Is all of that worth the cost? Sure, for a lot of people. Is any of it necessary? Other than low-light photography, there’s virtually nothing that I do on those $1,000 phones that I can’t do equally well on the iPhone SE. It is fast, capable, reliable, and familiar. I’d miss those advanced features and more expansive displays, but not as much as you might think.

If I were buying the iPhone SE, I’d seriously consider spending the extra $50 to upgrade the storage to 128GB, just in case I’d want it three or five years down the road. That timespan is the reason the iPhone SE is a big deal. No other phone that costs less than $500 can claim to be this good, nor last that long.

The iPhone SE is not just a good deal. It’s also a really good smartphone.

I'm really liking the videos that The Verges' Dieter Bohn has been putting out and the fact that I concur 100% with this write-up gives me even more confidence that I'll be "fine" for the next 6-8 months. Heck, it'll most likely make me even reconsider purchasing the iPhone 12 for $1149, maybe.¹ I mean seriously, I spoke about this upgrade cycle at length a while back (6 years ago) but I'll break it down again.

The iPhone X 256GB Silver cost me $1149 + tax = $1250 - $320 for trade-in = $930 divided by 30 months = 913 days of constant and daily use is about $1 a day for a TOOL that we are accessing day in and day out. Whether that's a good thing or bad, at least we get to track it now and step back. But hell, I just even bought a new 16" MacBook Pro and am producing again! Priceless.