Definitely keeping my SE for another year. I imagine people with bigger phones underestimate (or have forgotten) the advantages of a super portable phone, but I haven't. The new models don't appeal to me, so far. Face ID seems to be a "thing" now along with no home button and no headphone jack, these are all terrible design choices IMO, Apple as a company seems to be heading in a direction that I no longer recognize. I love small phones and sometimes long for my old samsung, which was even tinier (3" screen if I recall correctly). Unfortunately the current market for small phones is truly abysmal, it seems everyone is moving on up to a 5" screen or more. I hope by the time my SE falls apart there will be better options out there.
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
iPhone SE (2016) What are current SE users doing?
- Thread starter Jacobi
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
You haven't been following apple very long then. They've have been removing ports and buttons off their products for about 20 years now.
Well what should fall appart?
In Germany you can get a display with all the stuff like front camera etc. already mounted for 38 euros and a battery for 19. Both 100% original spareparts. And i can not really imagin of anything else which should fail with time.
This is - aside of the size - another big advantage over all this new glassphones.
Would like to keep my iPhone SE as long as possible, but the battery drain – especially since iOS 13 – is abysmal. Got the battery replaced in an Apple Store a year ago, but still no comparison to iOS 9 or 10 (battery got bad with iOS 11). When using Safari for example, I can practically see the battery deteriorating on the status bar. Have to charge the phone twice a day sometimes. In Standby it is ok, seems to be no draining background activity.
So just for the battery I'm very tempted to get a new iPhone – but they are all way too big for my taste unfortunately. Sold my iPhone 6 in 2016 and bought the SE just because of the size.
So just for the battery I'm very tempted to get a new iPhone – but they are all way too big for my taste unfortunately. Sold my iPhone 6 in 2016 and bought the SE just because of the size.
Last edited:
I don’t really get the disinterest in the 8 shape. Or all of the love for the SE to be honest. It’s too small. 8 is actually thinner than SE, isn’t it? Still very compact, easy to pocket, just the right size, big enough screen that it doesn’t feel like 2012
They probably don’t mean literally fall apart (unless they do), but there are several inevitable failures with phones: a critical app will eventually lose support for the hardware, after the battery degrades eventually you won’t be able to purchase a replacement, and eventually the carrier will drop support for the radio band. It’s possible these can take a long time to happen though.
Design taste is purely subjective. So is screen size preference, has nothing to do with the year.
I prefer the shape of the SE than the 6/7/8. Reason I sold all of them and still keep the SE as my backup. Would be nice to see the iPad Pro boxy shape in the next SE, but seems rumors are closer to an iPod Touch shape with updated internals.
Yes, me too!
I purchased one used on ebay for 76 euros and "refurbished" myself with a new display and battery. And since then it's my daily driver...with my X at home just laying around looking nice.
Other advantage: At least the X can look nice now without some bulky case protecting the 450-euro-back- and 350-euro-frontside, as the risk of dropping it has dramaticly decreased now. And it looks a lot nicer like that.
I stopped using it as my daily because my eyesight was not so good. Reason why I switched to the Pro Max. I tried the XR but I just didn't like the screen.
I
I simply bought a battery pack for 20$. Now I have a better battery life than 11 Pro by approximately 2 days. Lol.
Yeah, replace the battery or not, you won’t get iOS 10 life back. I remember it was crazy good, just refused to die.
I simply bought a battery pack for 20$. Now I have a better battery life than 11 Pro by approximately 2 days. Lol.
Whenever I have the itch to “upgrade” (maybe twice a year) I just open the page of local repair shop and compare repair prices for SE and something like XS.
The difference is so ridiculous that I forget about “upgrading” immediately.
Smart move on Apple’s part though. Price the phone at 999$, design it in the way that repairing costs 989$ and watch paranoid customers willingly bring you additional billions of their cash to protect themselves with Apple Care.
Last edited:
I agree with MultiFinder17. I simply don’t get enough utility from the year over year feature upgrades to warrant buying a new phone every 1-2 years. I might be in the minority on this and I’m OK with that. IMO most cell phones, Apple’s included, have not added features in several years that meaningfully change my quality of life. As a single upgrade every 4-5 years? Sure. Every 1-2? No.
For me another personal benefit of holding on to phones is a long time is to be as sustainable as possible. I generally try to get long life out of most things and I don’t see why phones should be any different.
I borrowed my friends old iPhone 8 just to throw into my pocket and carry it around for a few days.
To me there's no question it's more noticeable and more annoying in the pocket compared to the SE which is the perfect size phone, totally reliable and unnoticable in the pocket.
So like a lot of you I'm stuck. The iPhone SE is pretty much perfect for me but I haven't updated it from iOS 10 and I know eventually that will become a problem.
I'm super excited for the iphone12 vs se2. I don't k ow which rumor is true but I'm clinging to the one that some phone between the size of the SE and iPhone 8 is coming out. If that happens I'll fight you all to get first in line.
But Apple has been disappointing us all on this front for how many years?
So I'm not holding out hope anymore. If the new small phone is just a rehashed iPhone 8 or something the size of the 8 I think it's useless for us all. There's a reason we all went with the SE over the 7 or 8 at the time. It was too big back then and still is too big.
So to answer the question I'm waiting to see what the new iPhone 12 or SE 2 thing will be. If it's smaller then an 8 then ill jump on it. If it's the same size as an 8 then I'll ride this SE until it's totally dead for a few more years and then see ...
