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As someone who held onto the iPhone 5S for years after its EOL and then held onto the iPhone SE first gen for as long as possible (until a cracked screen and se

As someone who held onto the iPhone 5S for years after its EOL and then held onto the iPhone SE first gen for as long as possible (until a cracked screen and second shot battery forced an upgrade) I can confidently say this guy is missing out. I held on to the old phone because of my thinking of the "stability and perfection" of its old design. I avoided the iPhone 6/7/8/SEv2 era like the plague because of just how unfinished it felt. It was slippery, it felt uncomfortable in the hand, and I hear it was not the best at repairability. It also just does not look good in my opinion. At the time THAT phone felt like the one was was unfinished. Now this guy is saying its the one that is "like a well-finished product". Its the same design that I felt was unfinished. I conclude that this talk of finished vs unfinished design is just a matter of taste and perception. There is nothing that fundamentally changed from iPhone 8 vs iPhone SEv2/3. It still inherits my complaints from above. In reality he just hasn't put in the time to give the iPhone 13 and iPhone 13 mini designs an honest chance. They are the current "unfinished" designs. A few years down the line he will be saying the same thing about that design once it comes out in iPhone SE v4(or 5/6/7 whatever). Now to be fair there is something great about small cheap phones that pack a lot of value. It is just what it is. Last gen design that some prefer while others do not. Its not anything special nor "perfected".

rpgbr 4y ago
Even though I really like the SE, obviously there are infinite ways to make a good phone. Turns out this old one works for me, plus it's cheap, really fast, and I'm used to it — what else can I ask for a phone? Pricing is a very strong factor here, I have to say. Brazil almost always tops the “more expensive iPhone in the world” lists. SE's price is really fair, kind of an outlier in Apple's lineup.
- nebula8804 4y ago
  It seems like pricing is the only real factor there based on what I am seeing in the article. If the Mini design was the same price then all of a sudden it seems like that would be the "great design". Its not even really an amazing deal. In exchange for the latest CPU you get essentially 8 year old LCD (with slightly newer contrast ratio from ~7 years ago), the same old case design with same old grade of aluminum and they exclude U1 co-processor. Also, camera seems like its from iPhone 7/8 as well(5-6 yrs old but could be wrong about this)? Its only a good deal because iOS is such a valuable ecosystem and the fact that it grants you entry into that ecosystem at such a low price makes the phone so much more alluring than it really is.
  - joemi 4y ago
    re: "only real factor"... Among other differences between the SE and the Mini, the Mini doesn't have touch ID button, does it? The article mentions "I have already argued in the past that I prefer this iPhone model over any newer one, Face ID capable." So it would seem that the lack of touch ID on the Mini would be a detriment to the author.
JansjoFromIkea 4y ago
Switched from iPhone SE 2016 to an iPhone Mini, tbh the loss of touch ID alone was enough to mean it felt like a big quality of life drop. Less so now that I don't have to be wearing a mask so often but still feels significantly worse and I'd happily trade some screen space for it. I suspect a big chunk of why the SE is still around with its current design is a concern of how put off some older users may be from having to adjust to a less consistent unlocking system.
- nebula8804 4y ago
  Its been 5 years since FaceID came out. My bet is on the fact that they need a low cost model in the lineup and they still have the old tooling for the iPhone 8 series so TouchID just happens to be there. Apple is not the type of company that keeps legacy things around if they can help it regardless of how some users might feel.
dontlaugh 4y ago
I’d absolutely buy a mini, if it had Touch ID in the power button. The poor ergonomics of Face ID just don’t compare.

rpgbr 4y ago

Even though I really like the SE, obviously there are infinite ways to make a good phone. Turns out this old one works for me, plus it's cheap, really fast, and I'm used to it — what else can I ask for a phone? Pricing is a very strong factor here, I have to say. Brazil almost always tops the “more expensive iPhone in the world” lists. SE's price is really fair, kind of an outlier in Apple's lineup.

nebula8804 4y ago
It seems like pricing is the only real factor there based on what I am seeing in the article. If the Mini design was the same price then all of a sudden it seems like that would be the "great design". Its not even really an amazing deal. In exchange for the latest CPU you get essentially 8 year old LCD (with slightly newer contrast ratio from ~7 years ago), the same old case design with same old grade of aluminum and they exclude U1 co-processor. Also, camera seems like its from iPhone 7/8 as well(5-6 yrs old but could be wrong about this)? Its only a good deal because iOS is such a valuable ecosystem and the fact that it grants you entry into that ecosystem at such a low price makes the phone so much more alluring than it really is.
- joemi 4y ago
  re: "only real factor"... Among other differences between the SE and the Mini, the Mini doesn't have touch ID button, does it? The article mentions "I have already argued in the past that I prefer this iPhone model over any newer one, Face ID capable." So it would seem that the lack of touch ID on the Mini would be a detriment to the author.

JansjoFromIkea 4y ago

Switched from iPhone SE 2016 to an iPhone Mini, tbh the loss of touch ID alone was enough to mean it felt like a big quality of life drop. Less so now that I don't have to be wearing a mask so often but still feels significantly worse and I'd happily trade some screen space for it. I suspect a big chunk of why the SE is still around with its current design is a concern of how put off some older users may be from having to adjust to a less consistent unlocking system.

nebula8804 4y ago
Its been 5 years since FaceID came out. My bet is on the fact that they need a low cost model in the lineup and they still have the old tooling for the iPhone 8 series so TouchID just happens to be there. Apple is not the type of company that keeps legacy things around if they can help it regardless of how some users might feel.

dontlaugh 4y ago

I’d absolutely buy a mini, if it had Touch ID in the power button. The poor ergonomics of Face ID just don’t compare.