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I know a few people that still have the SE, and for all of them it was mainly about the size. That and a belief that they didn't want to be glued to their phone
by cactus2093 7y ago
I know a few people that still have the SE, and for all of them it was mainly about the size. That and a belief that they didn't want to be glued to their phone all the time. So the benefit was a combination of the smaller size being more ergonomic, plus the fact that less content fit on the screen was actually a pro for them because the extra friction encourages wasting less time on it.
It does seem weird that instead of continuing to serve this market, Apple assumes everyone wants their same large form factor and it's only a matter of price.
On the other hand, maybe we're just in a bubble. Trying to avoid consumer tech even though you could easily afford it is a rather niche, privileged view of a subset of people that work in tech. Maybe outside this bubble there's a much larger group of people who do want the big, more up to date designs and price is the only consideration.
- hosh 7y agoThe 5S and the SE for me was mainly about being minimalist. Size was a big part of it, but it was also that the SE was a really good design that should last for years. Up until this announcement, I was going to have the battery replaced on the SE. The bigger issue is if Apple will continue to support the 1st gen SE with iOS. My wife prefer the bigger phones. She has aphantasia. I don't, and often hold visualizations of things I can't see. It eventually dawned on me that people buy those things to attach to the back of their phone because you _couldn't_ safely hold and operate the bigger phone with a single hand without that attachment.
- Angostura 7y agoI believe it has been announced that iOS 14 will support the same phones as iOS 13, has it not?
- AnonC 7y agoWell, iOS 14 will only be formally announced by Apple in WWDC, which is in June. Apple hasn’t mentioned that release name anywhere yet. So any announcements you may have seen on device support would be speculations or rumors.
- briandear 7y agoThe existence of iOS 14 hasn’t been announced let alone device support.
- wlesieutre 7y agoHas not been announced. But the 6S/SE are the oldest devices supported by iOS 13, so I won't be surprised if they're dropped.
- thijsvandien 7y agoKeep in mind that the old SE was still being sold by Apple until just a year and a half ago (discontinued in Sep 2018). Generally, their devices can be expected to be supported for several years after they were newly purchased. I would be quite surprised if iOS 14 drops it, and have some hope for the release after that even.
- 1980phipsi 7y agoMeh, I have aphantasia and an SE...
- hosh 7y agoWell, good for you? I don't know why my wife prefers the bigger screen, but I came to accept that she experiences the world differently than I do, and prefers the bigger screen.
- dillonmckay 7y agoAnecdote fight!
- deleted 7y ago[deleted]
- PunksATawnyFill 7y agoI still have my SE, for very good reasons: 1. HEADPHONE JACK. Selling music- and media-centric devices without headphone jacks is stupid and offensive. 2. Ergonomics: FLAT SIDES. You can grip the old SE. Rounded edges are stupid, because the phone wants to flip sideways out of your grip. And the new SE still uses the Lightning port, which is technically incompetent in addition to being proprietary.
- tspike 7y agoYou're getting downvoted (I guess because of the all caps and self proclaimed very good reasons?) but you are absolutely correct. Headphone jack + ergonomics + modern processor + price were the key selling points for me on the previous iteration.
- vbezhenar 7y agoI'm thinking to buy SE 1 while I can, even though I own 8. If I would break my 8, I'll either return to SE 1 or change to Android. I don't like new iPhones at all. I don't even like iPhone 8, I just bought it for its internals and I thought that I'll get used to big screen. Turns out, I did not. The only good thing about 8 is that it's kind of water-resistant, so I can read books in my bath.
- bscphil 7y agoDamn. I just said upthread that I (an Android user who has never owned an iPhone) would make it my next phone because of the form factor, but you're absolutely right about this. I had forgotten. I certainly won't ever be buying a phone without a traditional headphone jack.
- dwaite 7y agoHate to say it, but you should probably be eying your next phone based on what is on the market now - new models with headphone jacks are increasingly unlikely.
- 7y ago
- frenchie4111 7y ago> That and a belief that they didn't want to be glued to their phone all the time. This made me think of another reason they are cutting smaller form factor phones, maybe not valid. It could be that manufacturers of mobile phones are optimizing for engagement (see: apple switching revenue to services), and the engagement metrics on smaller form factor phones are lower, so they want people using less of them. They only want you to be able to buy a larger phone, because they want you to engage with your phone more.
