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Other half is looking for a new contract and phone and the best deal for her right now looks like a 32GB iPhone 5SE on a 2-year contract with EE, with 1GB data. Would she be mad to get this handset? Will it be obsolete/unusable/super slow right from the off, or within a few months? She won't use it massively for stuff other than browsing, calls, texts, what's app, photos. I hate phones and choosing them - can't help her with any tips other than to avoid Vodafone like the plague (which she knows from her own experience). Thanks for any help.
I’m using the exact phone ... have been since October and it’s great, usual stuff Strava, FB, WhatsApp, work emails pics etc..
Same as cardo. It works great and it’s smaller than all the newer phones.
My Son had one until recently. It’s like a smaller version of my 8, no real noticeable difference bar one small, but very important point...
If you’re idiot son walks into a swimming pool with an SE in his pocket it dies to death. 🙁
If it's the SE it's basically a 6 in a 5 case.
However 1gb of data won't last very long on an iPhone in my opinion.
Should be able to get 5-10gb and unlimited calls /text and a SE nowadays for peanuts.
Thanks all, useful info - pretty certain she'll go for it then. Think she found it for £18 p/month on 2 years with £30 up front. If anyone knows of a better deal, do feel free to let me know on here. Ta v much.
The SE is basically a 6s in a 5 case
In my view they are the still best real world phone that Apple make at the moment.
Yes the 7/8/X are faster but the don’t have 3.5mm jacks, much more expensive,bigger (not always better) and the size makes them more prone to damage (bending cracked screens etc)
The pace of iPhone updates has also slowed in that newer versions are just evolutions rather than the huge leaps that were made earlier.
That said they are a bit over priced from Apple at the moment. But keep an eye out and you should be able to pick a new one up for 269to299 or a second hand one for less than half that
a new one is rumoured but that seems to be just expectation rather than any part leaks or firm details so a new one could still be 6 to12 months away(a lifetime in phone terms) or they could just drag the product lifespan out with out updating it and then cut it completely (like the iPods and eventually the airports) leaving just the big screen phones.
The SE is basically a 6s in a 5 case
Yeah no no such thing as a “5SE” - it’s just an SE.
I’m using one right now. Good phone if, like me, you don’t like the larger sizes of other modern iPhones.
I wouldn’t buy new though. Saw one today for £120 on the local FB group.
Oh and there are strong rumours of an SE2 being released later this year.
My wife got one on contract about 6 months ago as she likes small phones and more inexplicably iphones. Also was a cheap way to get 128gb storage at 26 quid month no upfront charge and 5gb data. Use uswitch for latest deal hers was ee.
I’ve been usin one for a year (after having a 6 and a couple of 5s) and it’s great. As a phone I prefer the smaller more pocket friendly size, for a tablet substitute it’s not so good but I’ve got a pad device for that anyway
I've just bought a sim free one from GiffGaff for my wife too, 32gb version for £229. I already have a GG account for my daughter and to a non member you pay another tenner for a sim or some such business.
After getting increasingly larger phones (Android), I decided I wanted a smaller phone. All the smaller Android options (HTC, Samsung etc.) seemed to be compromises. I bit the bullet and went over to Apple with the iPhone SE. Phone wise, best thing I ever did. I've got the SE 64GB version and it's an awesome bit of kit. Compact, powerful and intuitive to use. I'm just hoping that they do an updated SE before my contract is up.
My work phone is a 5SE and it's the standard phone they gave to all of us in management roles who need a phone. Universally hated. Firstly because it's so small and the bulk of what we use if for is email/text/whatsapp. Most of us have admittedly reached an age where we need reading glasses but in comparison to the bigger phones (I'm used to a 7+ as my personal phone) typing and reading messages is a pain. On the newer operating systems the 4" screen has virtually no space for the text once the keyboard is up. Secondly, the battery is woeful in comparision to plus sized phones or even the really cheap nokia windows phones we had prior to these. Most of us are on sub 30% by lunchtime and as our day ends at 11pm and spend little time sat in one place long enough to have it charge it means spending much of the day with it attached to a charging pack in your pocket or investing in a battery case.
No issues with mine. It was a better deal at Carphone Warehouse, but EE matched it. It’ll be good for the contract, then change it for whatever has replaced it then.
I still havent used over 1gb of data in 5 years, but I use WiFi whenever I can.
I've got a 5 which I love but the battery performance is now dreadful, it's at the stage now if I'm out and about and I take a photo it just dies and I can't use GPS for any amount of time or it dies.
Not sure if I should get the battery replaced or go for a refurb'd SE. Certainly won't be signing up to any contracts.
I don't want a larger phone as they are a pain and too easily damaged. But not sure what to go for.
Sorry, I know this doesn't help and I've added nothing to the conversation.
