iPhone SE (2016) Iphone SE or wait?

[Fleera]

I impulsively purchased an iPhone SE on cyber Monday, thinking my nearly 2 year old iPhone 6s was having some charging issues and increasingly bad battery life. I bought the 6s when my 5s died in February of 2016, though I probably would’ve picked the SE originally if it had been available.

However, the SE arrived a week ago, and I haven’t gotten unboxed it yet. I’m having second thoughts. It turned out my 6s just needed the charging port cleaned out...and battery life could definitely be better, but it’s not completely intolerable yet (charging a few times a day).

If I keep the SE, I should get $200 back on my 6s plus I’m free from paying the $100 I still owed. That right there pays for the $250 SE. And part of me really likes the idea of the smaller phone. I spend a lot of time on my phone, and the size and weight are just enough to make my arm ache or hand cramp at times. On the other hand...I spend a lot of time on my phone (texting, Facebook, web browsing), and I wonder if the smaller screen will be annoying. Plus, the SE is 2 year old technology, and I’m starting to get the impression it won’t be supported long.

Should I return the SE and keep my 6s while waiting to see what Apple comes up with next? Do you think phones will get lighter or more ergonomic? Or should I trade the 6s in while it’s still worth something and see how it feels going back to a 4” phone? I know this mostly comes down to personal preferences, but I’m hoping someone will weigh in on an angle I’ve missed.

 

[Hal~9000]

I tried the SE when it first came out but the screen had the same issue the 5s screen did: ugly yellow band across the top. The 6s screen was flawless and an absolute beauty by comparison.

If it were up to me I'd say keep your 6s until Apple releases the second version of the SE in the early part of 2018 and make a decision then.

 

[Fireball Dragon]

If your 6s still works okay I would keep using it. It is likely that the much improved SE2 will arrive in March/April and possibly feature up to an A10 chip, better camera, Touch ID 2 and perhaps even wireless charging. I think TH headphone jack may be scrapped. Just pointing out rumours (and we are on a rumour site!).

Highly doubt the form factor will get smaller, think it will still have the same screen size. I personally found the SE to be too small and couldn’t go back to a smaller phone. Purchased it in September and ended up returning it and ultimately ended up with the iPhone X.

 

[xspaint]

Im in a similar boat. I have a day 1 6S...Just aquired a 5s as a backup and boy do I miss that form factor. The SE has always intrigued me. After 10 mins of playing with the 5s the 6s feels big...but going back to the 6s, the 5s feels small...just goes to show how fast we can all adapt.

 

[thesaint024]

Yes, at least wait until you know what the SE2 is going to be (Q1/Q2). You can drive yourself crazy over this dilemma then.

 

[eyoungren]

I will just say that I own a 6s+ and recently got my son an SE for his birthday in October (previously he was on an old iPhone 5).

We're both on T-Mobile but my son gets better speeds.

So if speed and coverage are anything of a priority to you then the SE will be better than your 6s.

 

[44267547]

Should I return the SE and keep my 6s while waiting to see what Apple comes up with next? Do you think phones will get lighter or more ergonomic? Or should I trade the 6s in while it’s still worth something and see how it feels going back to a 4” phone? I know this mostly comes down to personal preferences, but I’m hoping someone will weigh in on an angle I’ve missed.

There has only been one real concrete rumor so far if we will see an iPhone SE in 2018. If we do, I believe it will be somewhere between March through June. Being that your iPhone 6s and SE are fairly similar in terms of performance, I would retain your 6S To make a decision later on.

To me, all smart phones are ergonomic . The iPhone SE doesn't have that conformed angle like the iPhone 6/6S/7/8 does, but I imagine that will change if we do see a future model in a more rounded edge design with the casing. As far as the iPhone being lighter in the future, even if it was heavier, it would be by a few grams That would hardly be noticeable by many.

 

[newellj]

The iPhone SE was a great phone when it was introduced, and if you already own one it's still a great phone to use, but I would not buy one new today. It's basically a 6S in the 5S form factor. You're buying a phone that's a couple of years old, and that's going to show up in terms of how long you're going to be able to update the phone. I know that you can keep a phone frozen in time almost indefinitely - I did it with an iPhone 4 - but at some point apps you need won't update or won't install, or there are iOS features you really want. Even at the very attractive price for this very attractive phone, it's just really late in the product cycle to buy one new. IMHO/YMMV.

