iPhone SE (2016) As crazy as it sounds, I want an iPhone SE over the iPhone 12 Pro

[Kendo]

I've been an iPhone X owner for a few years but gifted it to my father thinking I would upgrade to the iPhone 12 Pro this year. So I've been using the iPhone 7 that he has been using (also gifted this to him). The plan was to use the 7 until the 12 came out. The form factor of the 7 isn't so bad, I kind of even like going back to Touch ID and the aspect ratio of the screen actually gives you more vertical space when you browse the web. There is a reason why the X and 11 models slice off the sides in landscape mode, otherwise the vertical space would be too narrow.

Anyways the most frustrating thing about the 7 is the A10 is pretty slow now, the phone lags pretty bad. After the 12 Pro reveal, I thought to myself that I barely touch my phone in COVID times. I am always on my MacBook Pro for work or for Netflix. And since I am barely outside, I am not taking a lot of pictures. So I'm staring at the iPhone SE page on Apple's website and start to think, an A13 chip for $399 is not a bad deal compared to an iPhone 12 mini for $700 or an iPhone 12 Pro at $1000.

For half the price, I can get the speed that I sorely miss, and if I got a 12 Pro for the bigger screen, I'd be watching videos on my MacBook anyway. Anyone else in the same boat as me?

 

[throAU]

You're not crazy, I made this exact decision vs the 11 myself a couple of months ago.

Why?

• size
• notch
• touchid
• price
• same performance

The 12 still has the same drawbacks to me (I get why some people would buy them, but my requirements are different). It's just slightly faster and more expensive for a bunch of stuff I don't even want.

I went from 7 to SE 2020 (128 GB) and am happy. It's a massive step and the SE performance is great!

 

[Kendo]

I will miss the pitch black LED screen using Dark Mode at night, but other than that, I think I'll end up being happy with the SE. Even with the 12 mini, I feel like even though the screen is longer at 5.4", you actually lose space because the screen is narrower.

 

[Suspenders]

Interesting you brought this up.

I currently have the iPhone X and was waiting for the 12. Now that the 12 came out, I'm not as excited about it. I mean, I have my eye on the mini, but I've been considering the iPhone SE TBH...

Although I'm a photographer, I don't use my iPhone for any professional pictures - I always have my camera with me for that.

From a camera perspective, the only thing that the mini has over the iPhone Se (for me), is night mode.... Hmmm....

 

[JM]

You're not crazy, I made this exact decision vs the 11 myself a couple of months ago.

Why?

• size
• notch
• touchid
• price
• same performance

The 12 still has the same drawbacks to me. Its just slightly faster and more expensive for a bunch of stuff I don't even want.

I went from 7 to SE 2020 and am happy. It's a massive step and the SE performance is great!

1. What's the battery life comparison between the 7 and SE?
2. What's the connection wifi and cellular comparison?


I'm considering the SE coming from a 7 right now. thank you!

 

[Kendo]

1. What's the battery life comparison between the 7 and SE?
2. What's the connection wifi and cellular comparison?


I'm considering the SE coming from a 7 right now. thank you!

Based on Apple's website - https://www.apple.com/iphone-se/why-upgrade/

iPhone SE over the 7 means:

• 1.8x faster CPU
• 2.8x faster GPU
• 2x faster cellular
• 38% faster Wi-Fi
• Same 13 hour battery life for video

 

[ClarkKent35]

Touch ID is now the most killer feature for phones lol. I feel like Apple missed the boat not having it on the iPhone this year.

 

[throAU]

1. What's the battery life comparison between the 7 and SE?
2. What's the connection wifi and cellular comparison?


I'm considering the SE coming from a 7 right now. thank you!

Much better because my 7 battery was screwed, but I suspect its on par or better than what the 7 was new from what I remember. Which kinda makes sense, as I believe it has similar battery size, etc. More efficient processors but the newer software does more, etc.

The phone gets far less hot however and has wireless charging which is far more convenient. Seriously. Wireless charging alone is worth the upgrade almost as a quality of life improvement.

