Two weeks with iPhone SE

Today, I returned my iPhone SE gen 1 to the seller. It was a short time with my little iPhone SE, but I enjoyed using the phone more than anything else. It is tiny and light unlike most flagship phones, but it is a fully functional phone. It runs the latest OS (iOS 15), and all apps are usable. The external resembles an iPhone 5, but it has an A9 chip inside. Ultimately, it is an iPhone 6s in an iPhone 5 shell.

Why am I returning it then if it is so good? It is a great device, but the NFC is not functioning at all unfortunately. This means that it is not possible to pay with it, and I use contactless payment daily so this is a huge problem for me. The seller is nice enough to fix it for me, so I returned it so that they can have a look.

Actually, I took it apart and had a look. In the end, I couldn’t fix anything, but I am glad that the phone is still working. I thought I definitely broke it, but it is stronger than I thought. The NFC chip is probably damaged somehow because it worked once and only once. It stopped once after the first success. I wish they could fix it, but this is unknown. Overall, it was a fun experience opening up the phone, and I will do it again to replace the battery next time.

Now, why am I changing to SE? Maybe, it is because of my 4s. It reminded me about something I used to love. The iPhone was such a great device, and I wanted to experience it again. Maybe, I just want a cheaper phone. My phones are getting cheaper over time. My iPhone 7 was $999, OnePlus 5 was $700 and my POCO F2 Pro was around $550. The SE was chosen because it is only $120 and the iPhone shell. I can surely live with a $100 phone, can’t I?

Phones are larger and heavier lately. We are watching too much content on it, and I don’t think phones were designed to do that. There are heavy 3D games, and they drain the battery rather quickly. This is why phones need to last longer, and they need a bigger battery to do that. In the end, it is our decision to get so attached to a device. This is inevitable.

Going against the trend is never easy. SE is a small phone with a tiny battery. I was forced to use my SE less because it dies instantly. How to solve battery issues? Simply don’t use the phone. I do still watch videos, but it is done using my other Android phone. I don’t watch it on the SE on the go. It is sad to see people with friends playing on their phones instead of chatting with each other. We are never so connected but also so distant at the same time.

Going out without a phone is nearly impossible now. We rely too much on it for all kinds of things. Apple Pay, Google Maps, Messaging apps and many more. I am not saying that we should throw phones away now because they are our best assistants.

No phone is not what I want, less phone is.

Afterword

My very broken initial draft

The year is 2022.

Phones are larger and heavier than ever. I miss the good old days when phones were small and they lasted for days. My Nokia was such a device, but it was abandoned when I got an iPhone because it was much advanced. My last iPhone was the iPhone 7. Then, I moved over to Android even though iOS was much better, but I had to because of its poor battery life. Later, I changed to another phone with an even larger battery. Now, I am switching back to a tiny iPhone SE but why?

This all started because I bought an iPhone 4s. I used to own one and I still like it. The design and iOS 6 are just perfect. It is becoming boring when everything is flat and plain nowadays. The 4s reminded me how phones used to look like, small and elegant. Larger phones indicate that people are more dependent on them. Maybe, it was never meant to be like this.

That's why I changed back to the iPhone SE. It is a tiny phone but it has everything you ever need. It was released in 2016 but can still run on the latest iOS 15 which means that all apps are supported. I can use WeChat, Messenger and Apple Pay and scan QR codes. What else do you need on a phone? Playing Genshin Impact on max settings and running on 144 fps? Nah, it should never be like this because that is the job of a large and heavy desktop computer.

The phone is great so far but there are two major issues, NFC and battery life. The NFC isn't very responsive for Apple Pay but this is simply because I couldn't yet find the sweet spot of it. The battery lasts around 3 hours screen on. Standby time is great so it should be fine for a whole day. I have 8 other phones at home so it is not necessary to install everything on them. It is just a QR code scanner and a quick messaging device when I am not at home. When I am outside, there is no reason to use it that much anyway.

Now, iOS and Android have a feature called digital wellbeing or screen time. I think by having a small battery, I am forced to use it less. It is quite contradictory because why do we need to use it less while spending more than 1000$ on it. Maybe, it should never be this expensive because I can live with a 100$ phone. The thing is that more people are using their phones way too much, and we might miss what's more important right in front of our eyes because we are not looking at it.

It is no longer feasible to go back to what life used to be. I have to get a modern phone because I need to scan QR codes whenever I enter a shop. I would rather use the good old Nokia if I have the chance. Then, I can see the world right in front of my eyes. I wish I could work on what's more important instead of watching useless videos on my 8 other phones.

No phone is not what I want, less phone is.

It is time to put down the phone and focus on something more important. It may be a distracting device, but it is also the best assistant.

As you can see, I was trying to talk more about how things and technology have changed in the past few years. Some things can no longer come back and I have to admit it. I will write about it properly next time. Writing is hard and challenging but I like doing it because it is fun.

From A15 Bionic, I said that I won’t be changing back to iPhone. I guess I am changing back to iPhone now, but not really conflicting. I still use my Android phone heavily and way more than my SE. What I meant was that I wouldn’t buy a brand new iPhone, and this is still true. That’s why it won’t happen because SE is so good, and I won’t change it for a while. I can just buy an iPhone SE gen 2 if Apple stops supporting my SE gen 1.