Planning to upgrade my iPhone

By Jo Billard, 11 February, 2021

Forum
Apple Hardware and Compatible Accessories

It's my first upgrade, and my phone carrier is giving me a choice between the XR and the SE 2020 if I want a rebate, which I absolutely need, so it's either one or the other. I really want to try a phone with no home button, and I have heard such a bad rap about the SE's poor battery life, but I have also heard from others that it's OK. I have tried to find articles that compare both phones but can't find anything, and I want to make the best choice. It struck me that in two years the XR will be pretty old, but I guess so is my 8+ now and it's still doing OK. I'm having a hard time getting past the excitement of trying a phone with no home button that I'm having trouble trying to be practical and thinking things through logically, and I want the best phone for the next couple of years. I like the idea of having a small phone, but not at the price of an awful battery. If it's really not that bad, I'm sort of willing to sacrifice the home button issue over cost, but I really do need a good battery, especially during lockdown when I have nothing else to do.

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Comments

By Brian Giles on Monday, February 22, 2021 - 18:35

I went from a XR to a 12 Mini, and I do miss the battery life. But I also hated how big the XR was in my hand even though I kind of got used to it. I love how much more narrow the smaller phones are, making them fit better in my hand.

If you like the idea of a smaller phone but are concerned about the shorter battery life, you could do what I did and get a fast charger if you don't have one already. Since I use my phone all the time, I usually have to top it up throughout the day. But just plugging it into a fast charger for 10-20 minutes while you're doing something else can get you back a large chunk of battery life.

By Borostar on Monday, February 22, 2021 - 18:35

Hi, if you don't have any useful vision, then go for the Se as some claim it's got a decent battery life and it can't be any worse than your current phone which has a degraded battery in it. Charging the phone on a regular basis will cause your battery to degrade a lot faster. Personally, I opted to go for the 12 Pro Max as it has a large screen and I can easily get 2 days out of this phone before having to charge it back up with the fast charger. Having to mask up on your daily travels is one good reason why you may want to plunge for the SE 2020.

By Curtis Chong on Monday, February 22, 2021 - 18:35

Greetings: The SE 2020 has a more modern processor and is a more current version of the iPhone as compared to the XR. I recommend the SE 2020. I have worked with at least two people who find it to work just fine for them. Besides, it still has the Home Button.

By Anthony on Monday, February 22, 2021 - 18:35

My true opinion I would try to wait till the next iPhone comes out because they are thinking of putting the touch ID back into the phone and under the actual screen but if you truly need a phone now and need a home button still I agree go with the SE but if you don’t care I go with one of the 12s

By Blee Blat on Monday, February 22, 2021 - 18:35

In reply to by Anthony

I have an iphone 8 plus, but I have to likely upgrade it, because it's getting a lot of battery drain with the iOS updates lately. I don't have any idea why Find my iphone is constantly using my location. I'm going to need to get a new phone number fairly soon and wondering when I should optimally upgrade my phone, and to what model? I have an ipad that has the face id and it's ok, but fiddly. I can work with it, so that's not a big deal really. I'm just wondering what is the best for performance and battery life, because it seems that the newer devices don't have a lot of features that look like things I must have. Do all the iphone 12's have the same processor, or should I just try to stick it out for the 13 models, or whatever they've got coming?

Yes all of the 12s have the most recent chips but depends on what you’re trying to use it for if you’re trying to go for battery I would probably recommend either the 12 pro or the 12 Pro Max I know what you want sideways if you want to stick more like your 8+ I would recommend the 12 pro but if you can stick it out till the new ones come out I would probably do that if you are noticing that your battery is not staying at good performance you could always I think still go and have the battery replaced at the store or send it to them and they might be able to replace it and and send it back to you if you want to still have your 8+ But who truly want to help. I would recommend one of the 12 like I said or if you can stick it out and see what the 13 is going to be I would try to do that now I hope this is understandable.

By Jo Billard on Monday, February 22, 2021 - 18:35

I don't know how other carriers work, but there's no way I can get the newest phone, not without paying money I don't have for it. They have specivfic criteria for disabled customers, or most likely those with lower incomes, so a 12 Mini will be completely out of the question. From what I've heard the new SE won't be anything earth-shattering, so not much point in waiting for that.