5 reasons why I like the iPhone 6s better than the iPhone SE

Apple’s new 4-inch iPhone SE has been out for a few days now, and there have been lots of reviews posted, as well as comments by folks that bought the new phone. I considered buying the iPhone SE myself, but ultimately I decided to go with an iPhone 6S when I traded in my iPhone 6 Plus.

Please note that I still think the iPhone SE is a great phone, and I’m glad that Apple has finally offered an updated 4-inch iPhone. Choice is a beautiful thing, and many people prefer a smaller phone. But, as great as it is, the iPhone SE just isn’t my cup of tea.

So here are five reasons why I prefer the iPhone 6s to the iPhone SE.

1. The iPhone 6s’ larger screen makes a big difference

When I first considered buying the iPhone SE, I decided to see if I could adjust to using a 4-inch screen again. So I broke out my old 5th generation iPod touch, which also has a 4-inch screen. I tried doing all my usual stuff on the iPod touch, and while I could get by okay I found that the 4-inch screen was more than little bit annoying to my eyes.

The iPhone 6s, on the other hand, has a 4.7-inch screen. And I found that browsing the web, reading my Kindle books, viewing Reddit in BaconReader and even reading comics in Comixology (using Guided View) worked much better for me on the iPhone 6s.

So I finally realized that the 4-inch screen on the iPhone SE was just not going to work for me. I’d been using a larger phone for too long to make the adjustment successfully back down to the smaller screen size.

2. 3D Touch is too useful a feature to give up

Another difference between the iPhone SE and the iPhone 6s is 3D Touch. The iPhone 6s has it, and the iPhone SE doesn’t. Initially I didn’t think it would matter all that much, but after using it for a little while on the iPhone 6s, I simply don’t want to part with it.

Aside from the convenience of using 3D Touch for app shortcuts on the home screen, as well as peek and pop in email and Web browsing, I also found myself enjoying being able to press down on the left side of the screen for super-quick multitasking. It was much faster than pushing the home button on the iPhone 6s twice.

3D Touch might not matter to other folks when considering the iPhone SE, but for me the lack of it was yet another reason not to switch to the smaller phone. Once I got used to having 3D Touch on my iPhone 6s, it quickly became a feature that I knew I’d miss if I switched to the iPhone SE.

3. The front facing camera is better on the iPhone 6s than the SE

The iPhone SE has come under fire for having a less powerful front facing camera (1.2 MP) than the iPhone 6s (5 MP). Those who take a lot of selfies were particularly disappointed by the iPhone SE’s front facing camera.

I don’t take selfies, so I didn’t care about the iPhone SE’s front facing camera for that purpose. But I do use FaceTime quite a bit, and so a lower quality front facing camera is not something I’d prefer to have on my phone.

That said, I don’t consider the iPhone SE’s front facing camera to be all that big of a deal. I might have still gone with the smaller iPhone if that was the only thing to differentiate it from the iPhone 6s.

4. One-handed typing is easier and more accurate on the iPhone 6s

One-handed typing is often a reason cited by some users to favor the 4-inch iPhone SE over the iPhone 6s or 6s Plus. But strangely enough, I found that I could type better one-handed with the iPhone 6s than I could with a device with a 4-inch screen.

The iPhone 6s has larger on-screen keys than a 4-inch device, and that definitely made a difference for me. My one-handed typing was a lot more accurate on the 4.7-inch screen than on a 4-inch screen.

I also installed the keyboard app Fleksy, and that had the added value of letting me adjust the size of the keyboard and also its position. On the iPhone 6s, I could have the keyboard set to make one-handed typing on the left side or right side easier by having the keyboard moved closer.

Unfortunately, when I tried it on my 4-inch screen iPod touch, there was no option to use the keyboard on the left or right side of the screen. It was positioned in the usual way, and I think that’s simply because of the size of the smaller screen.

Anyway, my overall experience was that accurate one-handed typing was easier for me on the larger screen of the iPhone 6s than it was with a device with a 4-inch screen.

5. I like the faster Touch ID sensor on the iPhone 6s

And the last reason why I prefer the iPhone 6s to the SE is the faster Touch ID sensor that is in the iPhone 6s. I know that some people have complained about how fast it is, but I actually like it.

For example, I have the 12.9-inch iPad Pro. That device has the older, slower Touch ID sensor and I find myself getting a bit irritated with it compared to the one on the iPhone 6s. Once you get used to the faster speed of the newer Touch ID sensor, it becomes hard to use the slower one.

As with so many other things, beauty is really in the eye of the beholder when it comes to the Touch ID sensor. Some people like it slower, and some people like it faster. I just happen to be one of the people that likes the faster one much more than the slower one.

The iPhone SE is a great phone, but it’s not for me

Now I don’t want anybody to walk away from this post thinking that I’m bashing the iPhone SE. I’m not, it’s a great phone and I’m very happy that so many people have the option to buy it. It was long past time for Apple to offer a new 4-inch iPhone, and the SE hits most of the sweet spots for those users.

But it doesn’t quite work for me, so I’ll be sticking with the iPhone 6s.

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