- tomaskafka 7y agoThey absolutely do, services are a larger and larger part of Apple's income. I believe that's a reason why Screen Time is so bad - it's not a feature, it's just marketing's objection killer.
- scarface74 7y agoWhy would any phone manufacturer beside Apple care about engagement? No other (non Chinese) OEM makes money from services after the phone is sold.
- frenchie4111 7y agoYeah, that's fair.
- deleted 7y ago[deleted]
- duncanawoods 7y agoDo the bundled bloatware deals depend on engagement?
- cmrdporcupine 7y agoThe bigger the phone, the larger the surface area for the battery that they can put on it. I suspect that's the primary engineering concern driving it, and it just so happens that customers either like, or haven't balked, at large screens.
- jrochkind1 7y agoHm, at 4.7" this might be a bit bigger than the original SE (4.0" I think?), but I think it's still among the smallest phone on the market, no? Are there even any smaller?
- masklinn 7y agoIt's apparently the format of the 6~8 (which incidentally is likely why the 8/8+ was discontinued at the same time). So it's quite a bit bigger than the original SE, though the biggest issue I had with the design (on a 6S anyway) was that the metal back and rounded edge made it much slippier than the old 4/5/SE design, much harder to hold securely. Anyway the SE/2016 was 123.8mm x 58.6mm x 7.6mm and 114g with a 4" display, the 8 was 138.4mm x 67.3mm x 7.3mm and 148g with a 4.7" display. Significantly heavier (+30%), noticeably wider (+12%) and taller (+15%) and about the same depth (-4%).
- baq 7y agoCan’t remember the last time I’ve seen any iPhone in the wild without some kind of armor.
- dijit 7y agoAnecdotal; I never see anyone with a phone case these days, aside from my partner who has a screen protector + thick case because she is very clumsy.
- vbezhenar 7y agoI hate screen cases. But I bought one for iPhone 8 because this thing is not made to be used without case. I dropped it first day, it's just not convenient to hold. I had 4S for 6 years before and never dropped it. iPhones went downwards as Jobs died.
- masklinn 7y agoHad the same experience with a 6S, coming from a 4s. Don’t know if it’s the phone or me but the 11 is fine so far. I think it’s a mix of the 6-8 design being too thin for rounded borders and the metal back being super slippery compared to glass.
- lowlevel 7y agoMain thing for me is size in the hand and squared off sides. I find anything with rounded edges I can't hold on to and just hits the floor constantly... little better with a case, but that makes the phones just that much bigger and less comfortable. I can't bring myself to let go of the old SE's.... of which I keep two around just in case.
- ubercow13 7y agoI found the iPhone 5 the slipperiest phone I’ve ever held. The texture seems designed to minimise friction between the phone and your hand, and the square edges make sure as little as possible of the back is in contact with it too!
- freeflight 7y ago> It does seem weird that instead of continuing to serve this market, Apple assumes everyone wants their same large form factor and it's only a matter of price. The problem there is that they can't get the smaller form factor, +nice specs, at that low price but at a higher price it would probably not sell as good because the SE line always had that air of "more affordable iPhone" to it. That why this new SE is exactly iPhone 8 dimensions, to a point where Apple even confirmed that iPhone 8 cases will be compatible with the new SE. So it stands to reason that they retooled a lot of their 4.7-inch production to make this "SE" as affordable as it is. Trying to put all of that into a 4-inch screen form factor like the original SE, would require sourcing completely different parts, require much more retooling of already existing manufacturing processes, for many parts, there'd be zero overlaps with their other products. So while people like me prioritize the 4-inch screen smaller form-factor, Apple chose to embrace the SE as a "budget iPhone" brand that makes all the other "budget" competition look like really outdated and lame ducks. Which is most certainly a bigger market than people prioritizing size of the device over anything else.
- vbezhenar 7y agoIMO they just want to reuse iPhone 8 factories like they reused iPhone 5S factories releasing SE 1.
- hinkley 7y agoYou want your manufacturers to reuse infrastructure they've already built. Ultimately, you are the one paying for any new infrastructure, not them. It's called an investment because they make more money on something than they put into it. That money is coming from you.
- graeme 7y agopretty sure the user you're replying to was merely explaining that Apple made the SE larger due to manufacturing convenience, rather than any ideas about optimal size.
- freeflight 7y ago