I have a wireless pad at home and at work, and its no hassle to just pop it on the pad at my desk when I sit down. No fishing around for cables, at my bedside, etc. I also plug in when I drive my car for CarPlay which also charges.

I've had no problems with the battery life. YMMV if you don't get charges during the day or use your phone extensively.

I never had any issues with cellular or wifi on the 7, the SE has no problems either for me. I haven't benchmarked anything but both "work just fine" for me with no complaints.

The big things coming from a 7 are the massively improved performance, wireless charging, less heat generation. I've never had the SE get hot, the 7 would get hot frequently when using social media, etc.

My usage pattern however is:

• email (3 accounts, find my iPhone turned on)
• sms/iMessage/fb messenger
• web use on lunch breaks
• social media on breaks
• miscellaneous small utility apps (parcel tracking, password manager, 2 factor auth app, etc.).
• it is paired to my Apple Watch(es)

I generally get home with 40-50% or so remaining if I don't use the charging pad OR CarPlay during the day.

 

[JM]

Based on Apple's website - https://www.apple.com/iphone-se/why-upgrade/

iPhone SE over the 7 means:

• 1.8x faster CPU
• 2.8x faster GPU
• 2x faster cellular
• 38% faster Wi-Fi
• Same 13 hour battery life for video

thanks, I need some "real world" perspective, though Apple's site says the battery life of the SE has the same run time as the 7 and 8, but I've heard and read otherwise. I just don't know how MUCH better the SE is. Besides, the Apple tests are probably done on the iOS system done at the time of release, and there's no way the 7 is getting what they're advertising on ios 14.

 

[JM]

Much better because my 7 battery was screwed, but I suspect its on par or better than what the 7 was new from what I remember. Which kinda makes sense, as I believe it has similar battery size, etc. More efficient processors but the newer software does more, etc.

The phone gets far less hot however and has wireless charging which is far more convenient. Seriously. Wireless charging alone is worth the upgrade almost as a quality of life improvement.

I have a wireless pad at home and at work, and its no hassle to just pop it on the pad at my desk when I sit down. No fishing around for cables, at my bedside, etc. I also plug in when I drive my car for CarPlay which also charges.

I've had no problems with the battery life. YMMV if you don't get charges during the day or use your phone extensively.

I never had any issues with cellular or wifi on the 7, the SE has no problems either for me. I haven't benchmarked anything but both "work just fine" for me with no complaints.

The big things coming from a 7 are the massively improved performance, wireless charging, less heat generation. I've never had the SE get hot, the 7 would get hot frequently when using social media, etc.

My usage pattern however is:

• email
• sms
• web use on lunch breaks
• social media on breaks
• miscellaneous small utility apps (parcel tracking, password manager, 2 factor auth app, etc.).
• it is paired to my Apple Watch(es)

I generally get home with 40-50% or so remaining if I don't use the charging pad OR CarPlay during the day.

Great report, thank you

 

[Kendo]

Much better because my 7 battery was screwed, but I suspect its on par or better than what the 7 was new from what I remember. Which kinda makes sense, as I believe it has similar battery size, etc. More efficient processors but the newer software does more, etc.

The phone gets far less hot however and has wireless charging which is far more convenient. Seriously. Wireless charging alone is worth the upgrade almost as a quality of life improvement.

I have a wireless pad at home and at work, and its no hassle to just pop it on the pad at my desk when I sit down. No fishing around for cables, at my bedside, etc. I also plug in when I drive my car for CarPlay which also charges.

I've had no problems with the battery life. YMMV if you don't get charges during the day or use your phone extensively.

I never had any issues with cellular or wifi on the 7, the SE has no problems either for me. I haven't benchmarked anything but both "work just fine" for me with no complaints.

The big things coming from a 7 are the massively improved performance, wireless charging, less heat generation. I've never had the SE get hot, the 7 would get hot frequently when using social media, etc.

My usage pattern however is:

• email
• sms
• web use on lunch breaks
• social media on breaks
• miscellaneous small utility apps (parcel tracking, password manager, 2 factor auth app, etc.).
• it is paired to my Apple Watch(es)

I generally get home with 40-50% or so remaining if I don't use the charging pad OR CarPlay during the day.

