The iPhone SE Review
by Brandon Chester on May 16, 2016 8:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Smartphones
- Apple
- Mobile
- iPhone
- iPhone SE
Going Back To A 4-Inch Smartphone
The Android world left the 4-inch smartphone behind long ago. While Apple was still playing the 3.5-inch smartphone game, Android phones moved from 4 inches, to 4.3 inches, to 4.5 inches, and so on. Nowadays, your standard Android flagship phone has a display that is a little over five inches in size, and a 4.5-inch display is what’s considered a tiny phone. Of course, there are other factors related to device size like whether you have physical or on-screen buttons and how large your bezel is, but the screen size is still what defines the limits of your window into the internet and all your applications. A couple of years ago I used the iPhone 5s, and nowadays I use the Nexus 5X and the iPhone 6s. Devices that really bring total device size up a notch like the Galaxy Note 5 and iPhone 6s Plus are simply far too large for me to use comfortably. Even with that, going back to a 4-inch smartphone definitely takes time to get used to, and it’s given me some interesting insights into what you gain and what you lose by moving to a larger device.
My first point about the iPhone SE seems patently obvious, but it’s really worth stating that when you move from a 5-inch smartphone to a 4-inch one it really feels small. I’ve actually been having some interesting thoughts on this subject as I’ve juggled between various iPads for the upcoming 9.7-inch iPad Pro review. If you use the iPad Mini for a long time, a 9.7-inch iPad feels absolutely enormous by comparison. Similarly, when you use the 12.9-inch iPad Pro for a long time, the 9.7-inch iPad feels like an iPad Mini in comparison, and the Mini itself feels absurdly small. In all these cases there’s an adjustment period where one has to get used to the size of the device, and after that time passes it becomes your reference point for what is normal.
I don’t expect that too many users will actually go through this adjustment period if they buy the iPhone SE, as I would imagine that many prospective buyers are people who are still holding on to their iPhone 5 or 5s and have been hoping for an updated 4-inch iPhone. After getting used to the SE, I’ve found myself enjoying the one-handed usability. Say what you will about features like reachability and one-handed modes; the 4-inch screen is simply much easier to use with one hand. I never worry about dropping the phone, and I don’t find myself having to shift my hand to reach the upper left area of the display.
On the flip side, the 4-inch form can feel quite cramped, even after adjusting to the smaller display size. With the default settings the information density is absolutely laughable, and I can’t use the phone without the text size setting set to the smallest value. I use the smallest text size on all my devices, but for users who need a larger font due to aging eyes I would honestly rule out the iPhone SE immediately unless you’re comfortable with doing a lot of scrolling. Even with that changed, you simply can’t fit near as much on the screen. You get one fewer row of home screen icons, fewer emails in the Mail app, no avatars in the Messages app, and similar reductions throughout the rest of Apple’s apps as well as third party ones. Features like Control Center which just goes past the halfway point on the 6s takes up nearly the entire screen, and it makes me wonder how it ever even fit on the 3.5-inch iPhones.
All of these changes are just a function of the display size, and while they seem obvious, it’s difficult to understand the extent to which they change the experience of using the phone. While I’m not someone who is sold on phablets, I certainly see the value in them for many people, and for me the sweet spot is something in the 4.5 to 4.7-inch range. I’ve used the iPhone SE as my primary device for a month now to see how it works for me, and when I returned to the Nexus 5X and iPhone 6s they both felt absolutely enormous. However, I find myself really valuing the additional information that I can see in the larger display while still having the phones be relatively usable with a single hand. The 4-inch screen isn’t the right size for me, but I recognize the benefits of it. With Apple having sold 30 million 4-inch smartphones last year despite the fact that their offering was a phone from 2013, there’s clearly a market for such a device, and I think the iPhone SE will make those users quite happy.
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msork - Monday, May 16, 2016 - link
I bought one. I love the 4" phone.zeeBomb - Monday, May 16, 2016 - link
Dang this review took ages, but nice.Brandon Chester - Monday, May 16, 2016 - link
I have to apologize for the time it took, it's probably two weeks longer than it should have taken. I was in the middle of moving to a new city and also starting a new job during the course of the review which is what caused the delays.zeeBomb - Tuesday, May 17, 2016 - link
Oh! No worries then. When life happens, all you can do is just adapt.Neonomide - Monday, May 16, 2016 - link
Bundling a 10-15W charger with the phone would be stupid, as the battery cycles would suffer. Charging a phone battery too fast takes a toll on battery life in the long run and that's the main reason Apple does not do it.TheinsanegamerN - Monday, May 16, 2016 - link
Doesnt seem to have affected my coworkers iphone 6 at all, despite him using a ipad charger.Apple's charging circuit should only let in as much amperage as the battery can take without suffering damage.
GC2:CS - Tuesday, May 17, 2016 - link
iPhone 6 can take up to 10W I think, not only for charging but also for powering itself. It charges a good few minutes faster than with 5W, the more you load the phone the bigger the difference.Plus iPhones take quite a bit more power for just charging.
What I find interesting that it can use up 5W to charge it's 6,21Wh battery much faster than 5S. That's deffinitelly in part that iPhone devices prior to 6 took some bit less less than 5W to charge, but still the difference is almost faulty looking to me.
Then we got MacBook and iPad Pro charging in 2 hours at 29W, 9,7" iPad Pro supposedly charging super quick (~3 hours) even with it's included (pooor poor 10W) charger, great for a tablet, not ultra quick, but there is Apple smart battery case which can take some super quick charging times when conected to 10/12W iPad adapters.
The question is, what will happen when you connect this phone to a 12W charger ? Can it take more power in like iPhone 6 does ? Does it have that mysterious battery tech like SBC , which gets soaked quickly ?
Not to say Apple wants to unexpectedly come up with fast charging, I think they are going after it for some time, but what does that mean for the next iPhone... Ultra iCharge confirmed ?
thestinkinggenius - Monday, May 16, 2016 - link
I own this phone and two things that drive me nuts are:1: Bluetooth calls sound like crap - this is a known issues and is being fixed in the 9.3.2 beta
2: Cell reception is sub par - I work in a basement office and regularly get disconnected in the middle of a call (I also use a Nexus 5x and never get disconnected). If I turn on Wifi calling it still happens.
sfwineguy - Monday, May 16, 2016 - link
I'm very glad to read the details of this comment (mainly re the Bluetooth fix). I own this phone - it replaced a 4S purchased upon release. I was motivated enough by this issue to register with Anandtech in order to comment!The phone in general seems quite good, but the Bluetooth is unusable in my car (a 2012 VW that worked great with my 4S and every other phone) and in the few other cars in which I've tried it. Bluetooth has worked fine with a Mini Jambox. Apple has consistently denied responsibility for this problem to me and (if you believe the internet) many other users, but I've seen online that they have also at times stated that they are aware of the problem and working on a fix. I'm hoping the issue is software and not hardware. If they roll out a fix soon, it's no problem for me as a consumer; if not, the phone is very nearly worthless. I advise anyone buying this to immediately test it with your Bluetooth before giving up your old phone.
sfwineguy - Tuesday, May 17, 2016 - link
Follow up: downloaded the update and have used phone on Bluetooth in my car. Better and good enough to use; still not as good as my old iPhone 4S or many older phones: Overall, happy to have the update. Phone itself has proven very usable. Love the size, and yes, the bezels are too big and outdated; would be great to shrink the bezels for either same overall size and more screen or same screen and smaller overall size. Using what they had, though, is probably too deliciously profitable for Apple and suppliers to pass up.