- Sponsored by ESR.
Folks, when I say in that headline
that the iPhone SE is five more years of yesterday,
you might interpret it as a snipe
or a criticism and it isn't.
Instead of it's a recognition
that this phone wasn't built for people like me.
It was built for people like my dad
whose five-year-old iPhone 6S has such a short battery
that he has to carry a power pack everywhere he goes.
And dad being the industrious guy he is,
he teamed up with my aunt to build a custom belt
to hide the power cord.
The point is, everyone's talking about how the new iPhone SE
is the affordable iPhone
or the only small iPhone left
and both those things are true,
but what's more interesting to me
is that this is a lifeline.
For all those people
who never wanted to give up the home button.
People who never needed a bigger screen
or face ID or more cameras,
but do need a new iPhone.
(bright music)
If you've been a little deja vu
looking at the iPhone SE,
that's because it's physically almost identical
to the iPhone 8.
I made a video last week directly comparing the two,
which also explains why you're better off buying an SE.
Be sure to subscribe to the channel if you missed it.
Along with the looks of the iPhone 8
come the perks of this device.
Obviously, it wasn't built
to cater to the Android audience,
but context is important.
It's very hard to find a new Android phone
priced similar to this
that gives you IP67 dust and water resistance
and wireless charging in a package
with this degree of fit and finish.
And for my fellow Android users out there,
this isn't something we should feel insecure about.
In fact, we should rejoice
because of the price pressure
this is gonna put on Android manufacturers
to make better phones at lower prices.
See now, try not to get too hostile down in the comments.
Of course the recycled components
from the iPhone 8 that help make it so affordable,
they inevitably import some penalties as well.
Screen size is the one that jumps out.
In 2020, a 4.7 inch screen does feel claustrophobic.
Not in terms of the software so much.
Remember iOS was born on a three and a half inch screen,
but in terms of the content.
Even with near perfect eyesight,
I had a hard time reading
some specially formatted emails on this screen.
And thanks to the low maximum brightness of this LCD,
editing photos wasn't much fun
nor was relearning how to type on this smaller keyboard.
Some things like gestures are easier
on the smaller canvas though
and the SE preserves some paradigms
that I think make more sense anyway,
like swiping up from the bottom edge
for the control center instead of down from the top.
Now other things like notifications
that give you no indication they're there
unless you drag down the shade.
Ugh, unless you wanna put up with all these badges
on your screen or an unalterable grid of icons
for that home screen.
Well, they're as frustrating now
as they have been for the last decade or so.
Oh, and for those of you upgrading your older iPhones,
to keep your home button and fingerprint sensor,
you're gonna have to sacrifice the headphone jack.
In that vein, I've been using Apple's AirPods Pro
during my week with the iPhone SE
and despite not being a big fan of the way they look,
I gotta say they're very impressive.
Part of the reason why is that vaunted Apple ecosystem.
You get instant pairing and system level integration
with accessories like the AirPods and the Apple Watch.
You can share photos or files
with iPads or MacBooks using AirDrop.
You get iMessage, which personally I can't stand,
but I'm clearly in the minority.
And if you break the phone
or it's battery wears down, which it will,
you've got over 500 Apple Stores around the world
to take it to for service.
Oh, and software updates, yeah,
those annoying things that mess with your UI
and make changes for the sake of change, it seems like,
but they also keep you updated with new features
and safe from security flaws.
Apple regularly offers five years worth of updates
for its phones,
whereas Google's Pixel phones,
pretty much the longest supported Android phones,
only get three years of security
and two years of platform updates.
Let's talk about the quote unquote Apple Tax.
This notion that you're paying extra
just for the status symbol of a fruit
on the back of your device.
And you know, for things like $700 computer wheels,
renaming its stores Town Squares, I get it.
Apple can be a parody of itself.
But even if you're buying a $700 iPhone 11
or $1,000 11 Pro,
the fact that you're getting all the support behind it
and the fact that it's gonna hold its value
longer than any other smartphone,
more than justifies the cost.
