iPhone SE

singe_101

2[H]4U
Joined
Dec 17, 2005
Messages
2,158
I'm surprised there isn't discussion about an A9 phone, 2GB RAM and fast storage for a much lower price than a 6S.

What do people think about their 5S but overclocked on processing and GPU?

Or are 5S units breaking? iOS versions overwhelming their latest phone processor is far off.
 
My 5S works fine on the latest OS. I ordered the SE 2 weeks ago since it was only $50 for the 64GB model, the 16GB would have been free for me, but 16GB is so limiting.
I should get it next week, as it was back ordered till the 17th.
iphone-SE-order.jpg
 
I like it, size is perfect for me, and will probably be changing over to the 5SE. Just waiting for the teething bugs to be ironed out first.
 
I thought it was interesting, but I realized I couldn't go back to such a small screen size.
 
My girlfriend has the SE and adores it. It's not so much the performance or updated camera as the battery life. Her previous iPhone, the 5s, would conk out after a few hours of heavy use. The SE? She can go all day and still have a bit of juice left. It seems like the A9 (plus that slightly bigger battery) does wonders for people with her usage habits.
 
My girlfriend has the SE and adores it. It's not so much the performance or updated camera as the battery life. Her previous iPhone, the 5s, would conk out after a few hours of heavy use. The SE? She can go all day and still have a bit of juice left. It seems like the A9 (plus that slightly bigger battery) does wonders for people with her usage habits.

It could also be her 5S battery was worn out. I got my 5S in 2012, so it's almost 4 years old, I don't use it heavily, just sits there, but the battery does last quite a few days.
 
I love my 5S, but the camera is flaky. This might be my next phone. An A9 and the same 12MP camera from the 6S is a steal at $399.
 
Currently using the SE right now and loving it. My 6S is up for sale on H/Swappa right now. I tried it at first and didn't like it, but now that I've given it a few days I enjoy my SE a lot now. And yeah the battery is pretty crazy on this little thing, some people are getting near 6 Plus battery times.
 
It could also be her 5S battery was worn out. I got my 5S in 2012, so it's almost 4 years old, I don't use it heavily, just sits there, but the battery does last quite a few days.

Was the 5S really out in 2012? Surely you mean the 4S?

Edit: Problably just a typo for the year. At any rate, I suspect a bad battery as well. My 5S lasts a whole day with a good amount of activity.
 
I'm surprised there isn't discussion about an A9 phone, 2GB RAM and fast storage for a much lower price than a 6S.

What do people think about their 5S but overclocked on processing and GPU?

Or are 5S units breaking? iOS versions overwhelming their latest phone processor is far off.

I'm slightly interested in this phone, but honestly my 5S is doing just fine on even the latest OS. I don't feel the need to upgrade.
 
Was the 5S really out in 2012? Surely you mean the 4S?

Edit: Problably just a typo for the year. At any rate, I suspect a bad battery as well. My 5S lasts a whole day with a good amount of activity.
Ya, it was 2013, for some reason I thought I got it in 2012.
 
It could also be her 5S battery was worn out. I got my 5S in 2012, so it's almost 4 years old, I don't use it heavily, just sits there, but the battery does last quite a few days.

Nah -- it was like that from the start, and she got a replacement phone that exhibited the same behaviour. It's just a question of near-constant access.

I'm wondering if this is partly due to the extra RAM, actually -- 2GB means that it's not shuffling things in and out of memory as often.
 
Nah -- it was like that from the start, and she got a replacement phone that exhibited the same behaviour. It's just a question of near-constant access.

I'm wondering if this is partly due to the extra RAM, actually -- 2GB means that it's not shuffling things in and out of memory as often.

Apple doesn't shuffle access to memory, the only time data goes in or out is if your surfing a lot or closing/opening a ton of apps. The 5S had the best battery life at its time of release but it also had a lot of phones that had issues with battery life due to some (probable and unconfirmed rumor btw) battery issues. It was believed that Apple moved to some Chinese maker.
 
