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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lucianmarin - Wednesday, May 18, 2016 - link
I had the SE for 6 days. It bricked after taking a photo. I was lucky the retailer accepted my return.Don’t buy this device. It’s the worst iPhone ever. The buttons on the sides make noises when you touch the screen, same for the camera lenses. I will use my iPhone 4S until it brakes… Steve Jobs is really dead. Apple as we knew it is dead.
darwiniandude - Wednesday, May 18, 2016 - link
What?Apple has the best warranty support in the industry, bar none. How are you lucky they accepted your return? Apple offers 14 day no questions asked money back. With a faulty device, you could have the whole thing replaced on the spot via mail in or Apple Store anywhere on the globe. I've handled a bunch of these so far, no issues with buttons or noises, the camera lens is fixed. Something was clearly not right with your device.
Apple has very high physical build quality, fit and finish and the SE is no exception. Read any reviews.
Your 4S is commendable for still being able to run the current software, but it is thick, heavy, unbelievably slow compared to modern devices. Horrible camera. The ancient and fragile dock non reversible dock connector. Keep using it by all means, but the 5s was over twice as fast as the 4s. The SE is more than twice as fast again. Absolutely no comparison. And compare the camera.
Sorry, I just don't get this comment. You obviously got a rare dud.
osxandwindows - Wednesday, May 18, 2016 - link
Dude, you had a faulty device.Some people don't think sometimes.
Spunjji - Thursday, May 19, 2016 - link
"I still find myself asking whether the 6s is truly worth that $250 premium."It's good to see Apple finally releasing a device with a vaguely realistic price point. No way the 6s is worth that much more!
yhselp - Thursday, May 19, 2016 - link
It's the phone I've been waiting for except it doesn't have 3D Touch, and it doesn't have fast Touch ID. I am willing to pay the $250 premium for those two features alone. I hate it that Apple decided to go the budget route with their very late, and only, new small iPhone. It feels like a second-class citizen, an afterthought aimed at earning a quick buck in an overlooked market. I want a premium, feature-rich small iPhone, not this. They just can't kill two birds with one stone that way.There's no need for an iPhone 6 mini design, but they could surely tweak the screen size. They could make it just a tad bigger, while keeping the footprint largely unchanged. It could be a little shorter, and a little wider. Why does a small phone need to sport such a wide aspect ratio? Why should any phone that is not strictly made for media consumption? It's unpractical. The tablet market reflects this nicely and offers wonderful aspect ratios. Apple don't even put 16:9 screens in their premium laptops. The 16:9 choice for smartphones has always baffled me.
The real issue with the 4-inch screen size is that iOS 9 just isn't designed with that size in mind. Many native apps feel cramped, where that wasn't the case before. The fact that Apple launched a new 4-inch iPhone and did nothing to amend this in iOS speaks volumes about their commitment, or lack thereof, to the 4-inch form factor.
All things that should have been addressed in the article - things that I'm pretty certain Anand himself would have payed attention to. These Android points throughout the whole article coupled with the facts-of-life, borderline spiritual 'getting used to life and the joys of breathing sunshine' part about the 4-inch form factor, and the reviewer's touching coming of age story about phone screen sized feels a tiny bit subjective, and largely unnecessary. To review a product one needs to be intimately familiar with the platform going back years. That goes for any platform. I wouldn't like to read an Android review by a person that has mostly used iPhones throughout the years. I wouldn't like to read a phablet review by someone that doesn't like the form factor either. The fact that the reviewer thinks that the single hand usability is the primary, if not only, benefit of a smaller screen phone is enough proof that they aren't the right person to review such a device.
Anyway, I can't begin to express how much I hope that Apple would truly decide to pay attention to and innovate in the small form factor platform and produce a new, revolutionary small iPhone. I'm not going to say it, but you-know-who might have done you-know-what differently.
tom5 - Thursday, May 19, 2016 - link
Where's the HTC 10 review Part 2?Meteor2 - Thursday, May 19, 2016 - link
Tbh by the time the 2016 reviews are published here, people will have read all they want elsewhere so the articles won't get many views, and Anandtech won't get much ad revenue :(.beck2050 - Friday, May 20, 2016 - link
Weak screen is deal breaker. Much better options in that price range.jkhoward - Friday, May 20, 2016 - link
Anyone want to trade? I have a 6S Plus and I am looking to get this phone... Won't charge anymore, just want the trade... Currently on T-Mobile.DiegoLinden - Sunday, May 22, 2016 - link
Nice review, i still using a Iphone 4 that is 3.5' inch , i dont really like android system and they big screen, but was thinking about get a ~4.7inch(because my i4 is rly slow after the last update available) and now i think i go to this iphone xDthanks!