[noleli2]

I still love my original SE, and with the fresh battery I put in last year I’m still quite happy with it. But it doesn’t support iOS 16, and performance with modern apps isn’t what I’d like.

Should I hold out for another couple years, or get a small-ish 13 Mini while I still can and hope that it tides me over until there’s another actually small phone.

(I kinda want to do one of those ridiculous mods like putting the guts of a 13 Mini inside the original SE, but I’m not that skilled )

[709]

There are rumors that Apple is actually going bigger in the coming years with some ridiculous 'Ultra' model, so I'd say 95% no to your question. Apple will never* make a small phone again (*until they do). Realistically the 13 mini is the smallest you're going to get for a long time. It'll become the 4th gen SE form factor whenever that comes out.

[Brad]

FWIW, I'm right there with you, noleli2. I desperately wish Apple would sell a flagship small phone (and integrate Touch ID, pretty please?) but I'm not keeping my hopes up. If/when Apple announces the true death of the SE/mini lines, I'll probably be scrambling to order one immediately from third-party resellers before their stock vanishes.

[PB PM]

Talk of a 2024 SE refresh seem to be back and forth. Last one I saw said it was back on.

[chucker]

Originally Posted by PB PM Talk of a 2024 SE refresh seem to be back and forth. Last one I saw said it was back on.

Yes, but it won't be as small as the original SE.

[noleli2]

Hm, yeah, MacRumors seems to think the next SE will be bigger than 5.4”.

[kieran]

I had the 13 mini and it was a nice change from the size of the previous phones, but I ultimately went back to the 14 Pro.

Apps today are just being designed for the larger screens, and it felt cramped on the smaller screen.

That size and weight though was so hard to give up.

[chucker]

In theory, I miss the smaller sizes. Nicer to hold and carry. In practice, actually using an iPhone is much nicer with the bigger sizes.

[turtle]

I still have my 13 mini I got shortly after release. I'm still enjoying it, but I'm gonna move up in size for the reason Kieran said. I like the size in my pocket, but some things are just getting way too cramped for me. I'm also missing the better cameras.

Even if Apple does release a small phone again, it will likely be crippled cameras and that is enough of a reason for me to move up when the time to upgrade comes.

[noleli2]

Really interesting to hear the consensus that iOS is better on a bigger screen. I’ve been using it on a 4” screen for over a decade (iPhone 5 2012–2016, then iPhone SE 2016–present) and have never felt like I’m missing out on anything. But I appreciate the perspective.

[dglow]

I use a 12 mini in screen zoomed mode. This normalizes the mini's ppi with the rest of the iPhone lineup, and provides the experience of a 5 or SE in a home button-less design. I love it.

[noleli2]

Being in my late 30s, I’m told I may not be able to keep cranking Dynamic Type all the way down to its smallest forever, but I’m going to keep milking that for as long as I can

[dglow]

fwiw, I find small text to be crisper in zoomed mode on a mini, likely due to the non-native resolution scaling performed in the default (non-zoomed) screen mode

[camilasaunder89]

iPhone 13 mini also had some exciting features and its powerful A15 Bionic chip and 5G connectivity provide fast and smooth performance.

[psmith2.0]

Originally Posted by noleli2 Really interesting to hear the consensus that iOS is better on a bigger screen. I’ve been using it on a 4” screen for over a decade (iPhone 5 2012–2016, then iPhone SE 2016–present) and have never felt like I’m missing out on anything. But I appreciate the perspective.

Are you me?!? My exact iPhone situation. I held/used a 13 mini for the first time a week ago. I could totally get on with that size/design. Anything larger (any non-mini flagship model, including the entire 14 lineup)…just not interested. I hate having to use two hands on an iPhone. I don’t wanna make that adjustment/concession after 15 years. I just don’t. Probably a huge part of the reason I’m on this SE that turns seven next month (April 2016 was the purchase date). That and my aversion to dropping $600+ on a stupid phone. Any brand, size or model.

[chucker]

Originally Posted by psmith2.0 I hate having to use two hands on an iPhone.

I totally get that. I do miss being able to operate the entire thing with a thumb.

Buuuuuuuuut, on a bigger screen, typing is nicer, and obviously, you get more information at a glance. Including bigger photos your camera has just taken… so I get why people have converged on it. (Another factor, I bet: women, whose pants tend not to have pockets, just put the phone in their purses. Which has plenty of room. So at that point, might as well make it a little bigger.)

[PB PM]

That and for many people the phone is never not in their hand. For those of us who aren’t looking at a phone 12+ hours a day the smaller overall size would be nice though. I think Apple’s answer will be to follow the trend of folding devices.

[dglow]

Originally Posted by PB PM That and for many people the phone is never not in their hand. For those of us who aren’t looking at a phone 12+ hours a day the smaller overall size would be nice though. I think Apple’s answer will be to follow the trend of folding devices.

This. The Z-fold is a very impressive form factor and the only folding-phone design which makes good sense. I hope Apple’s designers eye it with envy.

Originally Posted by chucker I totally get that. I do miss being able to operate the entire thing with a thumb. Buuuuuuuuut, on a bigger screen, typing is nicer, …

Nicer for some maybe. My thumbs are faster on a narrower device.

[chucker]

I think the Surface Duo's approach makes more sense than the Z Fold's. Just because you can fold a display like that doesn't mean you should. Just do a hinge; it's fine.

I'm vaguely interested in the idea of "unfolds into roughly the iPad mini form factor", but that still seems like sci-fi too me. Too many compromises.

