iPhone SE (2016) iPhone SE 2020 owners, regrets, happy?

[Bawstun]

The key factor to me is the battery life, personally.
I am very very disappointed that Apple put such awful battery in SE.

There isn’t an option for more battery. The SE is the price that it is because they can re-use existing design, while just updating the internals. You can’t insert a larger battery without needing to shift components around or change up the entire casing, and that would require new manufacturing, new research and development costs…it’s against the entire philosophy of what the SE is.

I’m willing to bet that eventually the SE line will be in the iPhone 12 mini form factor, or possibly the XR. It will have updated internals and reuse those casings. The SE is always going to have trade offs for the price…but not in pure performance. Other ways.

 

[iHorseHead]

There isn’t an option for more battery. The SE is the price that it is because they can re-use existing design, while just updating the internals. You can’t insert a larger battery without needing to shift components around or change up the entire casing, and that would require new manufacturing, new research and development costs…it’s against the entire philosophy of what the SE is.

I’m willing to bet that eventually the SE line will be in the iPhone 12 mini form factor, or possibly the XR. It will have updated internals and reuse those casings. The SE is always going to have trade offs for the price…but not in pure performance. Other ways.

So you shouldn't pay $540 for such an outdated phone. Glad you agree with me
Samsung is better at that price point.

 

[iluvmacs99]

If I'm not locked into an iOS eco-system, then I would definitely consider Samsung as it has some great offerings at better prices. The original SE didn't have a great battery life either. The fact that I needed to have a Mophie external battery attached to allow me to last a day goes to show that even the original SE comes from a dated design (from iPhone 5/5s) with a small sized battery. The SE 2nd gen (with the A13) and a small battery was better than the original SE, but certainly not the best compared to some of the competition.

It's a dated design but runs iOS apps at a great pace. The camera is good, but not stellar. The battery is adequate by not enduring and the screen isn't all wrapped around. It makes people like myself happy and content with the phone. I mean Apple was never known to make phones at cheap prices. If Samsung makes you sing with joy at a price point you like; go for it if you're not tied to any eco-system.

 

[ghanwani]

If I'm not locked into an iOS eco-system, then I would definitely consider Samsung as it has some great offerings at better prices. The original SE didn't have a great battery life either. The fact that I needed to have a Mophie external battery attached to allow me to last a day goes to show that even the original SE comes from a dated design (from iPhone 5/5s) with a small sized battery. The SE 2nd gen (with the A13) and a small battery was better than the original SE, but certainly not the best compared to some of the competition.

It's a dated design but runs iOS apps at a great pace. The camera is good, but not stellar. The battery is adequate by not enduring and the screen isn't all wrapped around. It makes people like myself happy and content with the phone. If Samsung makes you sing with joy; go for it. It's only a phone.

Actually the original SE had better battery life than the 6S which was the flagship phone at the time.


Battery Life And Charging - Tiny Marvel

If one area is more important to users than a smartphone’s camera, it is the battery life and it is here where the iPhone SE unleashes the biggest surprise of all: it lasts considerably longer on a full charge than the iPhone 6S. And it does this despite having a smaller battery:

• Phone SE - 1642 mAh
• iPhone 6S - 1715 mAh

What makes the difference is the iPhone SE’s smaller, lower resolution display and the results are dramatic. Apple itself on its own specifications page admits you’ll get 20% longer 3G surfing time, 30% more on 4G and it will also last 20% longer when watching videos.

iPhone SE Vs iPhone 6S: What's The Difference?

Comparing the iPhone 6S and iPhone SE reveals big differences and even bigger surprises...

www.forbes.com

 

[rui no onna]

So you shouldn't pay $540 for such an outdated phone. Glad you agree with me
Samsung is better at that price point.

Outdated only in terms of exterior and no 5G at the moment. Otherwise, the SE 2020 will probably receive support longer than the Galaxy A52 will.

Mind, I've had the 6, 6S and 7, and the SE 2020 had better battery life compared to those thanks to the more efficient A13 chip.

Of course, it's not going to be able to compete with battery life on 6" or bigger devices. That's one of the sacrifices one pays for a small phone.

 

[iluvmacs99]

Actually the original SE had better battery life than the 6S which was the flagship phone at the time.