Wow great to hear on the heat. Dude I literally created a thread on MR last week regarding the heat because I thought the battery was bad or something!

iPhone is burning hot one minute into browsing Safari

Is this a faulty battery or faulty chipset? Even doing something as simple as browsing Facebook will make it heat up in just 30 seconds. The battery in Settings says it is operating under peak performance but who knows if that is accurate. The reason I am asking, it only costs $50 to change...

forums.macrumors.com

 

[throAU]

Wow great to hear on the heat. Dude I literally created a thread on MR last week regarding the heat because I thought the battery was bad or something!

I think it's a symptom of the old processor in the iPhone 7 running hard to keep up with modern web sites.

Web technology has moved on (newer web sites do a lot more in the background), and the iPhone 7 processor has not.

Forgot to mention, I do run an ad blocker (1blocker) which probably helps, but I ran that on the 7 as well and it was still getting hot.

If you think you might like the SE, I'd say go for it. Speed and performance wise it is great. If you're an iPhone 7 user and like the form factor, etc. Go for it. It's like a brand new 7 but massively faster, wireless charging and no heat generation.

The only things you might miss (in my view, coming from an X or 11/12) are the size, camera and battery life - if you use the phone a LOT and can't charge during the day. But as above wireless charge makes that far more convenient - so long as you have or buy a wireless charger.

I actually bought a wireless battery bank charger (for a camping trip) of 10,000mAh size, which should get me several complete charges for the iPhone.

 

[JM]

Based on Apple's website - https://www.apple.com/iphone-se/why-upgrade/

iPhone SE over the 7 means:

• 1.8x faster CPU
• 2.8x faster GPU
• 2x faster cellular
• 38% faster Wi-Fi
• Same 13 hour battery life for video

And yeah I've been staring at the comparison "reason to upgrade" screen for months now ? I was totally on board with the mini and wanted to wait until the announcement to see they were going to do $650... They didn't, so I've decided to just keep the 7 until the mini comes down in price next year (or sooner if I come into some money).

I'm close to getting the SE, but I don't want to spend any money unless I'm insanely happy with the purchase. I would have been insanely happy with a mini purchase. Oh well, Apple! lol

Hope you enjoy the SE ?

 

[remington79]

I've been an iPhone X owner for a few years but gifted it to my father thinking I would upgrade to the iPhone 12 Pro this year. So I've been using the iPhone 7 that he has been using (also gifted this to him). The plan was to use the 7 until the 12 came out. The form factor of the 7 isn't so bad, I kind of even like going back to Touch ID and the aspect ratio of the screen actually gives you more vertical space when you browse the web. There is a reason why the X and 11 models slice off the sides in landscape mode, otherwise the vertical space would be too narrow.

Anyways the most frustrating thing about the 7 is the A10 is pretty slow now, the phone lags pretty bad. After the 12 Pro reveal, I thought to myself that I barely touch my phone in COVID times. I am always on my MacBook Pro for work or for Netflix. And since I am barely outside, I am not taking a lot of pictures. So I'm staring at the iPhone SE page on Apple's website and start to think, an A13 chip for $399 is not a bad deal compared to an iPhone 12 mini for $700 or an iPhone 12 Pro at $1000.

For half the price, I can get the speed that I sorely miss, and if I got a 12 Pro for the bigger screen, I'd be watching videos on my MacBook anyway. Anyone else in the same boat as me?

I upgraded from a 6s and it was a big improvement. The camera is actually pretty good. Take a look at the pinned thread Photos taken with SE2020. Myself and others have taken some really good pics. When you see mine, mine are all taken with the stock photo app and are not edited.

 

[throAU]

They didn't, so I've decided to just keep the 7 until the mini comes down in price next year (or sooner if I come into some money).

I guess my comment on that would be that the SE is much cheaper, but its still a massive, massive upgrade in quality of life vs. living with a 7.