[i]one_happy_hippy wrote:[/i]
<span style="font-size: 0.8rem;">However 1gb of data won’t last very long on an iPhone in my opinion.</span>
Do iPhones use more data than Android? I have 1GB of data on mine and only very rarely do I get anywhere near using all that. It depends what you do with your phone - I don't tend to watch films or stream music, but it's plenty for all the other usual stuff.
Still like mine, the design may be old but the internals are still plenty quick enough, particularly with fewer pixels to push around. Can reach all of the screen one-handed with no need for software assistance which I value far more than a slightly bigger display to watch videos on.
Work Galaxy S6 is comically big in comparison.
£16 pm for unlimited calls and texts plus 15GB data with BT.
As far as the phone goes, it will happily do everything you describe for the time frame you describe.
”It depends what you do with your phone”
That, not the phone in terms of data usage.
Performance wise, I use this for streaming music and video, downloaded music and films, general browsing, OS/opencycle mapping, Stravaaaaaa, email, photos, app based messaging, the odd light game.
The only thing Id want more phone for is watching films but that mostly happens on an iPad so not worth it. I also went with the largest capacity memory just so I can download films/tv/lots and lots of maps.
Relative to how well it impressed me compared to a Moto G 4g 2nd Gen which I got when released this is a far better product. But then it cost a lot more!
Oh, and the Lifeproof case kept the phone dry after an unplanned swim when I should have been in a canoe.
One last thing, the BT network is a bit shonky for calls in my area. But the data is good.
SE is an Excellent wee phone.
Small size is great for carrying and constant use. If you don’t need a larger screen, it’s ideal and the small screen helps prolong battery life.
Get the biggest memory and it’ll last for ages. It’s a solid phone that runs really well.
As others have said, great phone if you don't want a large phone. 64 bit so will stay compatible with new apps and OS updates.
SE is the only iPhone worth having IMO.
and the small screen helps prolong battery life
This is wrong. Whilst yes the smaller screen does use less energy the small form factor means it has a small battery get is running the same energy hungry chipset as the bigger models in the range. SE battery is a 1624mAh. 7+ is 2900mAh. The 7 plus eats the SE for breakfast in terms of operating time per charge despite the bigger screen as witnessed by the two sat side by side in my pocket.
I've still got a 5S. Works fine for me (as does 1Gb per month so I'm not exactly a superuser!).
I am contemplating buying an SE to go with a fiver a month SIM offer from my ISP - Plusnet.
It's worth doing if you like the 5S size/shape. SE has a much faster CPU, twice the RAM and a much better camera.
and the small screen helps prolong battery life
This is wrong
Ok. I haven’t used a 7+.
Battery in the SE is good though, better than previous iPhone I’ve used.
Battery in the SE is good though, better than previous iPhone I’ve used.
Likewise. Both Katie and I on SE's. Like the phone size, speed is definitely not an issue at present - never feels slow. It's a current model and should be good for 2 years. Fits in a pocket comfortably, fits in bag pockets easily.
What would be nice as an upgrade is the same physiscal size with larger screen.
Battery in the SE is good though, better than previous iPhone I’ve used.
I suspect this is perception rather than reality. When we get a new phone invariably we are doing so because we are replacing an old shagged phone with a shagged battery. The new phone shines in comparision mainly because 24hrs earlier you were using a battery with 700+ charge cycles to it's name. Straight out of the box I suspect a 4s on the operating system it was launched on and an SE with the operating system it was launched on would perform very similarly.
This is wrong. Whilst yes the smaller screen does use less energy the small form factor means it has a small battery get is running the same energy hungry chipset as the bigger models in the range.
The 5.5inch display on the 7+ has a higher contrast ratio and needs to drive an extra 1.3 million pixels compared to the SE (1920x1080 compared to 1136x640) so that does take a fair bit of power. And it's not the same chipset: 7+ uses A10 Fusion, SE uses A9 (like the 6s).
FWIW, according to Apple the battery life is pretty similar. Both claim "Up to 13 hours" for internet use, SE has "Up to 13 hours" for video playback and the 7+ has 14. There is a huge difference in Talk Time (14 vs 21 hours) granted but who actually uses a phone to talk these days? 🙂
as witnessed by the two sat side by side in my pocket.
Have you used the new Battery Health check in iOS 11.3 to see how healthy both those batteries are? Might also be informative to reset the battery usage and see which one you are actually using the most and what apps are responsible.
What would be nice as an upgrade is the same physiscal size with larger screen.
Yep, my simple wish list for an SE 2:
- keep the same physical size but go edge-to-edge display.
- make it waterproof
- keep the ruddy headphone port
- keep the metal back and sides.
To be fair a good chunk of my energy use is 'no cell coverage' as I live and work in buildings that don't play well with mobile signal so wificalling is constantly running. 2nd is mail back ground activity with push mail. So those are both screen off energy consumptions which would make a difference.