 

[Martyimac]

I will just say that I own a 6s+ and recently got my son an SE for his birthday in October (previously he was on an old iPhone 5).

We're both on T-Mobile but my son gets better speeds.

So if speed and coverage are anything of a priority to you then the SE will be better than your 6s.

I have to ask. I was of the thought that the SE was just a smaller 6s. That is pretty much the same internals only smaller. Why do you think the SE is faster?

 

[eyoungren]

I have to ask. I was of the thought that the SE was just a smaller 6s. That is pretty much the same internals only smaller. Why do you think the SE is faster?

I show him speed tests when we are out and then he does his own and consistently his speed tests beat mine.

 

[aohus]

love my SE. i used it for half a year until the 7+ arrived. its a great temporary device to use to hold you over until you get the phone of your choice. didn't hurt that it was running 9.3.3 so i was able to jailbreak it.

 

[Fleera]

Thanks, everyone! I just noticed the same SE appears to be cheaper on Verizon’s prepaid plans than the cyber deal on their post-pay plans, so that’s another consideration. I suppose I’m leaning towards holding onto my 6s a while longer, but I have a few days left to decide. If I manage to drop my phone on my kid again, it could swing me back to the SE.
[doublepost=1512527181][/doublepost]

Im in a similar boat. I have a day 1 6S...Just aquired a 5s as a backup and boy do I miss that form factor. The SE has always intrigued me. After 10 mins of playing with the 5s the 6s feels big...but going back to the 6s, the 5s feels small...just goes to show how fast we can all adapt.

But do articles seem laborious to read on the 5s? I recall missing the size of the 5s when I got the 6s, but I also recall thinking that web browsing got easier. Still...any time my phone starts feeling heavy or I drop it, I really miss the small phone. I’ve even toyed with the idea of getting a flip phone (miss my Razr) and a tablet, but that seems like a drastic lifestyle change (first world problems...lol).

 

[Brandonjr36]

I impulsively purchased an iPhone SE on cyber Monday, thinking my nearly 2 year old iPhone 6s was having some charging issues and increasingly bad battery life. I bought the 6s when my 5s died in February of 2016, though I probably would’ve picked the SE originally if it had been available.

However, the SE arrived a week ago, and I haven’t gotten unboxed it yet. I’m having second thoughts. It turned out my 6s just needed the charging port cleaned out...and battery life could definitely be better, but it’s not completely intolerable yet (charging a few times a day).

If I keep the SE, I should get $200 back on my 6s plus I’m free from paying the $100 I still owed. That right there pays for the $250 SE. And part of me really likes the idea of the smaller phone. I spend a lot of time on my phone, and the size and weight are just enough to make my arm ache or hand cramp at times. On the other hand...I spend a lot of time on my phone (texting, Facebook, web browsing), and I wonder if the smaller screen will be annoying. Plus, the SE is 2 year old technology, and I’m starting to get the impression it won’t be supported long.

Should I return the SE and keep my 6s while waiting to see what Apple comes up with next? Do you think phones will get lighter or more ergonomic? Or should I trade the 6s in while it’s still worth something and see how it feels going back to a 4” phone? I know this mostly comes down to personal preferences, but I’m hoping someone will weigh in on an angle I’ve missed.

I would keep the 6s. I had the se for about 2 weeks while waiting for my x to come in the mail. I absolutely hated that phone. Was terribly small. Oh and by the way AT&T se’s at Walmart are $149

 

[Martyimac]

I show him speed tests when we are out and then he does his own and consistently his speed tests beat mine.

Thanks but I still wonder why?

 

[eyoungren]

Thanks but I still wonder why?

IDK. Maybe age? My iPhone is 2 years old, his is brand new.

 

[Martyimac]

IDK. Maybe age? My iPhone is 2 years old, his is brand new.

Maybe. Hopefully somebody else can help.
Thanks for the response.

 

[44267547]

Maybe. Hopefully somebody else can help.
Thanks for the response.

