My experience with using every iPhone and iPad screen size to date has taught me two things: one size does not fit all, and you can usually get used to using any screen size if you use it long enough. The tricky part is that it’s not super easy to know immediately which screen size is right for you, and using any one screen size for an extended period of time tends to make it feel normal.
iPhone displays were at first large by most standards at 3.5-inches diagonally in 2007; BlackBerry “smartphones” had tiny displays and large keyboards. Android handsets gradually raised the scope of what qualified as a phone, pressuring Apple to go bigger with the 4-inch iPhone 5 in 2012. Then even bigger and much bigger in 2014 with the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus.
I spent just a few days with the 5.5-inch iPhone 6 Plus before I decided I needed to exchange it for the 4.7-inch iPhone 6, but after a year with that screen size I decided to size up with the iPhone 6s Plus last September. The experience has been mostly okay as I really think we can all get used to any screen size (even 3.5-inch!), but extended use this go around has made the drawbacks for me very clear. More on that below, but as promised I’m venturing over to the 4-inch iPhone SE at least until the new iPhones come out in September. These are my day one observations after making the jump:
We’ve covered the spec differences between the various iPhones already and we have more comparisons on the way, so here I’ll focus instead on the experience insights versus what we can already compare on paper. Still, a lot of what comes to mind when changing from the iPhone 6s Plus to the iPhone SE does seem obvious, but other differences are less expected.
So in no certain order, here are my day one thoughts and observations…
Okay, my very first thought was Wow, the iPhone 6s Plus is as big as the whole iPhone SE box. This is no massive revelation as I had the exact opposite experience less than two years ago when I upgraded from the iPhone 5s to the iPhone 6 Plus … but it’s definitely easy to forget how dramatic the size differences really are.
As for why I’m even bothering with the switch now and not waiting until September, it’s clear to me that Plus-sized iPhones are just outside of my comfort zone with one hand use. Reachability helps with the height, but I’m still not great at using the keyboard without two hands; reaching across the device is very tricky which makes changing between the alphanumeric keyboard and the emoji one a challenge.
I probably have medium size hands, definitely not large (or small!), and the 4-inch display is easily reachable with either hand. Recalling my 4-7-inch iPhone use, the top left corner is usually out of reach when using my right hand, and vice versa. When using the iPhone 6s Plus, I also struggle with using the back gesture or reaching the back button when holding it in my right hand; I can easily reach the back button and don’t necessarily need the back gesture when using the iPhone SE.
While the narrower keyboard on the iPhone SE is easier to use one-handed, the tap targets are also much smaller which requires a period of adjustment when switching between models. Plus-sized iPhones greatly improve typing accuracy for a lot of people, myself included, but at the cost of comfortable one hand use. iPhone SE keys feel very narrow for now — I felt my eyes physically adjust when I first saw it today — but I’m sure that feeling will pass.
Just a small observation: the boxy design of the iPhone SE is very much like that of the Magic Keyboard which I use to type on my desktop Mac. The similarity is neat to notice, not a functional big deal, but neat nonetheless.
Now for the super obvious part but some thoughts to follow: a smaller display means iOS must be a lot more compact. That part we all could have guessed, but I’ve also decided that the medium-sized 4.7-inch iPhone is the design target for iOS while the 4-inch and 5.5-inch iPhones adjust in either direction. Stretch out more than the default, or squeeze in more than the default. That being said, I do believe the 4.7-inch iPhone is likely the go-to model for most people, before you consider screen size preferences, price, and other specs.
Elements like icons on the Home screen feel very compact on the iPhone SE, hiding much of the wallpaper behind it, and elements like the Share Sheet within Safari seem unnecessarily spaced apart. The Messages app shows noticeably very little conversation when the keyboard is engaged, especially with the Predictive text bar active. Tricks like turning off Predictive and lowering the text size may help.
Another big change that will take some getting used to is just how small the iPhone SE display is as a view finder in the Camera app compared to the iPhone 6s Plus. The iPhone SE is actually about the same size as my camera, so it’s by no means impractical, but now that the iPad has a camera as good as the iPhone 6s and iPhone SE, I can see myself taking more photos around the house with it than my iPhone for the large view finder alone.
Now I consider myself in a rare camp of folks that don’t mind the iPhone camera bump, but it’s nice to have the same camera quality on the iPhone SE without compromising the design. What stands out more to me is the use of antenna lines on the iPhone 6 series; I much prefer the completed look of the iPhone SE in that regard.
I’ll be back with more thoughts on the jump from iPhone 6s Plus to iPhone SE after I spend some serious time with the device, but I’ll leave you with a few more observations. One unexpected effect of moving to a smaller iPhone: my Apple Watch display appears larger! It’s all relative… And when you use the iPhone SE long enough to make it warm, you noticeably feel that warmth in your hand. By comparison, the iPhone 6s Plus tends to get warm under heavy use as well, but toward the top which extends past my grip.