To me there's no question it's more noticeable and more annoying in the pocket compared to the SE which is the perfect size phone, totally reliable and unnoticable in the pocket.
So like a lot of you I'm stuck. The iPhone SE is pretty much perfect for me but I haven't updated it from iOS 10 and I know eventually that will become a problem.
I'm super excited for the iphone12 vs se2. I don't k ow which rumor is true but I'm clinging to the one that some phone between the size of the SE and iPhone 8 is coming out. If that happens I'll fight you all to get first in line.
But Apple has been disappointing us all on this front for how many years?
So I'm not holding out hope anymore. If the new small phone is just a rehashed iPhone 8 or something the size of the 8 I think it's useless for us all. There's a reason we all went with the SE over the 7 or 8 at the time. It was too big back then and still is too big.
So to answer the question I'm waiting to see what the new iPhone 12 or SE 2 thing will be. If it's smaller then an 8 then ill jump on it. If it's the same size as an 8 then I'll ride this SE until it's totally dead for a few more years and then see ...
I've been really happy since jumping ship to the Samsung S10e (smallest "flagship spec" phone I could find) since my SE battery started dying, took a little adjustment but far less than I expected and many things I prefer to the iPhone now. Was an iPhone user since the 3G and find it a real shame there are no small options with current design available, a cheap iPhone 8 does not appeal at all.
Environmentally speaking, the iPhones are different, as Apple are very strong with reusing and recycling their equipment. After 2 years of normal use your iPhone battery is likely to need replacing anyway. So you can replace the battery or/and pass on/sell on your device to someone else to enjoy. You are not throwing it away into a landfill. Even if your iPhone is unusable (say, the motherboard is fried), you can still give it to Apple and they will recycle it in the cleanest way possible.
I personally pass on my 1-2 year old iOS devices to my family members, so no waste whatsoever. ✌️
I have mine running 13.3 even jailbroken with checkra1n and it works like a charme. I have the feeling 12.4 felt a bit smoother, but maybe some 13-updates will be able to fix this.
Personally if the rest of the phone is in good shape, get a replacement battery fitted and then you’ve got a great backup phone if you ever need it. The new budget device is going to be the same size pretty much give or take a few mm as an 8 is now, so you may even hang onto your SE for longer if that’s too big.
This is a huge thread with lots of interest and I’m getting the message that a surprising number of people would rather a smaller, rather than larger iPhone so long as it has up to date features. I’m of the same opinion except I’m happy with the 4.7” screen and comparative light weight of the iPhone 7. My only concern is that it will not support the next iOS (14). Does anyone have any thoughts on this?
If I thought I could get another 2-3 years out of an iPhone 7 I’d be very tempted to buy a new one.
If I thought I could get another 2-3 years out of an iPhone 7 I’d be very tempted to buy a new one.
In a perfect world I would be one that would choose a smaller phone to a larger one. However, when given the choice between a manufacturer that offers a smaller one vs the choice of, well, basically everything else I have chosen to opt for the latter. With the former I'm held to ransom as to what I do… with the latter I can do as I please. Granted I don't have what I want either way but more choice is better than a choice of one.
I gave up on waiting for an SE replacement half way through the keynote for the XS/XR.
PS Oddly I now own a XS.
PPS The XS is not my primary phone.
Answering my own question, a little searching seems to indicate that the iPhone 7 will be compatible with iOS 14 so apart from the slightly slower GPU (A10) and no True Tone there is no difference in the 4.7” iPhone 8. I think having invested in a new battery last year I’ll just stick with the 7 till iOS 15.
Posts about the SE always get a lot of traffic, but it's a perennial debate about whether or not we are indicative of the larger population's sentiment or just a vocal minority. 😂
I was using the iPhone 6 (with 1 GB of RAM) on iOS 13 and it was fine if slow; the 7 is 2 generations ahead and has 2GB of RAM. I haven't been paying close attention to whether folks have any reason to believe iOS 14 will require significantly more RAM and would be interested if others are more informed.
Just thinking out loud here, I'd be willing to bet a 7 will be good from now until iPhone 13 at least but Apple could throw some curveball in there if there's any significant new features in iOS 14 compared to iOS 13. From paying some attention to the physical phone leaks, it doesn't seem like there will be.
What ultimately moved me off the iPhone 6 was an app RAM requirement rather than the OS. The 6 kept crashing trying to perform a specific, routine action with its 1GB of RAM. I'm using an SE now, and it's totally fine with same app, same routine task.
Bigtime SE user and fan here! But even though I have a ton of nostalgia attached to the 5 series design, I also really want something new. I wanna feel that bursting excitement and hype most people feel when a new device comes out, and I've been really itching to upgrade.
When I was in high school and didn't need a phone for much more than texting friends/family, it was cool and "different 🤪" to use outdated tech, but now that I'm a semi-functional adult with real needs it isn't fun to make compromises anymore.
One-handed use is very important to me. I think people should have the ability to fully and securely use their phone holding a sandwich or a subway rail, and none of the latest models are really conducive to that.
When I was in high school and didn't need a phone for much more than texting friends/family, it was cool and "different 🤪" to use outdated tech, but now that I'm a semi-functional adult with real needs it isn't fun to make compromises anymore.
One-handed use is very important to me. I think people should have the ability to fully and securely use their phone holding a sandwich or a subway rail, and none of the latest models are really conducive to that.