Apple doesn't shuffle access to memory, the only time data goes in or out is if your surfing a lot or closing/opening a ton of apps. The 5S had the best battery life at its time of release but it also had a lot of phones that had issues with battery life due to some (probable and unconfirmed rumor btw) battery issues. It was believed that Apple moved to some Chinese maker.

Well, that's the thing... she typically has several apps open, and a lot of browser tabs. I'm a techie by trade, and she makes me look like a casual user sometimes! Whatever the cause, she's delighted with the upgrade.
 
Have any of you guys end up getting one yet? I held onto my iPhone 5 until AT&T announced the end of 2-year contracts. I like the 6s other than the size. Small children in the house so I use an Otterbox and they just add a lot of bulk to phones. It doesn't fit as well as the 5 did in my pockets. I'm tempted to give my wife the 6s, get her 6 replaced from AppleCare+ due to water damage, and then sell the replacement to buy an SE outright for me. I don't use TouchID and while the 3D Touch is nifty, also not a must-have.
 
I know many people who traded in their 6 and 6S for the SE, they primarily did it for the familiarity with the 5/S design type.
 
I got mine and love it. the rear camera is much much better too.
No one believed me when I said I got a new phone since it looks exactly like my old 5s.
 
Wife has been waiting for it for a while, so I got it for her the day it came out from Tmobile. I think its a piece of shit compared to the nexus 5 she had. She loves the battery life and the camera. I think the UI sucks(no back button), I dont like the apps, I dont like how every apps settings are in the phones settings. No home screen, just an app drawer and getting her favorite ringtone on it took entirely way to long. I also dont like that you cant customize that screen to the left, where it has nearby, siri suggestions and whatever.

I have no idea what people are having kittens over, iOS blows compared to Android. But hey, happy wife, happy life. At least now I dont have to listen to her piss and moan, I just say, well I cant do shit about that. Where as before, anything was possible.

Obviously, the build quality is superb and fingerprint reader is fast. But that only takes you so far.

On the other hand, I will concede, the Air 2 with cell that we have(also the wifes idea) is excellent as far media consumption goes. That surprisingly works very well to watch netflix, plex, surf the web, facetime with the family (they are all suckers who got iOS devices too, except my dad, we are the only smart ones).
 
I'm not sure what everyone gets so excited with on Android. The customization really isn't all that impressive, or I just don't see the point of it. The reason people love iOS is because it works and you don't deal with the lag that still happens on brand new android devices. I can't deal with that lag on a daily basis. The back button is one thing that I'll probably miss for the next few weeks, but you get used to the gestures.
 
I'm not sure what everyone gets so excited with on Android. The customization really isn't all that impressive, or I just don't see the point of it. The reason people love iOS is because it works and you don't deal with the lag that still happens on brand new android devices. I can't deal with that lag on a daily basis. The back button is one thing that I'll probably miss for the next few weeks, but you get used to the gestures.

iOS gestures > back button. I won't comment on the rest of opinionated pieces on Android vs. iOS, its been done a million billion times on these boards.

Although I will admit, it took until the 19th post for someone to come in and thread cap. Progress!
 
Everyone can agree this is a better price. The Nexus 5 was $349 (16GB) and the iPhone 5C was $549, a bad deal. A6 processor.

But people would freak for an Exynos 4" all-metal Samsung.
 
But people would freak for an Exynos 4" all-metal Samsung.

I'm not so sure. Only Apple actually had (and still has) a large install base of 4" users to capitalize on. It's not like Samsung has millions of die-hard fans all holding on to smaller Galaxy phones because they don't like the form factor of the new models. Samsung was largely responsible for pushing the bigger-is-better trend in phone screens (mostly because of market pressure in their native Korea). I just don't think they're in the right market position to deliver a device like that, or that the market would gobble it up as readily as you expect. It's already known that the iPhone SE isn't performing incredibly well in the US, but that might have more to do with supply constraints than actual demand.
 
