iPhone SE

I Just Bought The 3rd-Generation iPhone SE And Why You Should Too

Sometimes, a little clarity is much needed when buying a phone

Being a huge Apple fan, you’d automatically think that I’d aim for the biggest and most expensive gadgets they have to offer, right?

Well, you’d be right if I had pockets as deep as those of Tim Cook and any of his executives.

Unfortunately, my pockets are not that deep.

But at the same time, even if my pockets were that deep, I most probably won’t always go for the biggest and most expensive gadgets on offer.

And that is exactly what I just did when I placed an order for the 3rd generation iPhone SE instead of the iPhone 14 Pro (which I actually planned on getting) as a replacement for my work phone.

You see, I’m currently using the iPhone 13 mini as my main phone.

It’s been my main phone for the past year now since it was released last year. I got it to replace my iPhone 12 mini.

I have a second number which I use for work purposes.

For this number, I’ve been using my wife’s old iPhone XR after I got her the regular iPhone 13 as a replacement.

However, the time finally came for the iPhone XR to be replaced and at first, I was planning on ordering the iPhone 14 Pro and use that as my main phone, with my 13 mini being used as my work phone.

That made perfect sense right?

But then I had a long thought about it and after much deliberation, I’ve settled for my 13 mini to continue being my main phone while the new SE will be my work phone.

You may be asking how did I come to this decision?

Well, I’m gonna share it with you and maybe, just maybe, convince you to make the same decision as well.

Primary function

I use my iPhone all the time. It’s with me all day, every single day.

Yes, it sounds like I’m addicted to it and I probably am (which is something I’m working hard on to fix)

But despite that, the main usage of my iPhone is mainly texting, some light browsing (I usually use my iPad Air for this because of the screen size), some photography, replying emails (I still prefer using a proper laptop or iPad for this), and watching videos every now and then (again, I mainly use my iPad Air for this).

So, when I think about the primary function of my phone, it’s not much actually aside from the very basic usage.

Do I really need a Pro model for this?

Is my 13 mini not capable enough to do all that I need to use it for?

The answer is, it is.

My 13 mini is more than capable of doing all that I need it to do as my everyday phone and more.

So then, do I need the Pro as my work phone?

Definitely not.

Capabilities

While the iPhone 14 Pro comes packed with the new Apple A16 Bionic Chip, the A15 that I have in my 13 mini is still a badass of a chip.

And this same chip is also powering the 3rd generation iPhone SE.

It packs a 6-core CPU and a 4-core GPU with a 16-core Neural Engine.

Aside from the MagSafe feature (which I don’t really use at the moment), it’s almost identical to the iPhone 13 mini and even the newly released iPhone 14.

The SE has up to 15 hours of video playback which is only 2 hours behind the 13 mini and 5 hours behind the iPhone 14.

For a work phone, I don’t really need that many hours.

For the camera, although it still only carries a single 12MP camera, it’s still damn good.

I’m no pro photographer so whatever pics I need to take, the cameras on the SE and 13 mini are more than enough. Same for videos too.

And although a little outdated, I kinda still like the Home Button with Touch ID — I really do.

I just feel like the overall design of the SE (taken from the iPhone 8) will still stay relevant for at least another 3–4 years.

Pricing

And finally, another big aspect behind my decision making — the price of the phones.

The iPhone 14 Pro starts at a cool $999 for the base 128GB model.

The 3rd generation iPhone SE starts at $429 for the base 64GB model. If you get the 128GB configuration one, it’s an additional $50 at $479 — which is still a whole $520 cheaper than the Pro!

This is the official US pricing.

For context, the price of an iPhone SE in my country is equivalent to a month and a half of the national monthly minimum wage.

The iPhone 14 Pro? That one is about the same as three and a half months’ worth of the national minimum wage.

It just didn’t make financial sense to me to get a phone that is priced double the other and I’d be using it for the same purposes even though I can afford it without any problems.

Honestly, it was a no brainer when I really thought about it and went through the pros and cons.

If I were to get the Pro, I wouldn’t be doing or using it in any way that’d be different from how I’m using my 13 mini now.

In other words, I’d just be paying more money to do the same things with it.

And since I do even less on my work phone, getting the most basic iPhone really represents the best option.

But if I’m to be completely honest, I can also see myself using the iPhone SE as my main phone for the next couple of years due to the A15 chip and battery life.

Which is exactly why in a few days’ time, a parcel with the 3rd generation iPhone SE will be reaching my doorsteps instead of the iPhone 14 Pro.

Sometimes, as nice as it is to always have the biggest, best, most expensive item around, it just doesn’t always make sense.

Before you make your next big iPhone purchase, think about how and what you’ll be using your phone for and whether the money you’ll be spending will actually be put to proper use or not.

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