5 ms·

The iPhone SE is still really good and we might be seeing a new one in a couple hours. I'm planning to keep mine for at least another year since there isn't muc

The iPhone SE is still really good and we might be seeing a new one in a couple hours. I'm planning to keep mine for at least another year since there isn't much else out there.

wlesieutre 8y ago
That's what I have. Actually switched to Android after the iPhone 6 was too big for me, then switched back when the SE came out. Unfortunately the (all but confirmed) rumors for today's iPhone announcements are that it comes in 3 sizes: Huge, Enormous, and Gargantuan. If you've held an iPhone X before, that's now the small size. Given that the SE was a years-old manufacturing process (basically an iPhone 5) and they couldn't get it in stock consistently for months after release, I don't know why they keep doing this. But here we are. In fact, 9to5Mac is reporting that the iPhone SE may be discontinued today. We'll find out soon.
- NeedMoreTea 8y ago
  Well that will be hugely disappointing if it turns out to be true. I really don't want to switch back to Android. The form factor is still better than anything else I've encountered - enough thickness for a decent grip, and small enough. The very last thing I want is a phone that's a not so small any more, but 2mm thick, tablet.
  - wlesieutre 8y ago
    I like how Apple is adding all this Screen Time monitoring tools in iOS 12 to help you deal with phone overuse, acting like they want to help us out, then at the same time the hardware team cranks out these progressively bigger and bigger phones. "What do you call a phone that's bigger than Plus size? We call it the iPhone XS Max." No, Phil, the word you were looking for is "Obese." Oh well.
  - wlesieutre 8y ago
    iPhone SE is gone https://www.macrumors.com/2018/09/12/apple-discontinues-iphone-se-iphone-6s-iphone-x/ https://www.macrumors.com/2018/09/12/apple-discontinues-ipho...
    - NeedMoreTea 8y ago
      Thanks. I'm a bit surprised considering how popular it was, and the tech sites have been leaking hints of an SE 2 all year. Leaves nothing in the range that's appealing.
      - PinkMilkshake 8y ago
        Yeah, it's sad. The SE has been the nicest phone I've ever had. I can use it one handed! I'm not sure what I'll do yet. It should be supported for a few more years but now that they aren't selling it anymore I'm anticipating the inevitable "we didn't slow your phone down on purpose, honest" update.
- Kluny 8y ago
  Augh, please no!
- nafey 8y ago
  I agree
- kgwxd 8y ago
  > If you've held an iPhone X before, that's now the small size. If this trend keeps up, I won't want to look at my "phone" because I'll have to put on a back brace to lift it safely.
  - wlesieutre 8y ago
    It's emphatically a 2-handed device now, even at the "small" size. I tried an iPhone X once and even with Reachability turned on, I could do the "move the screen down" gesture and then still wasn't able to hold the phone securely and activate control center with my thumb. Moving that to the top corner of the screen seems like a colossally stupid idea to me given the size of these things, but they ran out of gestures you can do with your thumb now that the home button is gone. EDIT - this is possibly worse because I use my phone with my left hand (right pocket is for car keys), and you have to reach the top right for Control Center. You'd think they could improve it by giving an option to flip Control Center to the top left corner, but as far as I know you can't.
    - kgwxd 8y ago
      On top of that, there's exceedingly less gripping area as the screen and the edge have become one. Just having a touchscreen alone makes handling a device feel like a hot-of-the-press photo you don't want to smear with your fat fingers, now it's more like trying to hold fire without getting burned.
- wlesieutre 8y ago
  >Huge, Enormous, and Gargantuan A D&D playing friend advises me that the conventional size progression is Large/Huge/Gargantuan, but I think Large is underselling the iPhone XS size, so Huge/Gargantuan/Colossal may be more accurate.
beat 8y ago
My spouse switched to the iPhone SE a while back and loves it.
mikestew 8y ago
This year might be the year that I just go Apple Watch. I don't do phone calls (which I imagine is the biggest battery hit), and I've already pared down to the minimum of notifications in conjunction with a Garmin watch. I'm not anywhere near a phone addict, but if I don't have to carry it, there goes any temptation to dick around on it. OTOH, watching the presentation this morning, not a lot of new appeal for Apple Watch 4 over my current Garmin Fenix. So we'll see.
- wlesieutre 8y ago
  I'm starting to wonder if there's better hope of me getting a new 4" Apple Watch instead of a 4" iPhone...
  - mikestew 8y ago
    There's a reason I said "Apple Watch" and not "iPhone SE". :-(
- appleiigs 8y ago
  I just ditched my Apple Watch 3 (with cellular) and got a Garmin Forerunner 935. All of the features the AW provides beyond the 935 are implemented poorly. Any noise from street or wind or water made the AW phone features useless. For texting, only bareable responding with a few words or less. Siri did not work. With the 935 I gained battery life, big screen size, better fitness tracking, sleep tracking, and still operates with wet (rain or sweat or swimming) fingers. Even if I get notified of something on my AW, couldn’t do anything about it without my phone. Sometimes I missed carrying a phone on long distance runs for the camera. Eg. Moose! I’d like a smaller phone like my old Motorola Razer for my runs.
- deaps 8y ago
  I've used Garmins and Apple watches for years now. As an avid road cyclist, I always used some type of Garmin wrist device for heart rate monitoring. As a tech person, I always found the Apple watch to be more on the 'smart watch / techie' side of things - and more aesthetically pleasing. There is no doubt that the Garmin does a better job of actually recording a ride, or transmitting heart rate to your cycling computer, or just about anything activity-based. So I was always swapping my Apple for my Garmin before rides, workouts, etc. I always knew there was a shortcoming with even the Garmin when it came to heart rate accuracy - it just didn't respond quickly enough to sudden changes in heart rate (ie. going up a hill at full throttle, etc) - so I tried a heart rate strap on the chest. The Garmin heart rate strap for the chest is perfectly accurate and responds to changes in heart rate immediately. I have that paired with my cycling computer on my bike...and I no longer swap watches depending on what I'm doing. I've learned to appreciate the Apple Watch for what it is - a device to record activities where heart rate accuracy isn't necessarily 100% important - such as a quick training jog or a quick treadmill workout at the gym, etc. In either event, I've rambled long enough. I'll be first in line for the new Apple Watch 4 - and will sell my Apple Watch 3 shortly after. I might keep my old wrist strap though. :D
cptskippy 8y ago
I would love for this to be a new trend. I just sold an 3rd Generation iPod Touch at a garage sale that I hadn't used in many years. My first thought when I pulled it out of the plastic box it came in was "why didn't we ever get this iPhone?" The closest we ever got was the 3G which was still at least 2x as thick. For those wondering what I'm talking about... https://i0.wp.com/vittorioroncagli.it/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/2009-iPod-touch-3rd-Generation.jpg?fit=1024%2C1024 https://i0.wp.com/vittorioroncagli.it/wp-content/uploads/201...

