Should You Buy An iPhone SE?

Apple has launched the iPhone SE in India, squeezing much of what's available on the flagship iPhone 6s into a 4-inch body. Apple needs the Indian market, as other markets reach saturation point. But does the Indian market need Apple's iPhone SE?

In India, smartphone users are very fond of large phones. Today a 5-inch phone feels "compact". It is with extreme difficulty that you can find a smartphone that's any smaller. Unless it's in the absolute low-end budget category.

So who is the iPhone SE for? See if you fit into any of these categories to decide whether this expensive little gadget is for you:

Love Small Phones
There's a definite group of people who hate the whole feel of large phones. Women with small hands are just part of that group, but there are others too who can't get their hands around the uncomfortable grip of a 5.5-inch-plus device. They can't believe that anyone should want the outlandishly large phones that are going around and still find it peculiar when someone holds up a device as big as a face, to take a call. Instead, they love the fit-in-the-palm feel of a small phone and will go to any lengths to hunt for one that's both small and has good features. They usually end up finding stuff that everyone else teases them about.

This is a set of people who should definitely look at the iPhone SE because its 4-inchedness is its biggest feature. If it were not for that, there's the iPone 6 and 6s or even the 6s Plus to choose from.

Light Easy User
If you use a phone to the hilt and for long hours, getting into every capability and making the best of it, you may find the iPhone SE has too little screen real-estate. Not only is it a small phone, it has big bezels on the top and bottom taking up almost half to the space on the front.

Moreover, a lot of elements have to be squeezed into that small form factor, so continuous intensive use may fit a bigger phone better.

But if you like your phone for a lot of calls, this one is a great one to just whip out of your pocket - where it'll fit ever so well -- and talk. Because of its size, the grip is really good too, so you feel much safer using it without worrying about a drop. Add to that, occasional messaging, checking an email or two as opposed to typing out long replies, doing a web search, using Siri to get this and that, or even synching with an Apple Watch to meet your fitness goals -- then the iPhone SE is a good bet. Bring good eyesight though. The text can be enlarged, but remember that it's tough to use small keyboards sometimes. You could switch to landscape mode of course.

One-handed Whiz
Some people are inveterate one-handed users of a phone. Given a larger phone they struggle and juggle and it's seeing this that many phone makers put in a software workaround so that the virtual keyboard can be made to shift to one side and shrink leaving the rest of the screen redundant for a while. Even with the his though, there is the danger that the large phone will feel unbalanced in the hand and it will be at risk of being dropped.

An iPhone SE-sized device obviously needs no juggling and balancing. Even with a small hand, you can reach across the length and breadth of the screen.

Bit Of A Photographer
The iPhone SE actually happens to have the same camera as the 6s does. The 12MP shooter is well recognised as one of the best cameras on a phone -- among the top three. To have that powerful a camera in a small and extremely portable form is something many may love. It's quick to grab, quick to capture. Unlike other phones that are small, the camera is not compromised at all. The front camera is not, however, much to write home about so you had better not be too fond of selfies if you're considering the iPhone SE.

iPhone SE will be available in space grey, silver, gold and rose gold metallic finishes in 16GB and 64GB models starting at MRP INR 39,000 from Apple Authorised Resellers and select carriers.

Apple-designed accessories including leather cases in black and midnight blue will be available for MRP Rs 2,900 and Lightning Docks in colour-matched metallic finishes are currently available for MRP Rs 3,700.