Battery Life And Charging - Tiny Marvel

If one area is more important to users than a smartphone’s camera, it is the battery life and it is here where the iPhone SE unleashes the biggest surprise of all: it lasts considerably longer on a full charge than the iPhone 6S. And it does this despite having a smaller battery:

• Phone SE - 1642 mAh
• iPhone 6S - 1715 mAh

What makes the difference is the iPhone SE’s smaller, lower resolution display and the results are dramatic. Apple itself on its own specifications page admits you’ll get 20% longer 3G surfing time, 30% more on 4G and it will also last 20% longer when watching videos.

iPhone SE Vs iPhone 6S: What's The Difference?

Comparing the iPhone 6S and iPhone SE reveals big differences and even bigger surprises...

www.forbes.com

I beg to differ, though I never owned an iPhone 6s so I can't tell you that difference. But my experience using the iPhone SE 2016 in the 4 years was that, the battery performance was poor based on my usage. Which was why I had to spend some money on the Mophie battery case which helped with battery performance. I got the SE 2016 battery replaced under the Apple's battery gate program in 2018. Even then Apple refused to replace it when Coconut Battery said it was down to like 80%. Since then the new battery went from 100% down to like 54% in less than 2 years and ran slow again! Now with the SE 2020 and running the same apps and in the same circumstances, I could get a full day before the battery hits close to 20% without any help from a battery pack. I consider that a plus, but again not stellar. That's why I now have a 5200mah external battery pack just in case I need more juice.

 

[ghanwani]

I beg to differ, though I never owned an iPhone 6s so I can't tell you that difference. But my experience using the iPhone SE 2016 in the 4 years was that, the battery performance was poor based on my usage. Which was why I had to spend some money on the Mophie battery case which helped with battery performance. I got the SE 2016 battery replaced under the Apple's battery gate program. Even then, the battery went from 100% to 54% in less than 2 years! Now with the SE 2020 and running the same apps and in the same circumstances, I could get a full day before the battery hits close to 20%. I consider that a plus, but again not stellar.

Did you need the mophie pack from the get go? With each subsequent version of iOS, it looks like instead of slowing the response time, Apple has chosen to have the processor perform at peak capability which drains the battery faster and faster.

 

[iluvmacs99]

Did you need the mophie pack from the get go? With each subsequent version of iOS, it looks like instead of slowing the response time, Apple has chosen to have the processor perform at peak capability which drains the battery faster and faster.

I got the Mophie pack when I realized what I used it for, using medical apps and notifications, were draining the phone faster and faster since I want it to perform at peak performance and it wasn't lasting even half a day. I was constantly hitting 20% and needing to use low power mode often which then defeats the purpose of running those demanding apps. So I got the Mophie pack to basically last me the full day. I was actually contemplating getting a Mophie pack for the SE 2020 since it shares the same body as the iPhone 7/8, but Mophie doesn't make them anymore. But realizing that the SE 2020 can now last me a day with the same apps show how good the A13 chip is. Can be better, but I'll take what I can get for now as sadly I can't stand the PWM screen on the iPhone 12 Mini, which would be my replacement SE 2016 phone if it wasn't for the PWM screen.

 

[iHorseHead]

Outdated only in terms of exterior and no 5G at the moment. Otherwise, the SE 2020 will probably receive support longer than the Galaxy A52 will.

Mind, I've had the 6, 6S and 7, and the SE 2020 had better battery life compared to those thanks to the more efficient A13 chip.

Of course, it's not going to be able to compete with battery life on 6" or bigger devices. That's one of the sacrifices one pays for a small phone.

Galaxy A52 will receive 3 Android updates + 2 years of security updates and by that time the battery is probably dead on A52 as well and you need a new phone anyway.

I don't know. Everyone I know with SE complains about the battery life + online reviews. I still think iPhone SE is overpriced for what it is + dated design.
A52 is fast too and idk…I'm disappointed with Apple and SE. I would not get it if I was anyone reading this thread.

 

[LFC2020]

I would not get it if I was anyone reading this thread.

The SE is a awesome phone, will get 5-6 years software updates, A class chip in the A14, you‘d have to buy 2 budget android phones in 5 years which won’t run well at all and it’ll end up costing you more than the SE.

Definitely get the SE if you’re interested in It, great build quality, won’t lag like android, blazing fast for 6 years, great customer service and support from apple and most of all a headache free experience unlike bloatdroid.

 

[avz]

I am still happy with my SE 2020. Battery health is 88%. I used 20-25W charger and it was getting very hot while charging. Perhaps it was a mistake to use a charger with a higher rating.