Apple dropping support for iPhone SE. What to do now?

I ended up moving to an iPhone 12 mini.

As much as I liked the original SE form factor, I really appreciated some things like bigger and better screen and face id.

I use mine as an mp3 player connected to some speakers at home.

If I were in your position I’d just get an iPhone 13 Mini since it’s the last iPhone with a small form factor.

Another option is to look for smaller android devices, but i doubt anything will be as small as the iphone mini

I've been trying to wean myself off phones completely since the demise of the SE, but life in Moscow without a phone is basically impossible (taxis, deliveries, electric scooters, bikes etc. all become pretty much unavailable).

As a compromise I've been using the Palm Phone[0] for a while now (before that the Unihertz Atom, which is quite the chonker, albeit with a small screen). It's the size of a credit card and has terrible battery life, but it can do all the things I need so I've just learned how to deal with it.

I don't really have a solution for music on the go yet, as you can't connect normal headphones to modern phones without adapters (and those adapters actually draw a surprising amount of power if they have a DAC!) and Bluetooth is completely useless in large and densely populated cities. Maybe some iPod-like devices are still around ...

[0]: https://palm.com/pages/product

I've been using one since 2016. The recent two years have been a bit tough because of the degraded battery. Swapped a new battery earlier this year, it was good for a while and now it's slow again and barely last a whole day. The last straw was the music player/spotify stuttering while I'm using Safari.

I have made up my mind that I won't buy another iPhone due to their design choices in the past years (mainly, removing headphone jack, but also in general undermining reparability while preaching sustainability).

So for me the must-have features are 3.5mm jack and relatively small form factor. I ended up getting a Asus Zenfone 9 (actually saw the post from HN first). Have been using it for about a couple weeks and I don't have too many complaints switching to Android. Only gripe I have was that the screen is still way too big. A bigger screen and very thin bezels are of course visually nice, but it's impossible to reach the upper and lower left corner when I use it with my right hand. Welp, I guess that's the compromise that I have to make in exchange for the features more important to me.

I use the iPhone 13 mini, it's marginally bigger than the SE.

To be fair to Apple, the 1st gen SE came out in 2016 with a 2015 chip and a 2012/2013 body, supporting it for this long is very impressive. There's still the later generations SE (I'm very happy with my SE2) or the 13 mini.

I'm in the same situation. My plan is to get a 13 Mini, and hope that it also lasts me enough years for Apple to release another small-factor iPhone.

Die-hard SE fan, moved to iPhone 12 mini. Really happy.

It's a bit larger, but it's a good change as it's actually more comfortable. Ymmv, of course.

It is still unclear if support is being dropped. Apple promised updates to iOS14 after 15 was released, but went back on that promise. iOS 15.7 fixed a bunch of security issues and was released along with iOS 16.

Apple has been silently maintaining iOS12, releasing 12.5.6 in August 2022 for eg:

> Available for: iPhone 5s, iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, iPad Air, iPad mini 2, iPad mini 3, and iPod touch (6th generation).

None of these devices are expected to be in support, as per Apple's policies. However, Apple is still pushing updates to these, and I'm hoping something similar would happen for iOS15.

I just wish Apple would actually write down its supported device+OS combinations somewhere, instead of us all having to guess (https://endoflife.date/iphone)

Apple still issues security updates for older iOS versions from time to time for devices that do not support the current iOS version. You could therefore continue using the SE until you get a hard requirement for some app that only runs on iOS 16+, or need some newer hardware function.

Personally I switched to the iPhone mini, which, while not as nice a form factor as the SE, is still okay-ish for one-handed use. I’m hoping that Apple will again release a new small phone a few years down the line before the mini becomes unusable. They could refresh the iPhone mini in a similar cadence as they do for the iPad mini.

I still use it as Wifi-Calling support is better than on Android.

But my options are limited.

I hate the Home-Bar thing where you need to swipe.

I don't really like the haptic Home buttom, mechanical feels much nicer.

I don't like how the actual screen has rounded corners.

I don't like the notch.

I don't like the the really long aspect ratios.

If I settle for the SE 2nd/3rd generation, I'm not sure how long the support that screen size will last, mostly from 3rd party apps, already I have used apps where things are cut off because of the screen size and there's no way to access the contents.

I've switched to SE 2022 and it's "okayish". Much worse experience but good enough to get by and is reasonably priced. The mini model is another option, but is worse (no fingerprint, no button, notch...) and simply too expensive. The only plus of the mini model is the size, which is still worse than the original SE.

To be honest, my favourite model was 4s ;)

Will they not release security patches to the last-supported iOS version though? I think they were doing that in the past.

I spent $15 on a third party DIY battery replacement kit for my 1st gen iPhone SE about a year ago just before I decommissioned it, to make sure I can keep it around at least for a couple of years more as a spare. At 6 years of age Apple definitely honored their 5 year support plan for the model.

Mine sits in a drawer, battery long dead. I think there's a 5S in there too. I upgraded to the 11 despite wanting a smaller phone at the time, now the SE size is far too small to do anything, haha.

I imagine it'll remain there until I move, then it'll be sold or (more likely) recycled.

Got the Iphone SE 2022 refurbished for 240USD - like new. Gives me a few years to find a alternative (hopefully it will be something that lasts and even maybe non Apple).

> What are the possibilities? Jailbreak or use it as a paper weight?

Assuming you have a working phone, why would you not just keep using it?

I have a bunch of old Nokia phones that still work. They’ve not received an update in years and probably never will, but as long as they support carriers frequently, they’ll work.

It’s a phone, not an app… and even apps don’t need to be constantly updated.

iPhone 13 mini. My son wore an SE to relay his blood sugar (type 1 diabetic) readings to us through his Dexcom. The SE finally crapped out at hockey practice while he had a low BG so we decided to buy a 13 mini. It doesn’t feel much bigger than the SE, yet the screen is larger.

Wow, about 3 days after my five year warranty ran out. They don't hang about do they!

I was planning to keep it running until the next Apple phone with 3.5mm jack. Are there any 3rd party companies providing security updates to keep such working hardware running?

A year ago I looked into selling mine on eBay but the process were almost nothing. So now mine is permanently plugged into old smart speakers and always opened to Spotify (locked to Spotify using Guided Access).

I love compact form factor so i am holding on to my iphone 13 mini.

It is on discount now on several retailers.

Since apple is dumping the mini, ill switch to an android compact — the zenfone asus looks good right now.

If it still starts up what prevents its use as a mobile phone?

If it’s dead and you’re looking to replace the iPhone mini 12 or 13 (refurbished or new 13) are great options.

Get an iPhone 13 mini while you still can.

I plan to switch to iPhone 13 mini, which unfortunately will be the last small form factor iPhone.

The current 2022 SE is the same size and form factor.