I don't really understand why they need to own a Galaxy phone already. That's not required for all the new HTC 10 fans ($699). I assume the 4" or 4.3" has a bigger battery, SD slot, and AMOLED but Apple won't.

They could jump ship from Motorola-Lenovo, the Moto G is completely bizarre now and the X is gigantic. OG Moto G got a good reception.

Could be Huawei and Kirin, but then should be less expensive.
 
Most people won't move down in size for their phone. Reviews of the SE from people who switched from a 6 or 6+ make it clear that it's a difficult transition for someone used to a larger device. You need an existing base of users who will switch to this device if you want to release it. Only Apple has enough current install base and a supply chain to make a device like this work in a market where people want phablets, and even then it doesn't seem to be going that swimmingly if current sales estimates are to be believed. There's surely a reason why Apple isn't releasing sales figures on the SE they way they have for every other iPhone.
 
Samsung already tried the smaller-but-relatively-high-end phone thing with the Galaxy Alpha. It's a solid phone, but the fact that it didn't survive beyond one generation speaks volumes. Apple pretty much has that space cornered, and Samsung has conditioned its audience to equate small screens with low-end hardware (see: all the Galaxy S mini phones that were nowhere near as powerful as their full-size namesakes).

And to clarify: iPhone SE sales are generally constrained by supply, not demand. If you order one from Apple in the US right now, it'll take 2-3 weeks to arrive -- kind of wild for a budget iPhone. I'm sure Apple was conservative with initial shipments, but still...
 
Samsung already tried the smaller-but-relatively-high-end phone thing with the Galaxy Alpha. It's a solid phone, but the fact that it didn't survive beyond one generation speaks volumes. Apple pretty much has that space cornered, and Samsung has conditioned its audience to equate small screens with low-end hardware (see: all the Galaxy S mini phones that were nowhere near as powerful as their full-size namesakes).

The Galaxy Alpha is a horrible example for the point you are trying to make... First it was only available on 1 of the 4 major US carriers where as the iPhone se is available on all 4. Second is that the Galaxy Alpha at 4.7" was not much of a differance from the Galaxy S5 that was already out and its 5.1" screen. And what you gave up was huge in the battery dept (1860 vs 2800 mah) not to mention no ip67 or micro sd slot. It was not the size that kept it from being popular, it was the step back in technology for a flagship price. It was being sold on the fit & finish instead of the hardware at a flagship price.
 
The Galaxy Alpha is a horrible example for the point you are trying to make... First it was only available on 1 of the 4 major US carriers where as the iPhone se is available on all 4. Second is that the Galaxy Alpha at 4.7" was not much of a differance from the Galaxy S5 that was already out and its 5.1" screen. And what you gave up was huge in the battery dept (1860 vs 2800 mah) not to mention no ip67 or micro sd slot. It was not the size that kept it from being popular, it was the step back in technology for a flagship price. It was being sold on the fit & finish instead of the hardware at a flagship price.

Keep in mind that I'm not thinking strictly about the US... and remember, battery capacity wasn't as big of an issue with the smaller and lower-resolution screen. Not sure that microSD matters as much as you think it does, especially when the Alpha had 32GB of built-in storage. Remember, the goal of the Alpha was to get the performance of a high-end phone into a smaller, more premium-feeling design. It achieved that, but the problem was that Samsung was basically trying to beat the iPhone 6 to the punch without understanding that 1) Apple has a lock on the small-but-premium market and 2) that the iPhone 6 was going to be a better overall device.
 
Keep in mind that I'm not thinking strictly about the US... and remember, battery capacity wasn't as big of an issue with the smaller and lower-resolution screen. Not sure that microSD matters as much as you think it does, especially when the Alpha had 32GB of built-in storage. Remember, the goal of the Alpha was to get the performance of a high-end phone into a smaller, more premium-feeling design. It achieved that, but the problem was that Samsung was basically trying to beat the iPhone 6 to the punch without understanding that 1) Apple has a lock on the small-but-premium market and 2) that the iPhone 6 was going to be a better overall device.
Any what way you slice it the Alpha was competing with the S5. It is entirely too close to its cousin that was out 6 months earlier & was superior in every way other then fit and finish for not much larger of a device. And this is coming from someone who would of loved to have the smaller Alpha if it was available on T-Mobile. Also keep in mind that it was released along side the Note 4 who was carried by EVERYONE so the Alpha had like zero advertising or press coverage at the time.

