Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

The Best iPhone

notes.ghed.in

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

451–460 of 484 posts

Re: The Best iPhone

#451

Post by dangus »

The problem with the iPhone SE is that it’s not a particularly good value proposition when you shop around for deals in the real world rather than just looking at pure MSRP.

Carriers including MVNOs will unload phones like the iPhone 12 mini for a very similar price.

Or, if you aren’t requiring the small size, you can find a lot better functionality and battery life with phones like the iPhone 11 and 12 that Apple still sells and, again, you can find at very similar price points.

I would set aside nostalgia for older designs or resistance to new features and design in this case because the SE is just too ancient. It’s a way for Apple to continue getting use out of old manufacturing equipment and not any sort of competitive offering against Apple themselves.

The camera, arguably the most important smartphone feature, is one of those ancient components. There’s no night mode, a major downside.

So is the screen, a really ancient LCD where the iPhone 12 mini gets you OLED that makes viewing everything easier.

The iPhone SE also has just about the worst battery life of the whole lineup, which is a major, major issue.

Re: The Best iPhone

#452

Post by theWreckluse »

tass wrote: post #449
jacobyoder wrote: post #400

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Was on the fence last year between a 12 mini and the latest SE (which this article is about, I think). I somewhat regret the 12 mini, not because of the size (or even battery - it's fine for my daily use), but the face ID. As others have said, it's just too interruptive. (well, they didn't say that word exactly, but it's what I think). Rumors I'd read last year would be that a 13 or 14 would have a 'button' underneat…

I just picked up a 13 mini and this is what would push me over the edge to return it. I keep having to take my sunglasses off to make it recognise me. If a 14 mini came out with Touch ID I’d be all over it, but for now I think I’m going back to the SE.

They can put a fingerprint sensor on the side like the iPad air or other android phones. That would be really nice. May be even call it iPhone air so that it goes with their iPad air and MacBook air. But we know apple wouldn't do that.

Re: The Best iPhone

#453

Post by coder543 »

Nextgrid wrote: post #423
coder543 wrote: post #222

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you're just going to declare all of that to be factual, what response should anyone give? If there is "no improvement, none whatsoever" then obviously Lightning should win! But that's not the case at all. Lightning places the springs inside the port, instead of on the cable. So, when the springs wear out, you need a new phone instead of a new cable. Lightning directly exposes the pins on the cable to the environme…

> Lightning places the springs inside the port, instead of on the cable. So, when the springs wear out, you need a new phone instead of a new cable. In practice I've never had a Lightning port fail while the USB-C port on my Macbook loosened so much that it wouldn't hold any cable.

I've seen exactly one person in real life get gunk build-up in a USB-C port, making things feel loose, and just cleaning that out solved the problem. Considering the moving part is on the cable, the port itself should be fine.

I've never personally dealt with loose USB-C or lightning ports on any of my devices, which is why I pointed out that a technically inferior design just doesn't matter at all here, but you can find plenty examples online of people complaining about Lightning ports too if we just want to talk anecdata.

In practice, they're both fine for charging devices. Even if Lightning were technically superior at charging devices, which it doesn't seem to be, it still wouldn't matter. Lightning sucks for other reasons, like requiring me to bring an additional cable on trips, and not supporting USB 3 speeds on devices that have enormous storage and where Apple intentionally helps you generate enormous files that need to be transferred. That's why I placed so much emphasis on these points in my comment, and said none of the earlier stuff mattered.

Re: The Best iPhone

#454

Post by WrtCdEvrydy »

kalleboo wrote: post #231
WrtCdEvrydy wrote: post #10

Can we just have a conversation about how my Pixel 4a's camera at 4K gets smoked by an iPhone SE/iPhone 5 taking video at 1080p... I'm not an iphone guy but I do keep one in my pocket for taking video.

When YouTubers use an Android camera to record some short clip on-the-go, it's always so obvious - it usually has that obvious "jello-vision" rolling shutter feel that old digital cameras had. Meanwhile it took me ages to realize that Doug DeMuro uses an iPhone for like half of his shots (only noticed due to the characteristic green lens reflections)

It's not the jello... it's goddamn sensor noise.

