A few weeks ago Apple announced their “new” smartphone, the iPhone SE. I say “new” because it’s not exactly a new, jaw-dropping design. What Apple did was to release the iPhone 5S…again.
From every angle you look at it there is no denial that this is the exact same hardware as the iPhone 5S, which had the exact same hardware as the iPhone 5…which came out in 2012! So Apple now takes the stage with a phone that basically has a 4 year old design and they’re saying that this is the phone many of us will want to buy. And in my case they are 100% right!
So during my year of absence from the blogging world I also finally took the dive and ditched my android powered Moto X for a new and shiny iPhone 6S. And I really enjoy my phone even tho it costed me a small fortune. However, now Apple took almost everything that makes my phone a 6S and somehow made it fit inside an old iPhone 5S.
It has the same 12MP camera as the 6S, it has the same functions on the front facing camera (with the screen “flash” and live pictures) and it’s now compatible with Apple Pay.
Many people have criticized this move saying that Apple aren’t doing anything innovative right now, that they are going backwards, that this is not the phone that they were expecting etc. Yes, that’s the point! Of course it’s not the phone you were expecting, that’s the iPhone 7 coming later this year! Yes, Apple is going back…back to their roots, to the days when they we’re providing stable and fast mobile experiences and performance from a 4 inch phone while everyone else was going bigger and bigger in screen size.
I’m not sure if that was the reason or not, but anyway I will agree that a bigger screen has its advantages. However if I want a bigger screen I can to my laptop, or I can get a tablet and use that. I am a bit of fan of the minimalism so for that reason every time that I picked up an iPhone 5 or 5S I just loved the way it felt in my hand. Here’s why:
- It has sharp edges, which means it won’t slip out of my hands even without a case.
- My thumb can reach all 4 corners of the screen, which means I have an entire hand available for…other activities while doing stuff on my phone.
- It doesn’t stretch my pockets when carrying it around. It fits nicely and doesn’t take up a lot of space.
But I’ll admit it’s not all just fun and games. There are a couple of drawbacks:
- Typing on the 5/5S takes some time to get used to as suddenly the keyboard is smaller than what I’m used to.
- Apple made sure not to include 3D touch technology on this phone. Many people still consider it a gimmick, but I actually like it and use it every day.
- No one will know how awesome (and expensive) your phone is. Now you have to go to everyone and specifically tell them that you have the iPhone SE not the 5 or 5S. That is if you’re that kind of a douchebag.
What I’m trying to say is that I believe Apple are going in the right direction here. So far the only other company that were putting high-spec parts in a small(er) device were Sony with their “Compact” lineup. I don’t wanna hear about the “mini” variants from Samsung, HTC, LG or others. Those come with “mini” versions of the processors and cameras and internal storage as well. If I knew back in October that this phone was coming and that it would look identical to the 5S, honestly I would’ve waited for it. I like the design. It brings back a sense of nostalgia and I just have a familiar feeling of robustness and sturdiness when holding it.
What’s your thoughts on it? Would you go back to an old design with brand new specs or do you simply like the bigger form factor and design of the 6/6S?
RaduThinks 