Probably getting one for my mum next month. She's still on the iPhone 5 (my old phone) and wasn't too keen on the bigger iPhones. Now I just need to confirm what colour she wants - Karaoke Hostess Gold or Teenage Tramp Pink.

Just asked my brother in-law in the U.S to get an unlocked SE (64GB, either pornstar pink or karaoke hostess gold, depending on availability) for my mum. He lives in New Jersey and often has to drive to Delaware (about an hour away) for work stuff, and there's no sales tax in Delaware, so basically US$499 flat. He'll be returning with the phone in the middle of April. Already agreed that I pay him RM$2000, since he wants local money when he comes back here.

This post has been edited by G-17: Mar 26 2016, 10:24 AM

Actually, my brother in-law called me and said the only version available unlocked in the US is the Model A1662, which is compatible with LTE band 3 but not compatible with band 7. The situation is a bit different from the 6 and 6s, where the US unlocked model could be used by with all the relevant bands for Malaysia and Singapore telcos (3, 7 and 8). After doing some reading (here and here), I decided not to take the chance. Will just pickup a Model A1723 SE from Singapore next month. Must pay more, but at least I'll get easy warranty coverage (the SE is for my mum who lives in J.B, I live in Singapore) if anything goes wrong.

This post has been edited by G-17: Mar 28 2016, 08:55 PM

Who knows, Apple might adjust prices again. Back when they increased prices, USD to MYR was around 4.3 - 4.4. Right now it's seems to be stabilizing around the 4.0 (it's 3.9x right now when I'm posting this) mark. I doubt we'll see the previous pricing, but it might be a couple hundred ringgit cheaper come MY release date. Of course, there's always a (very high) possibility that Mr. Kangkong and wife (plus nightclub VIP guest) get caught up in another (most probably true but swept under carpet) corruption scandal and the ringgit tumbles to 5.0 levels or worse, so who knows.

This post has been edited by G-17: Mar 30 2016, 01:21 PM

Got to demo one today here in SG. Exactly the same as the 5S, although the weight feels a bit different, not sure. Really miss the form factor. Going to get one for my mum in a few weeks, probably pink or gold. Just waiting a bit for any launch hardware issues. Also hoping Apple will adjust prices, seeing how the USD has weakened against the SGD and MYR recently. Probably wishful thinking.

If the price does go down, I might even sell my 6 and pick up a SE for myself. I don't do selfies and still don't see that many apps utilizing 3D touch in a meaningful way (meaning more than just simple peek and pop for emails and articles), so I think I'll be able to live without them just fine. Will probably get a Space Grey model for myself (I hate iPhones with glossy white faceplates, makes me feel like I'm touching bathroom ceramics) and just slap a black dBrand skin on the back, and call it a day.

So that's basically the same x5 pricing. I guess the ringgit hasn't strengthened enough for them to consider going back to the x4 pricing yet. Now I actually feel a bit better since I bought a SG set (64GB) for my mom two days ago. Actually ended up a bit cheaper (around RM$60) than the MY price based on that day's exchange rate.

Anyone here done any comparison between wifi and 4G/LTE battery drain on the SE yet? Most of the battery tests I've seen online suggest that the SE gets spectacular battery life for a phone with such a small battery - almost on par (sometimes better) than the 6/6s Plus. But all those battery tests seem to be done of wifi. I want to know how well it does while browsing on 4G/LTE. The 5s was known for getting only half as much battery life on 4G/LTE compared to wifi. I hope that's not the case with the SE.

Take note that the US unlocked SE is Model A1662 which doesn't support LTE band 7. Not 100% sure about HK set, but the Singapore set is Model A1723, which supports both LTE bands 3 and 7 (same bands used by Malaysian carriers). In order to get 4g/LTE coverage locally, you need to get Model A1723. I have a family member in the US that's coming back this month, and initially asked him to get the US unlocked set for me (for my mom actually), but when I found out about the supported LTE bands for the various model variants, I canceled the order and ended up buying the SG set.

Unless you live in J.B, in which case it's probably better you make the trip back to SG for warranty claims. Beats the heck out of talking to Machines, Mac City or incompetent telco staff here in J.B who don't seem to know anything after they sell you the product.