So getting all of it for $400 is just insanity.
I'm gonna close with the three biggest compromises
or considerations you should have
before hitting buy on this thing.
But first, a word from my sponsor
on how to avoid shattering that glass back
and how to win an iPhone SE for yourself.
The iPhone SE might not cost as much,
but that doesn't mean you shouldn't protect it, right?
Well, a good way to do that
without robbing it of personality
is with a case from today's sponsor.
ESR has something for everyone.
Go minimalistic with a slim clear
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or if that's too conservative for you,
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And my favorite ESR case brings back
one of the best features
that never should have left
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Pop it out, prop it up and do your thing
all without making the phone much thicker
than with the standard case.
Best of all, you can get any of these
without spending a fortune.
Check out the description below
to get your case and also enter to win an iPhone SE
that ESR is giving away.
Thanks to ESR for sponsoring this video.
Finally we come to the compromises and considerations.
Camera, battery and storage.
Camera first, this is basically
the camera from the iPhone 8
buttressed by some new capabilities
thanks to the newer A13 processor.
So you can do things you couldn't do on the 8
like portrait modes with lighting effects.
And as with most phones today,
photos taken with adequate lighting will be perfectly fine.
Also with the maximum resolution
of 4K at 60 frames a second,
the video performance is quite good.
From my Pixel Buds review to my Moto Edge Plus review,
I've used this phone all week
for B-roll and it's done fine.
That said, this would not be my first choice
for a mobile camera.
I can get more dynamic range
and better selfies from the even cheaper Google Pixel 3a
not to mention night mode,
which is totally absent on the iPhone SE.
Also, there's no wide angle here,
no telephoto, no macro, no toys,
no versatility to speak of really.
If a camera is at all a priority for you
and you do things like, I don't know,
take photos at night, yeah, this isn't your phone.
Onto battery, after seeing some of the fad online,
I was worried I'd be similarly disappointed
but using the SE with my typical quarantine workload
of heavy Bluetooth audio streaming,
frequent phone calls and basically constant social media,
email and Slack and Telegram usage,
it actually got me through a 15 hour day.
About five of which were spent with the screen on.
Guys, that's really not bad for a phone this small.
It's substantially better than the Pixel 4 was,
even at launch.
And now that endurance will of course go nowhere
but down over time,
especially as you wander out in the real world
between varying levels of cell coverage
and I do wish Apple included a fast charger here.
But folks, it's a $400 phone.
Actually, let's call this a $450 phone.
Yeah, my last consideration is storage
and I joined my buddy, Rene Ritchie,
in recommending that you spring
for the middle of the road model
if you do buy the SE.
Because the kind of people who hold onto yesterday,
they're the kinda people who need a phone
to hold up for a long time
and 128 gigs of storage
will do that a heck of a lot better than 64 gigs.
So if all the foregoing sounds good to you
and what you need is a replacement
for your iPhone 7 or older,
one that frees you from your battery belt umbilicals,
the new iPhone SE is your absolute best option.
Even if what we're really talking about is a $450 iPhone.
For more on the iPhone SE,
let me point you to Rene Ritchie's videos
for the kind of in-depth Apple analysis
that only he can provide.
Also my buddy, David Imel,
over at Android Authority has a nice examination
of the camera tech at work here.
Full disclosure, he's also one of my roommates.
Would you shut up I'm on the phone!
- [Woman] No you're not. - [David] Um, you're?
I don't know. - It's true I'm faking it.
- [Woman] You are not on the phone.
- More important disclosure,
this review was produced following one week
with an iPhone SE purchased by MrMobile.
Now, I don't do paid reviews
and I don't allow the subjects of those reviews
to preview or alter my copy in any way.
That means Apple is seeing this for the first time
right alongside you.
Please subscribe if you'd like
to see more videos like this on YouTube.
Until next time, thanks for watching.
Stay safe, stay home and in spirit
if not in practice, just yet.
Stay mobile my friends.
(whimsical music)