Interesting read on why "The Original iPhone SE is the Best iPhone Apple Ever Made"

[chopper]

Here

I have used the original iPhone SE from January 2017 until the end of 2024. After using more modern iPhones, I still believe the 2016 SE is the greatest iPhone Apple ever made, and likely one of the greatest phones of all time. It has made me reconsider what we really need from a phone, the inefficiencies of "progress" in software, and the obscene amounts of e-waste we generate in order to obtain incremental hardware updates.

[freeradical]

I just looked at my Swappa account.

I bought one on Dec 17 2018, and I used it until the fall of 2022 when I bought a Mini 13.

[chopper]

I just looked at my Swappa account.

I bought one on Dec 17 2018, and I used it until the fall of 2022 when I bought a Mini 13.

Some suggest that the mini 13 is the new small form SE? What do you think?

I found my original 64 gig original iphone SE yesterday and remembered fondly back when a phone in your pocket wasn't some stupid gigantic thing.

[MarkintoshToo]

That mini size for those of us with fat fingers...nope. I don't like the mega sizes but the "regular" is fine,

[freeradical]

I just looked at my Swappa account.

I bought one on Dec 17 2018, and I used it until the fall of 2022 when I bought a Mini 13.

Some suggest that the mini 13 is the new small form SE? What do you think?

I found my original 64 gig original iphone SE yesterday and remembered fondly back when a phone in your pocket wasn't some stupid gigantic thing.

I think so.  I was also considering the 2nd gen SE when I bought the Mini 13.

However, the Mini 13 was a so much better phone than the SE 2 for very little extra dead benjamins.

IIRC, the Mini 13 had more screen real estate than the SE2, even the form factor of the SE 2 was bigger than the Mini 13.

[clay]

I loved my 2016 SE. Bought and recommended them for probably a dozen different family members. It was a great value for the pinnacle of that body style, especially once you could get them used and in great condition. Perfect/small size for me. I lament that the small size hasn't stuck around. Would happily give up some battery life for a small, lightweight phone, even if it doesn't have all the latest and greatest everything that the flagship phones get.

[halbert]

I was really happy with the iphone 6 size - the SEs are too small.

I have a 15 pro now - and I have real issues with anyone that thinks an original SE is in any way better - simply not true. And I'm no poweruser just like the writer. The only positive that the SE has is its small size - that's it.

He has his preferences, I have mine.

[S_Pupp]

I had an SE that I bought used in 2018. It had become very slow by 2021, and by mid 2022 needed a new battery. I opted for a used SE gen2 instead.

I miss the size of the original SE. I’ve even thought at times of replacing the battery and putting it back to work.

[GGD]

It really goes back earlier, the form factor was introduced with the iPhone 5 (2012), and continued with the 5s (2013).  The 5s stuck around for a long time (March 2016) until it was replaced in the same form factor by the SE with iPhone 6s guts.

I was using a 5s, and replaced it with an SE.  I just purchased a used iPhone 13 Mini to replace it.  My wife was on a 6s Plus and being limited to iOS 15 was becoming a problem, so she's getting a used iPhone 13 Pro Max.  This keeps both of us on the same hardware generation and pretty close to the same physical dimensions as our old phones, and we'll still have a SIM slot so that our old phones can remain as an emergency backup.

[jonny]

The se was great. The mini is better.