The 7 really is showing its age when using it for web, etc. and the SE is still basically a flagship-tier phone in terms of performance (I mean until last week it had the fastest iPhone processor/GPU in a phone inside it with a smaller screen to drive).

Rather than living with the 7 and hoping for a price drop, I'd jump, personally (well, I did ) - and IF the price comes down on the 12 mini or you're able to snag one second-hand, offload the SE at that point. Or keep the SE until the iPhone 13 next year and still get a good price for it

 

[JM]

I guess my comment on that would be that the SE is much cheaper, but its still a massive, massive upgrade in quality of life vs. living with a 7.

The 7 really is showing its age when using it for web, etc. and the SE is still basically a flagship-tier phone in terms of performance (I mean until last week it had the fastest iPhone processor/GPU in a phone inside it with a smaller screen to drive).

Rather than living with the 7 and hoping for a price drop, I'd jump, personally (well, I did ) - and IF the price comes down on the 12 mini or you're able to snag one second-hand, offload the SE at that point. Or keep the SE until the iPhone 13 next year and still get a good price for it

thank you, I'll have to consider it

 

[Kendo]

Ended up pulling the trigger today for a 128GB iPhone SE. Trading in my burning hot iPhone 7 for a $100 credit. Total will be $14.54 a month with the Apple Card 0% interest plan. I usually pay in full but find it appealing that I only have to pay $14 a month for this phone (probably would pay north of $50 for an iPhone 12 Pro Max). Can't wait!

 

[QCassidy352]

It’s not crazy. The SE is a very fast and capable phone that does everything most people need at 57% the cost of a mini and 40% the cost of a Pro. It’s a terrific deal. And if you’re on Verizon or AT&T, you can get $200 off at Walmart, which makes a great value really just insanely good.

 

[Kendo]

It’s not crazy. The SE is a very fast and capable phone that does everything most people need at 57% the cost of a mini and 40% the cost of a Pro. It’s a terrific deal. And if you’re on Verizon or AT&T, you can get $200 off at Walmart, which makes a great value really just insanely good.

How do you get it for $200 off at Walmart if you are on AT&T? Do you need to sign a contract?

 

[tt061282]

Honestly not crazy at all. I’m gonna keep my SE after having my eye on the 12 mini for a while, but I’m just not seeing the $300 in improvement LWA myself. The A13 will easily last another 3-4 years with no problems.

 

[QCassidy352]

How do you get it for $200 off at Walmart if you are on AT&T? Do you need to sign a contract?

Sort of… It's $200 off up front. And you do sign up for a 30 month (or 24 if you're on Verizon) installment plan, BUT you can pay the balance off in full after one month with no penalty. So it's not like the current promotions on the iPhone 12, where if you terminate early you lose all your credits (or even owe them the full retail price of the phone).

My father in law has used this deal this on Verizon (and paid the phone off after one month), and many people on this forum have done it with AT&T, too.

AT&T Apple iPhone SE (2020) 64GB, White - Upgrade Only - Walmart.com

Buy AT&T Apple iPhone SE (2020) 64GB, White - Upgrade Only at Walmart.com

www.walmart.com

Best deal in smartphones in the US right now.

 

[austyn23]

The SE works great, is fast and the camera is good.

I miss night mode and now on the 12´s is also on the front camera, nice touch.

I´ll go with the mini for sure, I´m a little tired of the SE / 8 / 7 / 6 design.

 

[JM]

Ended up pulling the trigger today for a 128GB iPhone SE. Trading in my burning hot iPhone 7 for a $100 credit. Total will be $14.54 a month with the Apple Card 0% interest plan. I usually pay in full but find it appealing that I only have to pay $14 a month for this phone (probably would pay north of $50 for an iPhone 12 Pro Max). Can't wait!

"burning hot" lol ?

I know exactly what you mean.

 

[jimbo1mcm]

You're crazy.

 

[StageMomma]

How do you get it for $200 off at Walmart if you are on AT&T? Do you need to sign a contract?

Nope. Just need to sign up for device payments. I did through Verizon and paid off the SE about a month later. It was a great deal.