Re: The Best iPhone

#455

Post by stereoradonc »

You can't do anything worthwhile with the iPhone. I can't side load applications, unless "jailbroken", no browser with extensions support (except "Orion with deplorable support- even if its in development), adblocking using AdGuard is terrible because of inherent limitations, incremental "updates" are only to bump up software version and too many restrictive frameworks around Apple owned applications. Each software application is pivoting towards subscriptions making it impossible to either keep a track or keep them in check. The HN forum should educate users about the limitations hurting the users but instead I see users seeped deeply in the process.

Re: The Best iPhone

#456

Post by raydev »

spullara wrote: post #327
raydev wrote: post #291

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I used to have my phone unlocked before it was even out of my pocket. FaceID at its fastest (I have a 13 Pro) feels slow. I haven't had a TouchID phone since 2018 and I still miss it. It never made me wait.

I rarely even think about FaceID whereas I had to actually do something for TouchID. Better experience for me and many others.

You don't think about it even when you see the spinning lock?

Finding the button with my thumb in my pocket was just impulse. Phone unlocked by the time I'm looking at it.

I have to start looking at my phone, watch the screen wake up, FaceID takes a minimum of a half-second? A full second? Feels like an eternity. Longer if I have a mask on but that's only recent, it used to not work with a mask at all.

I think that's my problem. There's nothing I can do to make it faster, I just have to wait for my face to be at the right angle so it can scan me. With my fingerprint, I was fully in control of how fast the unlocking process would be.

Re: The Best iPhone

#457

Post by rejor121 »

baisq wrote: post #336
rejor121 wrote: post #332

Apple is missing out by not placing a fingerprint reader on the apple logo on the back of the case. So stupid. Masks are still a thing, and while I have a 12 mini, it doesn’t open with my masked face (although it’s fine when I’m wearing sunglasses, weirdly enough). The fact that it _can_ open with a masked face makes me question the security of face detection. I want my fingerprint sensor back. Masks will not be goin…

Masks have gone away already. It's time to move on. Monkeypox requires you to wear a mask on your ass, so that won't interfere with FaceID operation.

Maybe for you, in the YSA. Not do for many other countries

Re: The Best iPhone

#458

Post by eptcyka »

simonh wrote: post #350
fauigerzigerk wrote: post #348

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I agree. The mini is smaller but has a larger screen than the SE. Face ID works really well. I just hope the 13 has better battery life than the 12. My 12 mini drains half the battery on idle within 24 hours if mobile data is enabled.

I appreciate that's a fair concern, perfectly legitimate, but how far we have come that only having half a charge after 24 hours is disappointing.

Any decent phone these days could easily last 3 days if left idling.

Re: The Best iPhone

#459

Post by eptcyka »

spullara wrote: post #59
reidjs wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Also a huge fan of the iPhone SE and will keep buying them until they stop making them. Don’t take my thumb print away from me!!! I write a lot and it’s slightly faster to unlock via thumb (when it works) than face. Also it works in the dark, eg, when you think of something in the middle of the night or when your face is covered. The only way to beat thumbprint is authentication via nfc, for example using a biometric…

FaceID also works in the dark and works with masks. Also works when you have gloves on :)

FaceID definitely didn't work with masks.

Re: The Best iPhone

#460

Post by mmcnl »

adrian17 wrote: post #343
vizzah wrote: post #337

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Try iPhone 13 mini! SE would have been my choice if Apple never released this model. Mini is slightly smaller than SE and it's a crucial factor for me. And it also has more usable screen and where initially I was wary of FaceID - I don't miss the button! :] I hope Apple continues with SE+mini merged model for the future.

> And it also has more usable screen Funnily, after playing with both for a couple minutes in the store, I decided on an SE exactly because of 13's screen. Because of rounded corners, the way it rendered content sometimes became downright ugly and didn't actually grant any extra space: http://puu.sh/JdxXl/985552f316.jpg

This is an exception. In almost every other use case the mini will give you more screen estate.
Post reply on HN