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New iPhone SE

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Re: New iPhone SE

#631

I was itching for this announcement, not because I want to buy an iPhone, but because this will finally mean other manufacturers will start to make compact phones. It drives me up the wall that I simply cannot find a reasonably competent phone (i.e. mid/upper range from the past 4 years) which is not absolutely fucking huge. It's insane that the "phablet" standard from ~5 years ago is now not even the new standard, b…

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 inste…

Main 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.

Re: New iPhone SE

#632
Ah shoot, I wish I had known they were bringing touch ID (and the home screen button) back. Not a fan of Face ID.

Re: New iPhone SE

#633

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Also, it's a slippery bugger. I've had my iPhone 8 for almost 2 years and now I'm working from home I've taken it out of it's case to fully enjoy the design. Honestly, probably easier to hold a live fish than this bloody phone.

TBF how many people don't use cases? At least wit rounded edges the after-case size can be smaller.

I’d never used a case until I got the iPhone 8 and had to buy one because of how slippery it is! Unless you put it on a perfectly flat surface it will just slide off on to the floor.

Re: New iPhone SE

#634

Yes. I'm an Android user who is absolutely sick of phablets. I have a Pixel 3A (5.6") and it is way, way too big. I've been quite excited about this iPhone SE announcement. However, the lack of a headphone jack is a huge negative, and 4.7" is the absolute largest I think is reasonable. A little smaller would've been ideal. I'm undecided on whether to switch to the SE, but I genuinely hope it sells like crazy. Then ma…

It isn't about the screen size - it's about the external dimensions. This is almost as large as the Pixel 4A, Samsung S10e or iPhone 11. You are only saving a couple grams and a few mm. Hopefully the Sony Xperia 5 II comes out soon - it should be smaller than this.

Exactly this. I compared it to Samsung S10e and in terms of size new iPhone SE and Samsung S10e are really close:

(HxWxD in mm)

S10e: 142.2 x 69.9 x 7.9; mass 150g; screen 5.8"

SE: 138.4 x 67.3 x 7.3; mass 148g; screen 4.7"

Re: New iPhone SE

#635

I am apparently in the minority here who prefers faceID, mostly because how transparent it is UX-wise. I don't have to do an additional 'Authenticate' press when opening protected apps, instead I pass through the security while the app loading animation completes. Though, it has been hell now with using face masks for the past few weeks, where I have to spend 5 seconds on every auth-screen, where it tries faceID twic…

FaceID is better than front or in-screen fingerprint readers but I greatly prefer fingerprint readers on the back of the phone. It's right where your finger naturally rests when taking the phone out of your pocket so the phone is unlocked before it even leaves your pocket. Plus you can pull down the notification bar with it one-handed without having to awkwardly stretch to reach it on large devices.

Re: New iPhone SE

#636

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Lack of headphone jack is still unacceptable I think I'm in the minority, but I haven't really missed the headphone jack in my iPhone 11. I have the Echo earbuds, and those have been good to great for my use cases. This continues to feel a bit like the 3.5 floppy and CD-ROM removals from the Mac: a lot of people hated it, until it was a nonissue.

Might be that some people still remember the Bluetooth from 2010 or so. These days, I charge my wireless headphones once a week. When I turn them on, they are connected before I have opened the music app. The connection is stable. When I stop playing sound on my phone and start sound on my laptop, they automatically switch to that. Their microphone is perfectly fine for calling people.

I'm sorry, but I don't think this is the case, at least not for me. I actually own a pair of Bluetooth earphones, which I use at the gym. They do well, I don't have to worry about the cable or accidentally hitting the phone in my pocket when picking up weights. They have a reliable connection, sound is decent.

But I have hundreds of dollars invested in good-quality wired headphones, plus wired earbuds, and I want to be able to use those with my phone without needing to re-spend that money. Plus, regardless of quality of the product, I'm occasionally a forgetful human. I've actually run out of juice mid-workout with my wireless set. Instead of not having music for the rest of my workout (I like music!), I simply walked over to my bag, pulled out my wired earbuds, and finished up.

Not having the ability to do that is a deal-breaker for me on a phone, and it's not something that can be fixed by improving the Bluetooth tech. While this is obviously anecdotal, I don't imagine I'm the only person who feels this way.

Re: New iPhone SE

#637

I am apparently in the minority here who prefers faceID, mostly because how transparent it is UX-wise. I don't have to do an additional 'Authenticate' press when opening protected apps, instead I pass through the security while the app loading animation completes. Though, it has been hell now with using face masks for the past few weeks, where I have to spend 5 seconds on every auth-screen, where it tries faceID twic…

A lot of people complain that Face ID doesn't work when they wear skiing gear or a mask. I'd argue that most humans can't identify me when I wear a mask, so it's a bit hard to expect my phone to do better.

I do prefer Face ID for almost everything except payments. Apple pay with Touch ID was a much better experience. The awkward double tap + stare at my phone for 2 seconds isn't great. Having an Apple Watch makes this much better but I do miss placing my phone near the reader and putting my finger on the sensor.

Re: New iPhone SE

#638
post #361

As a current iPhone SE user, here's my assessment: Pros: * Feature set in terms of processor, camera, etc., is exactly what I want * Continued presence of Touch ID is a huge plus, I don't like Face ID * Price point is, admittedly, fantastic Cons: * Lack of headphone jack is still unacceptable * Form factor is, candidly, still too big for my tiny hands * Color schemes aren't as nice as the SE's (can I contribute to CO…

> * Lack of headphone jack is still unacceptable Sorry, you can't have IP67 water resistance with that 3.5mm headphone jack. Edit: a lot of folks proved me wrong. I feel that I need to clarify: Apple's design goal is to make it thiner, more integrated, less components more battery space and unified input/output interface, all that combined with water resistance, is not practical. All the 3.5mm examples I am seeing do…

[deleted]

Re: New iPhone SE

#639
post #62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

When you have teenagers, these are the models you look for. I'll probably by a few.

Is it?? My kids aren't teenagers yet but if they were I wouldn't be buying them $400 phones.

Phones get handed down. So whoever has the oldest or most broken phone gets the $400 phone; shift right.

Re: New iPhone SE

#640

I was itching for this announcement, not because I want to buy an iPhone, but because this will finally mean other manufacturers will start to make compact phones. It drives me up the wall that I simply cannot find a reasonably competent phone (i.e. mid/upper range from the past 4 years) which is not absolutely fucking huge. It's insane that the "phablet" standard from ~5 years ago is now not even the new standard, b…

I suspect the trend is to do with the fact that the majority of the population use their phones as cameras now. A larger screen means larger photos and videos. As long as people are using their phones to browse Instagram, I don't see manufacturers going back to smaller form factors.
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