It isn’t September, but that didn’t stop Apple from launching a new phone anyway. Last month, the company released their new-in-an-old-phone’s-body iPhone SE, which probably made a lot of people happy with its 4-inch display and, for the most part, worthwhile specifications.
All-in-all, I think Apple did right by “mini” devices. We’ve seen so many mini variants over the years, where companies just release a small phone and don’t care much about the specifications, like the processor or camera, and call it good. Apple, on the other hand, managed to shove a powerful processor in there, along with a great camera, and plenty of other bonuses.
For anyone that’s been waiting for a new 4-inch iPhone, especially one without a high price tag, the iPhone SE is probably (hopefully) worth the money.
But there are caveats, as there usually are when a device is priced as low as the iPhone SE is. Starting at $399 (for the ridiculous 16GB version), Apple managed to meet that price thanks to different things, like leaving out 3D Touch — one of the features that Apple’s banking on for future versions of iOS.
The iPhone SE also uses the original iPhone 5s display, without any advancements like True Tone (which the company launched with the new 9.7-inch iPad Pro), or even the display technology found in the iPhone 6s. On top of that, the Touch ID sensor in the iPhone SE is the first-generation incarnation, which means it works as well as what was used in the iPhone 5s — and nowhere near as quickly as it does on the iPhone 6s/6s Plus.
Personally, out of all these issues, I just wish the display was better — both in resolution and technology. I don’t use 3D Touch all that often, barely ever in fact, and while the Touch ID sensor on the iPhone 6s is great, there are times when I think it might actually work too quickly. (I guess this is one of the reasons it’s good that the Power button is easier to reach, there on the side.)
But, now that the iPhone SE has been out for a week, I’m wondering how many of you out there in the real world who have used one, had time to really try it out, are keeping it. Is the 4-inch display worth the trade-offs that are present, and that price tag, thanks in part to all the great specification details in other aspects of the phone? And if you got rid of the iPhone SE, what did you go back to?