I’d describe my experience with the iPhone 6s Plus as feeling mostly normal with a few functional complaints due to its size. The iPhone SE still looks super small, not normal, but use it just long enough to set it up and personalize it and everything starts to feel normal again … and the iPhone 6s Plus once again screams phablet. I already miss the Taptic Engine as the iPhone SE’s vibration motor is just plain jarring, but routing most alerts to the Apple Watch helps here. I do wish iOS would undergo a serious rethinking that would make action buttons bottom-focused and not like what we have now: the same operating system on a 5.5-inch iPhone as we had on 3.5-inch iPhones.
After a few hours of use, I’m comfortable with the idea of using the iPhone SE for the next six months or so, but I don’t expect I’ll stick with it past September. The difference between the Plus and SE is huge, and the middle option is probably best for me and most people. We’ll see … stay tuned for more on my switch in the meantime, and shoot any questions my way if you’re curious about the switch yourself.
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The SE is fast selling out!
Only limited availability for certain models in stores here in the SF Bay Area within hours of opening.
Most 64gig models are no longer available in store and have at least a two week delivery wait.
Apple plans on only making 15 million of them if I remember the analyst correctly.
Apple will we watching carefully this weekend to see what demand is like.
Only then will they be able to decide on how many they need to order from the supply chain.
Analysts can’t know decisions that have not yet been made.
They may have underestimated the initial launch day demand.
India and China sales will be key in deciding production numbers. The analyst are usually pretty close on the amount of iPhones produced during there first 4-6 months of launch.Even using older parts Apple still has to purchase the parts and the analysts see the added inventory of these parts in the market.
Since iPhone SE shares parts with the iPhone 6s analysts have a problem. They might know that Apple has ordered a certain number of parts through a certain supplier but they don’t how many of these parts are destined for the SE vs the 6s. Also most parts are made by multiple suppliers. Analysts have to make a lot of assumptions!
I’ll stick with my 6S Plus. That device SE is too small for me (I’m 6’6″). :-)
I expect we’ll see healthy numbers (mainly people “upgrading” from a 5S) but certainly nothing that will be extraordinary. A lot of people are waiting to see what the next iPhone has in store. I’m sure we’ll see some impressive international sales figures.
I can’t imagine ever going back to a 4″ iPhone. With vision issues and always being a 2 handed user I am perfectly happy with my 6 plus. It fits in all my jeans and shorts comfortably, minus one pair where the pocket it not deep enough and the top of the phone sticks out a little.
The iPhones will be better when Apple reduces the physical size, but increases the screen. in 2 years there will most likely be 4.3″,5″ and 5.8″ iPhones with smaller footprint then the current models.
The reduction of the side bezels to either edge to edge display or curved display would help with reachability The 6 plus feels like a wet bar of soap while talking one handed.
I was wondering to your take one the size Zac when i saw the female writers reaction on The Verge on it being way to small for consuming information on.
Display on the SE version looks frankly outdated and these day even 100$ androids have better screen. IMO not a great screen but an overall very good phone
I actually preferred the shiny chamfered edges of iPhone 5 and iPhone 5S.
I could never go pack from the 6s Plus to the SE just losing the 3d screen would be huge let alone the tiny screen size.
iPhone 6s plus, iPad pro 12.9″, MacBook 13″ air and Apple TV4 is the perfect tools have. The watch is hopeless until Apple installs GPS and a sim card.
$250 savings over iPhone 6 makes it a winner for me. And I just bought my iPhone 5s two months ago. My first smartphone/dataplan.
Only, one more time – ONLY, if SE was updated with … optical stabilization …I would dump 6s Plus in a hearth beat.
for me to buy the SE would be a total waist of money.
SE is for mid-low market segment. i.e for android users
Yea, I will stick with my 6 plus. I like the larger screen.
“I do wish iOS would undergo a serious rethinking that would make action buttons bottom-focused”
huh?
I’m good with my 6s Plus, I went to the Apple Store and picked up the 6s Plus and I felt like I was holding a demo phone. Nothing against it cause it really awesome to be able to use the latest and greatest one handed but I use my device for a multitude of things even more than my laptop and I could not adjust to anything under 5.5 now.
iPhone SE is clearly drawing lots of attention all over the world. I have seen people talking about it, mostly from India, Pakistan and China.
I am using both iPhone 5s and 6s as my daily devices, and I am pretty sure many people are going to frustrate when they have to adjust their keyboard types again on smaller screen iPhone devices.
Ive been an android user for years but went into the apple store to play with the SE, I really liked it but one thing I found puzzling was the back button was in the top left hand corner, most people are right handed and going back is a very common thing to do…. basically the last place on the screen it should be.
Ive got a 6s plus but I’m tempted to go back to the small screen. Ive got arthritis so the big screen is a lil difficult to use. Went to tmobile yesterday and they were all sold out.