro would feel like a revelation. It took about a month to be honest with myself that it didn't.

Like others have said, the ultra-wide and optical zoom lenses are softer, harder to focus, and let in less light at f/2.4 than the standard wide lens at f/1.8. I was bummed right away that Night Mode didn't apply to the other lenses. And I will miss Night Mode though, that was a neat feature.

I remember feeling like I had bought in too early to new tech when I got my 11 Pro. The ultra-wide and 2x zoom lenses are not ready yet. But I bet they will be on the 12 when that comes out. It would be smart of Apple to push the f-stop on the ultra wide and 2x zoom to f/1.8 and offer Night mode on all lenses. Otherwise the standard wide lens is STILL doing 99% of the photo taking for most people (even photographers like myself).

I look forward to the new SE. To getting great tech in a familiar form factor and knowing I didn't spend so much $$$ on myself and could upgrade my wife as well

 

[osta.doc]

The 11 Pro has an f2.0 telephoto lens now, pretty close to f1.8, although it’s really hardly a telephoto, like they like to refer to it as.

 

[GlenK]

I went from 8+ to the new SE and love this size phone. It took me less than a day to get used to it and I'm realizing I spent the last three years trying to convince myself that bigger phone felt comfortable in my hand. It simply never did but I kept using it because it was "supposed" to be better!