The iPhone SE is still really good and we might be seeing a new one in a couple hours. I'm planning to keep mine for at least another year since there isn't much else out there.

wlesieutre 8y ago

That's what I have. Actually switched to Android after the iPhone 6 was too big for me, then switched back when the SE came out. Unfortunately the (all but confirmed) rumors for today's iPhone announcements are that it comes in 3 sizes: Huge, Enormous, and Gargantuan. If you've held an iPhone X before, that's now the small size. Given that the SE was a years-old manufacturing process (basically an iPhone 5) and they couldn't get it in stock consistently for months after release, I don't know why they keep doing this. But here we are. In fact, 9to5Mac is reporting that the iPhone SE may be discontinued today. We'll find out soon.

NeedMoreTea 8y ago
Well that will be hugely disappointing if it turns out to be true. I really don't want to switch back to Android. The form factor is still better than anything else I've encountered - enough thickness for a decent grip, and small enough. The very last thing I want is a phone that's a not so small any more, but 2mm thick, tablet.
- wlesieutre 8y ago
  I like how Apple is adding all this Screen Time monitoring tools in iOS 12 to help you deal with phone overuse, acting like they want to help us out, then at the same time the hardware team cranks out these progressively bigger and bigger phones. "What do you call a phone that's bigger than Plus size? We call it the iPhone XS Max." No, Phil, the word you were looking for is "Obese." Oh well.
- wlesieutre 8y ago
  iPhone SE is gone https://www.macrumors.com/2018/09/12/apple-discontinues-iphone-se-iphone-6s-iphone-x/ https://www.macrumors.com/2018/09/12/apple-discontinues-ipho...
  - NeedMoreTea 8y ago
    Thanks. I'm a bit surprised considering how popular it was, and the tech sites have been leaking hints of an SE 2 all year. Leaves nothing in the range that's appealing.
    - PinkMilkshake 8y ago
      Yeah, it's sad. The SE has been the nicest phone I've ever had. I can use it one handed! I'm not sure what I'll do yet. It should be supported for a few more years but now that they aren't selling it anymore I'm anticipating the inevitable "we didn't slow your phone down on purpose, honest" update.
Kluny 8y ago
Augh, please no!
nafey 8y ago
I agree
kgwxd 8y ago
> If you've held an iPhone X before, that's now the small size. If this trend keeps up, I won't want to look at my "phone" because I'll have to put on a back brace to lift it safely.
- wlesieutre 8y ago
  It's emphatically a 2-handed device now, even at the "small" size. I tried an iPhone X once and even with Reachability turned on, I could do the "move the screen down" gesture and then still wasn't able to hold the phone securely and activate control center with my thumb. Moving that to the top corner of the screen seems like a colossally stupid idea to me given the size of these things, but they ran out of gestures you can do with your thumb now that the home button is gone. EDIT - this is possibly worse because I use my phone with my left hand (right pocket is for car keys), and you have to reach the top right for Control Center. You'd think they could improve it by giving an option to flip Control Center to the top left corner, but as far as I know you can't.
  - kgwxd 8y ago
    On top of that, there's exceedingly less gripping area as the screen and the edge have become one. Just having a touchscreen alone makes handling a device feel like a hot-of-the-press photo you don't want to smear with your fat fingers, now it's more like trying to hold fire without getting burned.
wlesieutre 8y ago
>Huge, Enormous, and Gargantuan A D&D playing friend advises me that the conventional size progression is Large/Huge/Gargantuan, but I think Large is underselling the iPhone XS size, so Huge/Gargantuan/Colossal may be more accurate.

