The Best iPhone

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.

Flagships are now so much better than when they costed $400. But don’t worry because there currently are phones that cost $200 and are better than what you got for $400 years ago, so you’re covered too.

> Am I cheap, poor, frugal or outdated to find it mildly funny US$400-450+tx are considered cheap phones nowadays?

I can’t speak to whether you’re any of those, but I can say this. Anyone spending significantly more than that (I’m included in this category) is either:

- Buying it for the quality of its camera (me again, not that I’m an especially avid photographer; I almost exclusively take pics of my pup)

- Some mix of spending too much or not realizing they’re in one or more categories below (some large majority, I’d wager)

- Doing a cost benefit analysis that favors spending more upfront for a longer-term investment (me again again, although my phone ownership lifecycle has shortened significantly; it’s still beneficial because my hand-me-downs benefit loved ones)

- Married to the software (me once again, much moreso on mobile than on general purpose computers these days)

- Enthralled by compute power or some other hardware particularity (o_0 I’m probably just getting old but I mostly don’t get this… okay I’m amused that my phone is more powerful in many ways than its current high-end laptop companion)

I rocked the previous iteration of the SE for just over a year since my previous phone was in dire need of a battery replacement and I didn’t want to figure out how Apple was handling that mid-pandemic. I reasoned at the time that I needed a phone with Touch ID because I didn’t yet have an Apple Watch, and I was using my phone as my wallet.

It was a good phone that served me well primarily as 1. A wallet 2. An Overcast player and 3. A phone in approximately that order whose shortcomings became immediately apparent the moment I started going outside and socializing without a mask again in the Summer of 2021. The screen and battery for example were both downgrades from my 6s+.

I’m rocking an iPhone 13 Pro Max now primarily because I demand a lot more of my phone when I’m actually not living in a cave, and I fully appreciate having a giant screen, an enormous battery, a bunch of power saving tech like the variable refresh rate screen and a very fancy triple-lens camera. All things that are irrelevant when your phone lives in a dock for a year. The magnetic wallet attachments are a nice touch that carry a few cards but also serve to round out the back of the phone in such a way as to provide a better grip and stabilize the phone on a surface.

The iPhone SE is a very good phone and a very good value, but “best” changes depending on your circumstances and lifestyle. I couldn’t rock an SE without constantly managing the battery, something which was an issue when I wanted to record some video at my best friend’s wedding reception after carefully micromanaging the battery all day. With the 13 Pro Max I can walk out early in the morning and not even think about the battery at any point in the day, letting the phone do all the background tasks it wants to make my life easier, downloading anything at all in the background over 5G and have plenty of charge left when I get home in the evening. It feels like a phone without compromises, but all of that can be mooted by a change in life circumstances.

> Gloves aren't necessary here

Gloves are used in more scenarios than just cold weather, motorcycle gloves for one example.