This post has been edited by G-17: Apr 8 2016, 01:32 PM

My gf just switched from a 6s to a SE. I asked her what she thought about the low-res selfie camera, and she said most people in her group will almost always apply soft focus or other types of "flattering" filters anyway, so it makes no difference. Then I asked her how she felt about the lack of 3D Touch, and she said "Huh, what's that? Got such thing ah?"

I suspect that, once the 7 arrives, Apple will just completely kill the 6. We'll probably have the SE sitting at the same price point as it is now.. The 6s will be moved down one tier, occupying the current price of the 6. There's no point of Apple keeping the 6 when the SE beats it in almost every department. The 7 will be the most expensive, obviously. Whether it's worth the wait or not can only be determined once it's released.

This post has been edited by G-17: Apr 14 2016, 10:25 PM

So far, to the best of my knowledge, two problems have been found on the SE. The first is this Bluetooth bug you mentioned, and the other is some issue where the camera app causes massive battery drain.

For the camera issue, the solution is to just kill the camera app from the background and maybe restart the phone. It doesn't seem to be affecting many people anyway - only one or two reviewers on YouTube claim they've experienced it - so I'm not sure how deeply Apple has investigated it. The Bluetooth bug, Apple support says they have escalated the "priority" of the issue and hope to release a patch/fix soon, but currently it's still in the "being investigated " stage.

It really varies with usage. My girlfriend sold her 6S and got a SE. She says the battery life is definitely better than her 6S. Previously, she'd come home with around 30 - 35% on the 6S, and now she says she comes back with around 50% or more. She's what I'd call a "typical" user, meaning a lot of Line, Snapchat, Facebook, iMessage, Neko Atsume and Email on a daily basis, in addition to snapping the occasional food photo to post on her Pinterest or watching some youtube video link that gets forwarded from friends.

From what I've read, most reviewers seem to say the battery life is better than the 6/6S, but not quite as good as 6/6S Plus models.

This post has been edited by G-17: Apr 20 2016, 06:59 AM

I don't have a SE. Still rockin a 6 (4.7"). I'm tempted to get a SE for myself though. Bought one for my mom and played with it a bit, also play with my gf's set sometimes, and must admit I really miss the form factor. Only thing that bugs me is how the status bar looks on the lockscreen. You know how the fonts for the status bar are bigger in the lock screen compared to the home screen? Well, if your telco name is a long one, like CELCOM for example, or Starhub in my case (I live in SIngapore), you'll practically have the left part touching the clock in the center. I don't remember past iOS 7 to be like this back when I was using the iPhone 5, so maybe the larger text on the lock screen is an iOS 8 or iOS 9 thing, or maybe my memory is just bad. It's not a deal-breaker, but just annoying from an aesthetic perspective.

This post has been edited by G-17: Apr 20 2016, 10:49 AM

Third world country bro. Deal with it.

Currently, based on today's (23rd April) rate, it's a bit cheaper. 64GB SE is $828 SGD, which is a bit under $2400* MYR. Current official Apple Malaysia pricing for the same model is $2449 MYR. If you live in J.B and often go to SG, it's worth it in case you ever need to claim warrant, but other than that I think it's wiser to just wait for the MY set. Also note that many SG Apple stores are experiencing shortage of 64GB models, whatever colour. Even the Apple Singapore web store states 2 - 3 weeks shipping.

*actually around $2388 MYR at the time I'm typing this, but no money changer will give you that rate, realistically speaking.

Really? You mean it's not like this? See the text size on the top bar? This is taken on my iPhone 6, but it's also the same case on my gf's SE, only it's more closer together due to the smaller screen.

This post has been edited by G-17: Apr 23 2016, 10:38 PM


Attached thumbnail(s)

Like I said, that screenshot was taken on my 6, which has a wider screen. On my gf's SE (she's not here now so can't post her screenshot), due to the carrier name which is 7 letters long - "Starhub", our Singapore carrier name - the left portion's wifi or 4G icon is practically touching the center pull down tab. Also found one review just now where the reviewer is having it even worse; http://9to5mac.com/2016/04/11/review-iphone-se/img_0294/. Like I said, there's no functionality issue. It's just plain ugly and annoying.

This post has been edited by G-17: Apr 23 2016, 11:54 PM

Nowadays even prepaid need to sign a contract?!

Nah, there'll be even more scandals and the economy will go further down the drain by that time, so he's probably looking at RM 10K.

This post has been edited by G-17: May 7 2016, 12:22 AM