beat 8y ago

My spouse switched to the iPhone SE a while back and loves it.

mikestew 8y ago

This year might be the year that I just go Apple Watch. I don't do phone calls (which I imagine is the biggest battery hit), and I've already pared down to the minimum of notifications in conjunction with a Garmin watch. I'm not anywhere near a phone addict, but if I don't have to carry it, there goes any temptation to dick around on it. OTOH, watching the presentation this morning, not a lot of new appeal for Apple Watch 4 over my current Garmin Fenix. So we'll see.

wlesieutre 8y ago
I'm starting to wonder if there's better hope of me getting a new 4" Apple Watch instead of a 4" iPhone...
- mikestew 8y ago
  There's a reason I said "Apple Watch" and not "iPhone SE". :-(
appleiigs 8y ago
I just ditched my Apple Watch 3 (with cellular) and got a Garmin Forerunner 935. All of the features the AW provides beyond the 935 are implemented poorly. Any noise from street or wind or water made the AW phone features useless. For texting, only bareable responding with a few words or less. Siri did not work. With the 935 I gained battery life, big screen size, better fitness tracking, sleep tracking, and still operates with wet (rain or sweat or swimming) fingers. Even if I get notified of something on my AW, couldn’t do anything about it without my phone. Sometimes I missed carrying a phone on long distance runs for the camera. Eg. Moose! I’d like a smaller phone like my old Motorola Razer for my runs.
deaps 8y ago
I've used Garmins and Apple watches for years now. As an avid road cyclist, I always used some type of Garmin wrist device for heart rate monitoring. As a tech person, I always found the Apple watch to be more on the 'smart watch / techie' side of things - and more aesthetically pleasing. There is no doubt that the Garmin does a better job of actually recording a ride, or transmitting heart rate to your cycling computer, or just about anything activity-based. So I was always swapping my Apple for my Garmin before rides, workouts, etc. I always knew there was a shortcoming with even the Garmin when it came to heart rate accuracy - it just didn't respond quickly enough to sudden changes in heart rate (ie. going up a hill at full throttle, etc) - so I tried a heart rate strap on the chest. The Garmin heart rate strap for the chest is perfectly accurate and responds to changes in heart rate immediately. I have that paired with my cycling computer on my bike...and I no longer swap watches depending on what I'm doing. I've learned to appreciate the Apple Watch for what it is - a device to record activities where heart rate accuracy isn't necessarily 100% important - such as a quick training jog or a quick treadmill workout at the gym, etc. In either event, I've rambled long enough. I'll be first in line for the new Apple Watch 4 - and will sell my Apple Watch 3 shortly after. I might keep my old wrist strap though. :D

cptskippy 8y ago

I would love for this to be a new trend. I just sold an 3rd Generation iPod Touch at a garage sale that I hadn't used in many years. My first thought when I pulled it out of the plastic box it came in was "why didn't we ever get this iPhone?" The closest we ever got was the 3G which was still at least 2x as thick. For those wondering what I'm talking about... https://i0.wp.com/vittorioroncagli.it/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/2009-iPod-touch-3rd-Generation.jpg?fit=1024%2C1024 https://i0.wp.com/vittorioroncagli.it/wp-content/uploads/201...