The iPhone SE has less pixels to push over the iPhone 6S, which can help loading somewhat faster. But as noted, the iPhone 6S and SE both share the same internals with two GB of RAM and the A9 processor.

 

[newellj]

I show him speed tests when we are out and then he does his own and consistently his speed tests beat mine.

I assume you mean faster upload/download speeds, not read/write speeds? The internals are the same, but some individual phones inevitably perform better than other individual phones, even if they're using the same components. Also, if your 6S is older and his SE is newer, it's possible that Apple has made unannounced changes in components that improve performance.
[doublepost=1512564406][/doublepost]

IDK. Maybe age? My iPhone is 2 years old, his is brand new.

Could be component changes, then. Or just luck of the draw. I used to have pairs of the same phone (work, personal) and they never performed the same.

 

[conifer]

I just got an SE and have a 6s. The Se battery is a beast, it goes for hours even playing video, and it's nice to go back to the small form factor. It also takes good pics, back camera is same as 6s. I never liked my 6s as was too big and angular and sure screen is bigger for webpages but not that much bigger, I can pull out the SE to browse and it is ok. Recently I started liking the 6s though as still going strong. My rule of thumb today is $150-200 for a year of use ; i paid about $150 for a 16gb new SE and think it has a year or two of service or I can sell it if an SE2 wows me.

 

[newellj]

Stuffing the iPhone 8 guts into the old 5/5S/SE platform would be amazing. There are probably too many components to do that (thinking of new features like wireless charging), though. The $150-200/year of use metric seems like a highly reasonable view. I doubt the iPhone X I bought last month would come anywhere near that figure, and frankly I don't expect it to.

 

[rui no onna]

The iPhone SE was a great phone when it was introduced, and if you already own one it's still a great phone to use, but I would not buy one new today. It's basically a 6S in the 5S form factor. You're buying a phone that's a couple of years old, and that's going to show up in terms of how long you're going to be able to update the phone. I know that you can keep a phone frozen in time almost indefinitely - I did it with an iPhone 4 - but at some point apps you need won't update or won't install, or there are iOS features you really want. Even at the very attractive price for this very attractive phone, it's just really late in the product cycle to buy one new. IMHO/YMMV.

Depends on the price point. At $150-200, the SE is a good option if one is okay with the size even if you only end up using the phone for 1-2 years.

 

[newellj]

Depends on the price point. At $150-200, the SE is a good option if one is okay with the size even if you only end up using the phone for 1-2 years.

Yeah, I was trying to make that point. Too many words.

 

[BMcCoy]

newellj has made some excellent comments, and I would echo them.

I am very happy with my SE, and would argue its superiority over all the new fashionable phabet iphones.

But there is that rumour of a new one in a few months time.
And like many, I'd be very happy to upgrade to a new SE model.

US SE users like having phones, with tons of extra features.
The big iPhone users like mobile devices with tons of features, of which cellular calling happens to be one.

 

[rui no onna]

Yeah, I was trying to make that point. Too many words.

Your post suggests you don't recommend buying the SE now at any price.

Imho, at $200 or less, the SE is still a decent buy right now even with the aged hardware. iOS 11 works pretty great on it and I honestly don't think iOS 12 would cripple it. I wouldn't buy it full price but the prepaid deals (particularly for AT&T)? Yeah, I'd be fine getting one as a replacement or backup device even if an updated SE is rumored for next year.

 

[newellj]

Your post suggests you don't recommend buying the SE now at any price.

Imho, at $200 or less, the SE is still a decent buy right now even with the aged hardware. iOS 11 works pretty great on it and I honestly don't think iOS 12 would cripple it. I wouldn't buy it full price but the prepaid deals (particularly for AT&T)? Yeah, I'd be fine getting one as a replacement or backup device even if an updated SE is rumored for next year.

I agree. I was thinking that the unsubsidized price for 32GB, which is probably on the small side today, is $350, and with most carriers I think getting a subsidized phone will require a two year contract. As you point out, there may be better deals out there.

Looking at the Apple page for the SE makes me think how much I liked the 5/5S and even more the 4/4S. I think the 4/4S would be on my Top Three list for cellphones, and I'be been using them for 30 years.