Trading Out My 17 PRO MAX for an iPhone SE... Is It Enough?

Back on launch day I picked up this iPhone 17 pro max from my local apple store. I’ve been daily driving it since then, but I’ve recently been tempted to switch to something a little more… unorthodox.

You see, this phone is amazing. It’s got a 6.9 inch OLED PRO MOTION display, reaching up to 3000 nits peak brightness. The rear camera system is insane, now including 3 of the 48 megapixel fusion camera sensors in wide, ultrawide, and 4x telephoto. The processor is one of the fastest on the market, rivaling it’s desktop-class cousin, the M2. This year’s iPhone also came with the new vapor chamber, which helps keep the processor cool for longer.

There is no longer an option for 128GB, instead all pro phones start at 256GB of storage. Connection speeds over the usb C port reach up to 10 Gbps, making it possible to shoot impressive 4k video in apple log straight to an external drive. This thing is definitely chonky, but makes up for it by having the best battery life I’ve ever experienced in a smartphone.

This year was also a significant departure in design for apple, who opted for this aluminum unibody design. Apple also introduced the new ceramic shield 2 glass on the front of the phone, while the backside is the original ceramic shield. And they finally updated the wireless charging to Qi2, which can now charge up to 25W wirelessly.

This phone on paper is perfect, and I’ve quite enjoyed my time with it, but that there is the problem. I spend too much time on my phone. I keep catching myself doomscrolling instagram or twitter, or watching youtube when I could be doing other stuff. I am surrounded by screens all day long, staring at my work computer then coming home to stare at my laptop screen, and taking a break by sitting down to stare at the TV. The last thing I want is to spend more time staring at screens, but I kept finding myself reaching for this phone every time I had some down time.

This led me to look for other options. There’s no getting around spending a lot of time looking at a screen for work, but how could I reduce my screen time in other areas? Well, for one, I got rid of my TV. That was an easy win. But what about the little screen I carry around with me everywhere I go, which I can use to access endless entertainment with the click of a button at any time, day or night? I can’t exactly get rid of it, I need it for authentication at work, I need it to send messages and make phone calls, I need it to change my thermostat and open my garage. There are too many conveniences or necessities associated with my phone, giving it up completely just isn’t a serious solution.

I thought I might try to find a cheap, unlocked Android phone. I looked around for a time, but it seems that most cheap unlocked android phones have huge screens for some reason, and going with android would mean losing quite a lot of the creature comforts that come with being inside Apple’s walled garden. I own an apple watch, I work from a Macbook, being able to send texts and get notifications from my laptop is a killer feature. What’s more, I’d lose the blue bubbles, potentially disrupting all the group chats I’m in with family and friends who all use iPhones.

Enter the iPhone SE.

The iPhone SE fulfills all of my requirements, while at the same time not being very pleasant to use. By todays’ standards, the 4.7 inch retina display is downright miniscule. The large forehead and chin have been out of vogue for nearly a decade. The touch ID is actually a welcome feature, albeit a bit slow sometimes. However, it has the same chip that came with the iPhone 13, the A15 bionic. It supports 5G, and runs the latest version of IOS. It connects flawlessly to my carplay radio, I can use all the apps that I need, I can facetime and iMessage with no issue, and it is a dream to carry around compared to the 17 pro max. It’s extremely budget-friendly, I picked up my model at under $200 in used but nearly perfect condition from best buy.

With all that said, the battery is not great. Even though I was incredibly lucky by getting a used phone with 100% battery capacity, that capacity is still laughably small. It will last me all day if I don’t use it for long periods of time, but most days I find myself plugging in to top up sometime in the afternoon. I can still make all the calls and send all the texts I used to, but scrolling instagram or twitter or even spending too much time looking things up on safari really kills the battery life. It makes up for this buy being almost completely forgettable in the pocket. No more getting jabbed in the hip when sitting down, no more tightening my belt to keep my pants up, no more carrying my phone in the hand to avoid keeping it in my pocket.

The camera is surprisingly decent, it retains that quintessential “apple” photo look (love it or hate it). There is only one 12 megapixel sensor on the back, compared to the pro max’s three 48 megapixel sensors. Most of the time this is a non issue, the pictures look sharp enough on small displays but if you pixel peep the limitations become clearer. It is just the one sensor though, and I’ve found myself in situations where I’ve missed the ultra wide and telephoto of the pro max. In one instance, I needed to read a sign from a distance but didn’t want to get out of my car. What would be an easy task for the pro max’s 8x telephoto was nearly impossible for the SE. Even after the processing and sharpening apple adds to zoomed-in images, I still could not make out what the sign said. Before switching to the SE, I never knew just how often I used the ultra wide and telephoto lenses. I’d say the SE’s camera can cover about 80 percent of my use cases adequately, but the remaining time is spent wishing I had the pro max with me.

Obviously, comparing a $200 phone to a $1200 phone is going to leave me missing the more expensive device. But does the SE excel in the most important aspect, the whole reason I switched in the first place? Well, the numbers should tell you everything. My daily average screen time went from over 4 hours to around an hour and a half. Even with screen time limits placed on apps like instagram and twitter, I would find myself spending hours in these apps on the pro max. On the SE, the screen is simply too small to comfortably watch instagram reels for hours on end, or scroll through my twitter timeline. You can forget having an enjoyable experience watching YouTube for long with the SE’s tinny speakers. I also feel more conscious of my time spent on the SE, as battery life is a serious concern. But imagine gaining 3 extra hours to your day? I’ve found myself with no other recourse but to spend my time in other activities, such as reading a book, writing for my blog, working on my website, and creating this youtube video.

I still have my 17 pro max, I want to continue swapping between the two before making any permanent decisions. Swapping e-sims has gotten tiring though, so I’ve found myself keeping my phone line active on the SE. I

So that brings us to the $1200 question: what will happen to the 17 pro max? I still have it, I haven’t made any permanent decisions. I swapped e-sims between the two devices for a while, but that got tiring so I’ve found myself keeping the SE as my EDC. The pro max usually sits in a bin, turned off to conserve battery. I’ve been seriously considering putting it up for sale, but it is such a nice device, I keep searching for any way to keep it. I will say, if you find yourself in a position similar to mine and have been struggling with screen time, then perhaps downgrading is the way to go. If you can’t see yourself rocking the iPhone SE, I had been considering getting a used iPhone 13 mini. The mini seems to offer many of the advantages of having a smaller device, while also having many of the features found on newer iPhones. You can find used mini’s for not much more than what I paid for the SE, and if you want to go with the SE, you could most likely find one in used but good condition for under $150 easy.

Anyways, thanks for reading, I hope this was at least informational if not entertaining. Please check out my video on youtube, linked below!