thoughts on the iPhone SE third gen?

By Troy, 24 May, 2022

Forum
Apple Hardware and Compatible Accessories

Just curious what everyones thoughts are on the IPhone SE third gen? I haven't heard much talk about it. How's the battery life? I read bad reviews about it on the verizon website. I currently have an IPhone8 which is almost 3 years old and still going strong and was thinking of upgrading because of the age and it only being supported for one more year. Other than the expanded accessibility features is it worth getting this phone?
Thanks

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Comments

By OldBear on Wednesday, May 25, 2022 - 11:06

I don't care if it has a shorter battery life. I would rather carry an external power pack around than use face ID, and entering a pin code in every time I want to use the phone is a nonstarter/showstopper. My iPhone 7 is at the end of its support life and that is the only choice Apple gives me.

By Brian Unitt on Wednesday, May 25, 2022 - 11:06

I got an IPhone SE third gen two weeks ago when I changed cell carriers. I was seriously considering the iPhone 13 Mini, but it was back ordered so I went with the SE which was available. I upgraded from an aging iPhone 8 with a battery that would only charge to 80%. In terms of form factor, it is indistinguishable from the iPhone 8, and I consider that a good thing--it fits in my pocket, is easy to use, and having the home button and touch ID is still a plus. Performance is a whole different story: apps run better, the phone doesn’t heat up when you use apps like Google news, Siri launches apps faster, and Seeing AI and VoiceDream Scanner both recognize faster. As far as battery life, I have so far not been below 55% at the end of a day. I don’t stream video, but I do stream music to my Homepod Minis. In fairness, I haven’t been on the phone very much in the last two weeks, and that was a big drain on my old phone. I would often have to put the 8 on the charger by mid-afternoon.

By James Dean on Wednesday, May 25, 2022 - 11:06

I too upgraded from an iPhone 8 whose battery health was at 79 percent, so it would make it through the majority of a day if I was listening to audio with the screen mostly locked. Playing games and video of course drained it much faster. With the SE3, I still have just over or slightly under half a charge at the end of a day of heavy usage, even if that's video and some gaming. TeamTalk, which those who use it know it can be a battery hog, still only gets me down to around 30 percent if I am on a server for most of the day. All this to illistrate that I am very happy with battery life. I was going to get the SE 2020 but held off because of terrible battery life reviews from all kinds of sources, and I'm glad I did. As for performance, I'm mostly happy with that, too. The increased speed of SIRI, launching apps and overall App performance were all welcome finds. I have an issue with VoiceOver stuttering a bit on some webpages no matter the browser used, and I'm going to guess that's because it only has 4 GB of RAM. Also, VoiceOver's audio ducking was getting very laggy on the 8 in more recent updates. I was sad to see that this is still the case on the SE3. Whatever they have done to audio ducking in recent iOS updates has made it close to unusable for me. This could also be a symtym of low RAM, but I'm less confident about that than the webpage issue. Overall, though, I do not regret my purchase and think I'll be using this phone for at least a couple of years, most likely longer as I bought it outright rather than through my carrier.

By Jeff on Wednesday, May 25, 2022 - 11:06

I upgraded from an iPhone 8 to my new iPhone SE 3rd Gen a few weeks ago and am wondering what these rumors of poor battery life are based on. It's certainly not been my experience. Quite the opposite, actually. My battery life has essentially doubled. I was getting a full day of battery with my iPhone 8, so I'd put it on the charger every night. I get 2 days of battery with my new iPhone SE. There have been days when the battery level hasn't dropped below 80% at the end of the day. So, I only need to put it on the charger every other night.

As others have said, performance is just a little snappier. Otherwise, the SE behaves very much like the 8. I like still having the Home button with the finger print reader. I was even able to transfer the phone case from my 8 to my SE. I am very happy with the SE and am glad I upgraded.

By Blind angel 444 on Wednesday, May 25, 2022 - 11:06

Are they wireless or the kind you plug into the wall? Also how much do they caust?
Thanks

By Blind angel 444 on Wednesday, May 25, 2022 - 11:06

Are they the cheep distorted sound or as clear like a person in the same room as you?

By Pete De Vasto on Wednesday, May 25, 2022 - 11:06

I had gotten the SE2 right after it came out two years ago to replace my iPhone 7. When I heard about SE3, I was immediately impressed with the more powerful internals. I'm not sure how much longer it will last, but Apple currently has a trade-in program going on, and I learned I might be able to get up to $160 US back for the SE2. Since my phone had been in an Otterbox Defender case all its life, it was in immaculate condition, so I bit the bullet and got the SE3. I only need the 64GB version, so the net cost to me was $269 US. I love the new phone! Performance is so much better than SE2. For example, I went to deposit a check into my bank account, and on the SE2 it took several tries to get the check scanned in correctly. With SE3, first tries scanning both sides of the check were successful immediately. Battery life so far has been much better, too. Only thing is I've so far only run it down to like 55 or 60% as I've not yet been on an all-day outing. Bottom line for me is that I'm very glad I did the upgrade. I've also never been keen on Face recognition, so having that good old home button on a phone that probably would last me a good couple of years is wonderful.

By Bruce 62 on Wednesday, May 25, 2022 - 11:06

I just purchased the SE 3 last weekend from my local apple store. I was bringing my iPhone 7 purchased on 11/7/17 in to get a new battery which was at 81%. I received $60 for the trade in and purchased the new phone for $479.
The SE 3 is much faster when launching safari and other aps. I have not gone below 49% with the battery. The only app that eats a lot of battery is Bard. The purchase of the SE 3 was strictly a financial one because the 13 models were out of my price range. The case from the iPhone 7 fits the new phone perfectly. There is a noticeable improvement in the sound quality of the speakers on the SE 3. Also, the phone has not heated up at all where as my iPhone 7 sometimes did get hot. This phone uses 5G and I have not had any calls drop or cut out which did sometimes occur with the iPhone 7. I am very pleased with my choice.

By Joseph on Saturday, June 25, 2022 - 11:06

I've had my iPhone SE third gen for a little over a month or two, and it's been working wonderfully. Absolutely no issues on my end.

By Mister Kayne on Saturday, June 25, 2022 - 11:06

The days are numbered for all those who want handy, small phones with a battery that would get them through the day. I noticed this trend with apple when they said there will be no 14 mini. The 12 mini was a joke in the first place, they further mocked their loyal small phone users by the 13 mini. So the touch id is already on the verge of being extinct and might be only available in these SE models and they might be the only phones that will come in such a portable size. I am going to get myself the 12 and get used to the size and not having a touch ID. apple is really giving me a run for the money v/s my design preferences