Apple iPhone SE (2nd Generation), US Version, 128GB, Black – Unlocked (Renewed)

This is the best phone I’ve ever owned, in my opinion. I’m passionate about smartphones, and I’ve loved previous high end Androids. This has a few key advantages over those devices.

Simplicity. I used to compile my own Gentoo. I understand the value of FOSS. Still, I’ve come to decide that a personal communicator/ data assistant needs to be usable above all else. iOS is feature-complete, thoughtfully efficient, and free of redundancy beyond Android. The toddler’s interface i used on the iPod touch has matured into what it was meant to be

Reliability. I’ve never had big problems with Android, but it can hiccup. On every phone I’ve used over more than a decade, I’ve occasionally experienced minor crashes, GPS gremlins, battery drains, cooling anomalies, and inscrutable major app discontinuations. In nearly a year of use, this old midrange iPhone has been utterly rock solid and i am confident Apple will not yank the rug out from under any of its core utilities. I do not manage the RAM on this phone or track battery usage. It’s just normal at all times.

Durability. I do not use phone cases. The concept is a bit bizarre to me from a design standpoint. It’s not ideal, but i just try to be very careful with my phone. I’m good enough at it that, since smartphones emerged, it has been overall worth it for me despite eventually breaking two phones in that period. Still, I’m aging and I’ve dropped it. It’s clear that this phone is comprehensively designed; the materials and structure are unbelievably resistant to impact on hard surfaces. The damage to my phone is entirely cosmetic to the aluminum frame, and frankly makes me smile that it worked as intended in the face of adversity.

Performance. My last phone had significantly more raw computing power than this phone. Still, this phone has a smoother UI and, in my opinion, marks a significant point of diminishing returns in mobile processing power. Clearly, little of the hardware is wasted. It is well balanced.

Criticisms include: the ability to edit large blocks of text in iMessage has degraded since the last update. Moving the cursor has become more difficult. Battery life is mediocre. I can confidently get a day of normal use or a few hours of streaming video, and i have to charge it every night. My refurbished phone arrived with a gouge in the screen which i consider barely acceptable.

The experience is great. I’ve lost interest in cracking software and customizing each UI element with unlimited freedom in favor of a workflow that aligns with my long-term goals. In that regard this phone excels. Lovely bit of hardware and software.

I got mine from MOBILESUPPLY in Excellent Condition.

This is more of a review of the seller than the phone itself, as I find that a review on the seller would be more helpful for those interested in purchasing it refurbished.

TLDR: Very happy with the product but I had a few problems to actually receiving what I wanted.

Firstly, the cons.
There were many many pros and a few cons with the seller and product. The product that was originally sent out to me had a broken microphone for video recording. The battery health was at 81% (not terrible because Amazon guarantees a 80 or higher, so it wasn’t super bad but just wasn’t ideal). There were very minute scuffs to the top of the phone but nothing bad, more like you can tell someone might’ve lightly brushed the phone along a wooden table and slid it or something. The main complaint was that the product was faulty. So I sent it back.

Secondly, the pros.
MOBILESUPPLY was fast with replying, regardless of the time. They were fast and helpful with the process. A few days after I shipped the phone, they received it and shipped it to me the next day. The phone right now has a few scuffs but again, nothing too bad, you’d have to look at the phone from very specific lightings and angles to see the very SMALL and light scuffs. The phone came in damn near perfect condition, with a 99% battery health! Super excited to shoot many cool videos with my new SE. Very happy, not a perfect 5 because of the first mishap but I’m very happy with the end product.

The things I cared about: low price, good battery, functional. This phone checked all the boxes. Battery is great and phone feels new compared to the SE 1st gen I’m replacing.

I needed an inexpensive phone for my teenager. This was a perfect solution. Working great, long battery life, great condition for a fraction of the price. If it only even lasts for a year I would be happy, but I think we will get a couple out of it. This is probably the only way I will buy all my families phones in the future.