[psmith2.0]

Originally Posted by PB PM That and for many people the phone is never not in their hand. For those of us who aren’t looking at a phone 12+ hours a day the smaller overall size would be nice though. I think Apple’s answer will be to follow the trend of folding devices.

That's me. I use it when I need to Google something or respond to a text or check the weather. I'm not on social media, or constantly buying pointless shit on Amazon I don't need (just because it's on sale or at a "great price!", like everyone I know does, nonstop) or doing any gaming, so it's definitely not in my hands all day, nonstop. I go some days and it never leaves my nightstand. In recent years, I deliberately leave it at home if I'm just running to the store for a quick errand and back in an hour or so. It's oddly "freeing" to be out in the world without the stupid thing buzzing/beeping/dinging in my pocket every 30 seconds. I'm not that important. Nobody on the planet needs my attention/insight immediately, about anything. I know/accept this.

If I want something "larger", I'll get an iPad or iPad mini. That are automatically large, two-hand-demanding and I don't mind so in those particular devices. It's unavoidable. But a phone? Nope. I don't need my phone to be the size of a Star Trek Tricorder or a paperback novel. It's a phone. The 12/13 mini is truly as large as I ever want to go. These Plus and Max models can all go climb a tree. If I won one, free and clear, all I'd be interested in doing is re-selling it for top dollar and buying a Pink(!) or Midnight 13 mini outright (and pocketing the leftover). My friends, an older couple I know, both have 14 Pros (not the Max) and they're far too large for me. So I know that 6.1" isn't a go, in that design (the two non-large 14 models).

Apple should make a smaller, cheap-as-possible iPhone. The current SE, as speedy as it is, still has the home button, so it sits apart, unavoidably, from every other phone in the lineup. Once that thing moves to a full-face, buttonless design, that'll be great to see, assuming they keep it smallish (5.4") and don't get stupid with it. Nobody spending ~$400 on an iPhone is looking for/expecting a 7" screen. Don't do us any "favors", Apple. I absolutely buy iPhones on screen size, and I was disappointed the mini didn't carry over to the 14. But I'm not looking to pay current flagship top dollar/asking price for them either, so even if a 14 mini existed, I'm not paying $800+ for it. $500 is my cut-off for iPhones, like $1,500 is for Macs. I'll make a small exception in a specific case/scenario, but that's my general rule/guideline.

[dglow]

Agree. I suspect, and hope, that the mini disappearing from the 14 lineup is a sign that the mini form factor is bound for the next SE.

When the 13 mini disappears from the lineup this fall (just as the 12 mini did this past fall), Apple will be poised to reintroduce the mini size, in an 'all new' SE, the following spring.

[noleli2]

Originally Posted by psmith2.0 Are you me?!? My exact iPhone situation.

Pretty much‽

Totally with you on everything you said. I definitely am not buying random crap from Amazon all the time. (With the exception of my regular shipment of masks from not-Amazon, I probably get a package like 4 times a year.) Though I do use social media (mostly Mastodon these days).

The main difference is that, because I get a new phone so rarely, I’m perfectly willing to shell out flagship prices for the phone that I want ($1400 comes out to under $20/month over 6 years). I’m probably about a year overdue had I seen anything worth getting; I just haven’t seen anything worth getting. My curmudgeonly self likes a phone that:

• Is small enough to comfortably use with one hand
• Has TouchID
• Has a headphone jack
• Doesn’t have a silly notch where the time should be
• Sits flat on the table because it doesn’t have a camera bump

So here I am on the original SE, the GOAT iPhone that is sadly beginning to show its age.

[noleli2]

Originally Posted by dglow Agree. I suspect, and hope, that the mini disappearing from the 14 lineup is a sign that the mini form factor is bound for the next SE. When the 13 mini disappears from the lineup this fall (just as the 12 mini did this past fall), Apple will be poised to reintroduce the mini size, in an 'all new' SE, the following spring.

Have you seen any rumors pointing in that direction? MacRumors says

Multiple rumors suggested that Apple was working on a fourth-generation iPhone SE that could have a larger 5.7 to 6.1-inch display….

[dglow]

Yes and I’m guessing it’s 5.7”, the iPhone mini form factor. I don’t see 6.1” happening since that’s the size of the 14 and 14 Pro. For Apple, the SE has always been “Our smallest new phone at our smallest price.”

[noleli2]

Mini has 5.4”, though

[dglow]

You are right. A 5.7" iPhone would be ... entirely new? The X was 5.8", the current SE is 4.7" Hmmm...

Sorry, I may just be wish-casting about this. I guess we'll see.

[PB PM]

Originally Posted by noleli2 Pretty much‽ Totally with you on everything you said. I definitely am not buying random crap from Amazon all the time. (With the exception of my regular shipment of masks from not-Amazon, I probably get a package like 4 times a year.) Though I do use social media (mostly Mastodon these days). The main difference is that, because I get a new phone so rarely, I’m perfectly willing to shell out flagship prices for the phone that I want ($1400 comes out to under $20/month over 6 years). I’m probably about a year overdue had I seen anything worth getting; I just haven’t seen anything worth getting. My curmudgeonly self likes a phone that: Is small enough to comfortably use with one hand Has TouchID Has a headphone jack Doesn’t have a silly notch where the time should be Sits flat on the table because it doesn’t have a camera bump So here I am on the original SE, the GOAT iPhone that is sadly beginning to show its age.

Good luck with the headphone jack.

[noleli2]

I know, I know But an old man can always yearn for the phone of his youth