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iPhone SE

| Phone technology has been advancing at a rapid pace in the last few years. There are now mobile devices with specifications that rival computers. Initially, the mobile trend was geared more towards portability. Practicality and functionality were not at the forefront of phone design. A good example of the form over function design process was the Motorola Razr. These phones were ridiculously thin and even though they had advanced features such as cameras, speakerphones, MP3 Ringtones etc. They were limited in their capabilities and could never really be considered Smart-phones. This was the age of Palm Pilots and Pocket PC’s. The phone was still a phone for the most part but then something great happened. Companies decided that convergence was the way to go and having multiple devices was (and would become) a thing of the past.

Apple was one of the main innovators in the smartphone arena with the introduction of their iPhone in 2007. The original iPhone was a game changer and came equipped with a 3.5-inch screen and multimedia capabilities that would allow the device to bridge the gap between a phone and the PDA/Pocket PC’s that were all the rage at that time. I think the release of the iPhone 1?? was the catalyst that pushed the “Smart-Phone” to become the mainstay that it is today. Move forward a few years and Smart Devices rule the tech world. Some people have completely replaced their computers with a phone and or a tablet setup. The cloud has also infiltrated all aspects of modern life. With the ability to access files and documents from any location that your 4G or WiFi connection permits the Smartphone now rules the roost.

With the popularity of both tablets and phones at an all time high, most manufacturers have adopted a “Bigger is Better” strategy. The term “Phablet” was coined and with it came hybrid monstrosities that could neither be classified as a phone or tablet. For some reason the manufacturers ran with it, you were seeing phones that were so big that they could not be held comfortably to the ear. Battery life was reduced due to the power-hungry screens and the ridiculous factor just went off the scale. Once again phones are being designed with form over function in mind except, now, we’re at the complete opposite end of the spectrum. Where phones like the Razr tried to be as small as possible, the new breed of phone designs are trying to claim the prize for the largest and most impractical. Don’t get me wrong, with a larger form factor, you can fit a lot more gizmos and circuitry into a device enabling features such as 4K video better speakers larger batteries etc. but at the cost of usability is it really worth it? Apple seems to think not.

The company which is known for setting and bucking trends has decided that enough is enough. The iPhone 5s was one of the most popular models to bear the Apple logo. It brought to the table a multicore processor, 8MP camera and a Gigabyte of RAM. As with all iPhones, it was limited to onboard storage but anyone who wanted an Apple phone was well aware of this shortcoming. Fast forward a few years and the 5s is back, well in spirit at least. The iPhone SE is now the poster child for the term “less is more”, although, you’re not really getting that much less. The specs on the “Baby” iPhone is comparable to its larger “S” siblings. To be fair the SE is not that much smaller that the 6 and 6s but the more than half-inch of screen real estate “lost” from the smaller phone will make a world of difference when it comes time to slip it in your back pocket or purse for transportation.

I welcome the smaller form factor. I think it is a great departure from the devices that are on the market today and even though [Disclaimer] I am an android guy. If I am ever in the market for a second phone I would highly consider the iPhone SE. I believe phones and tablets serve different purposes and should remain separated. The more features you add to a phone is the less reliable your phone will become. So let’s just keep it simple, kudos to Apple for once again going against the grain. For more info about the iPhone SE, visit the official product page here.