This article was automatically translated from Japanese using AI. The Japanese version is the authoritative version.
I replaced my iPhone for the first time in four years.
My previous phone was an iPhone XR, which had no home button.
When the first iPhones without a home button came out, my reaction was “seriously?” But as things stand today, the iPhone 12 and 13 — both without home buttons — outsell the iPhone SE.
So, honestly, how much does the iPhone’s home button really matter?
And did switching to the iPhone SE make any difference? Let’s take a look.
About the home button
First, the home button issue, which was what I was most concerned about.
I’m firmly in the anti-“iPhone without a home button” camp. On my iPhone XR I never used Face ID and always typed in my passcode.
Having to bring the phone up in front of my face for Face ID was a hassle, and I found it more convenient to just quickly punch in the passcode.
The biggest difference, I think, is whether the screen wakes when you touch it.
On the iPhone SE, touching the screen doesn’t wake it, whereas on the models without a home button, just touching the display turns it on.
Personally, I prefer a phone that doesn’t wake on touch alone.
When the phone is in your pocket, the screen keeps turning on and off by accident and needlessly drains the battery. (For some reason it registers touches even through fabric.)
And if you leave it somewhere you might brush against it, the screen suddenly lights up and you mistake it for a notification.
Having the screen wake via the home button is genuinely useful for preventing accidental input.
Coming back to a home button, I was reminded that fingerprint authentication is the best.
The iPhone SE uses the same chip as the iPhone 13, and unlocking is extremely fast.
(So fast that the lock screen barely exists anymore.)
They say the iPhone 13 lets you use Face ID with a mask on, but I’ve heard mixed reviews. With a fingerprint sensor, when the phone is sitting on the desk and I want to open it quickly, I don’t even have to pick it up — and being able to unlock in any situation, regardless of my face, is just too convenient.
Home button and fingerprint authentication really are the best! Glad I bought it!
Other features of the iPhone SE
As for other aspects, the first is battery life.
Somewhat surprisingly, it isn’t as good as I’d hoped.
When I switched to the iPhone XR, I thought the battery was infinite, but with the iPhone SE I was only mildly impressed — about what you’d expect.
Honestly, batteries may have reached the point where further improvements are hard to notice.
That said, the battery life isn’t bad: four hours of YouTube seems fine, and it lasts a day well enough.
As for heat, my impression is that it stays fairly cool.
Since the phone is small and thin, I thought heat might have trouble escaping, but it hasn’t gotten hot yet and doesn’t seem to be an issue.
The camera obviously can’t compete with something like the iPhone 13, but it’s more than good enough for practical use.
iPhone cameras have always been solid.
If you own a separate DSLR or mirrorless camera, the iPhone SE may well be enough — it’s certainly not impractical.
If anything, the small camera and small phone make for a nice compact package.
On phones without a home button, notifications and Control Center appear to the left and right of the notch, but on the iPhone SE they’re at the top and bottom, which I think is another plus.
The display isn’t interrupted by a notch — it’s a clean rectangle.
That said, with this many features differing depending on whether there’s a home button, I’m a little worried about where iOS goes from here.
There seem to be a lot of parts Apple has to build twice, once for each design.
I hope they don’t end support too soon.