If the iPhone SE was released along side the 6S or the 7 instead of right in-between it would suffer much of the same.
 
Keep in mind the SE is not compatible with LTE Advanced. Even though there is no real coverage yet, if you plan to keep the phone for a few years this may be a concern.
 
Keep in mind the SE is not compatible with LTE Advanced. Even though there is no real coverage yet, if you plan to keep the phone for a few years this may be a concern.

Ihonestly don't see a point in LTE-A. It's not used anywhere, and it doesn't really provide anything better except speed, which LTE itself hasn't even reach to its capacity.
 
Ihonestly don't see a point in LTE-A. It's not used anywhere, and it doesn't really provide anything better except speed, which LTE itself hasn't even reach to its capacity.

There's a point, but the real question is: are you going to notice the difference on a phone like this in the next couple of years? Probably not. I'd worry about it only if I was buying a flagship and planned to keep it around for a long time.
 
Any what way you slice it the Alpha was competing with the S5. It is entirely too close to its cousin that was out 6 months earlier & was superior in every way other then fit and finish for not much larger of a device. And this is coming from someone who would of loved to have the smaller Alpha if it was available on T-Mobile. Also keep in mind that it was released along side the Note 4 who was carried by EVERYONE so the Alpha had like zero advertising or press coverage at the time.

If the iPhone SE was released along side the 6S or the 7 instead of right in-between it would suffer much of the same.

I'd agree with that for the most part. The Alpha did have more storage, but Samsung had a bit of a tough sell to someone who was already sold on the brand: here, buy this somewhat less powerful phone whose main selling points are its size and improved construction. It was probably one of the last hurrahs of Samsung's truly bad old days, the every-niche-must-be-filled strategy where the company just couldn't imagine leaving a sub-market (no matter how small or unsuccessful) to someone else. It was meant to compete against Apple, but it did more harm to Samsung.

And yeah, in hindsight it was wise of Apple to release the iPhone SE in March. There's less chance of it being overshadowed, and it gives Apple a sales bump at a quiet time of the year.
 
And yeah, in hindsight it was wise of Apple to release the iPhone SE in March. There's less chance of it being overshadowed, and it gives Apple a sales bump at a quiet time of the year.
Not only that, but people think its an upgrade over the 6s... At least one or two customers a day I speak to want to upgrade from their 6s to it. Then when I explain to them its the same as the 6s, but smaller they always change their mind. I am sure lots of people selling them just go through with the sale though so your exactly right its bumping up their sales numbers.

And to be honest if it was an android phone that was that size & that feature packed for 400 (or 500 for the 64gb model) I would be handing over my cash in a hurry.

Had the alpha been a 4" or 4.3" screen it would have actually set it apart from the s5 & would have actually filled that smaller more premium niche that Samsung was going for.
 
I've had my SE for about a month now and I don't regret switching at all. Typing on the smaller screen is obviously a little more difficult but I like the overall size better than the 6S. Most of the time I don't need the larger screen size. Everyone is different. Get what you think suits your needs.
 
I used to love my iPhone 5 and 5s. Now after using an iPhone 6 and the s6 edge, I went with the iPhone 6s Plus and have zero regrets. The battery life is insane and I prefer the big screen. It's a bit awkward to handle when I'm laying down but I can use it one handed while walking.
 
Use a SE for work only, so no personal stuff on it. Figured no need to go all out on a big iPhone when I already have a large Droid for my personal phone. It was my first iPhone for being a strict Droid guy all these years. I like it, a few surprising features that I have come to like.
 
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