First impressions of Apple's new iPhone SE: Baig
NEW YORK — As a guy who is fully invested in phablet-sized phones, including my own iPhone 6 Plus, I’m not the ideal candidate for the iPhone SE that Apple takes preorders Thursday. If you missed it, the $399 or $499 SE model has a 4-inch display just like the iPhone 5s, and a similar design.
Recap: Apple introduces the iPhone SE at $399
I plan to spend a bit of time living with a smaller form-factor iPhone again, but now that I’ve got one in my hands here are a few quick thoughts:
The SE will appeal to people who don’t like the phablet size. I’ve suspected as much ever since Apple announced its new phone Monday, but the SE got a quick, positive reaction from the people I showed it to around my office. OK, so it’s not a scientific study. But one editor who's not into gadgets and who still carries around an iPhone 3G — yes, with its 3.5-inch display, it's actually a device she’d be moving up in size from — told me that she’d actually consider buying this one. Her first reaction to the SE: “Whoa!”
Aside from size, how does the SE differ from the 6s or 6s Plus with which it shares most specs? The SE brings most of the advanced capabilities of the state-of-the-art iPhone 6s or 6s Plus, including Apple’s robust A9 processor, M9 motion processor, 12-megapixel rear camera with the ability to capture “Live Photos” (a snippet of video comes before and after still images) and capture 4K video.
What it lacks is 3D Touch, the pressure-sensitive technology that leads to different outcomes depending on how hard you press against the display. That’s a nice, if non-essential, feature.
Meantime, there are two settings on the 6s and 6s Plus that are missing on the SE simply because they’re not necessary given the size. One is called Reachability. On a larger iPhone when you gently double-tap the home button the top portion of the display moves down toward the bottom, which lets you better handle the bigger display with one-hand.
The second missing feature is the Display Zoom setting that lets you choose either standard size on-screen icons and controls or, given the more generous screen real estate, a larger-zoomed view. It is worth noting that on the SE, you can still increase or decrease the text size within the phone’s settings by dragging a slider control. And you can still choose to display bolder text.
Cuteness counts. The baby iPhone is, well, like an adorable baby. You want to pick it up and hold it and when you do you get that warm and fuzzy feeling. While I’ve already indicated that I’ll more than likely stick with a larger phone — for starters, I can see what’s on the screen better — somehow my comparatively ginormous “Plus” model is nowhere near as cute.
The new iPhone is a familiar iPhone. The only accommodation in the SE is the size and if you have a 5s there will be virtually no adjustment. Everything else is familiar, from setting up the device to running (all the same) apps. If you’re counting on new features — water resistance, say, or fast wireless charging as on the Samsung Galaxy S7 — you’ll have to hold out for an iPhone 7 or whatever Apple chooses to call its next device. If all goes according to the usual plan, we won’t see anything of the sort before the fall.
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Email: ebaig@usatoday.com; Follow USA TODAY Personal Tech Columnist @edbaig on Twitter