atomic101

melgross said:

TomE said:

My wife & others do not want a large iPhone.  They all want an SE2 form factor.  Easy to pocket and easy to hold.  On this - I think Apple has missed the importance.

Nonsense! While that may be true for a small number of people, putting a phone in a pocketbook gives it a lot of room, even in a small pocketbook. The difference in phone size doesn’t matter. I see people with giant phones in their pockets all the time.

so e people have made up their minds they don’t want big phones, and that’s ok, but the reasons I often see presented are ridiculous.

Reasons = One-handed use, palm balance, and comfort.  I use an iPhone 8 for work and an SE for home.  The difference is noticeable and can be appreciated in a side-by-side comparison.  My eyes are fine and I can see the smaller screen without much issue, and the beauty of the iPhone has always been the innovative "pinch-to-zoom" functionality that makes what is too small larger.

zroger73 said:

I bought one of the last new 32 GB iPhone SE's through Apple's Clearance section earlier this year. I updated it to iOS 13.1 and found the scrolling and swiping to be every bit as smooth as iOS 12 with no perceivable judder. I only run a few of the most popular third-party apps such as Facebook and Netflix, but these run great. I've even contemplated making it my primary phone instead of my Xs Max, which is too big and heavy. Using the SE is such a nostalgic delight. The better cameras are the primary feature that would keep me from downgrading.

Agreed - I have an 8 (work) and an SE (personal), and I simply enjoy the feel and balance of the smaller phone more.  I think that many iPhone users have forgotten what it was like to use the smaller form factor, and now immediately dismiss it as obsolete.

currentinterest said:

I find people are conflating smaller phone with lesser price. The rumored iPhone 12, A14, 5.4 inch model will be smaller in physical size than the iPhone 8, and not much larger than an SE. The price will be $999. A low cost model with an A13 mimicking the iPhone 8 in size, but in an all aluminum casing, like the SE, for $349 is a real possibility for next spring. Those wanting a smaller phone will get it, but will pay the premium price. The smaller premium phone makes perfect sense. Currently, the three premium phones are projected to be, in terms of sales numbers, iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro Max, followed by the iPhone 11 Pro. By making the iPhone 12 Pro smaller, Apple can get a significant bump in demand for that phone. This is very clever.

You bring up a good point.  At least from my foxhole, I would definitely pay a more premium price for a premium quality small phone.  

StrangeDays said:

sirozha said:

Professional photographers are not going to use the iPhone as their primary camera anyway. So, the name of the new iPhone 11 Pro is a misnomer. It should have been called iPhone 11 Instagram Pro. 

You say that, yet my major metro newspaper fired all their pro photographers with expensive rigs and gave them iPhones.

They fired them and then gave them iPhones? Was that a nice parting gesture?  

I'll echo the stance of some on this board.  I'm a huge advocate of the iPhone SE form factor.... not so much for the size in of itself, but for the usability with one hand.  It fits very comfortably in my palm, with a near-perfect center of gravity that keeps it from teetering on the edge of catastrophe.  For reference, I have an iPhone 8 that I use for work, and the confidence I have when holding it in one-handed is minimal.  "Reachability" is a poor compromise, and the acrobatics that my (large-sized) hands have to go through to manipulate it one-handed is uncomfortable at best, and potentially disastrous at worst.  Apple and Jobs picked the original 3.5" form factor for a reason.  I have an iPad for a reason, and a tablet as a phone is not what many of us need (unless foldable screens make it into legitimate prime time).

It's sad that I now find myself having to defend my iPhone SE from others when they see me using it.  It's a pity that the masses, in a never-ending propensity to value "bigger as better", have forgotten what it was like to hold balanced perfection in one hand.... The longer Apple neglects the one-handed phone market, the greater the chance that the public forgets or finally gives up on it.