More details are creeping out about the notional SE4, and they are not encouraging. Looks like the iPhone 14 form factor and display with a single iPhone 15 camera module. Which is consistent with previous SE versions, honestly. But the thing is – they will all be too big for what I want. And if you have to take the size, you may as well take the best possible battery and display, and if you’re gonna pay for that you may as well get the best camera. So it’s going to be the iPhone 16 Pro when the time comes.
But when does the time come? Not for a while. I’ve been doing an absurd amount of travel in the last 13 months, but barring one drive to Yosemite, it’s over – the whole Seattle – Austin – Denver – NYC – Tahoe – Prague – Dublin – London – Amsterdam – Pensacola – Disneyland – Sonoma – Minneapolis whirl. I don’t know how we did it back in the old days, but for now, things have settled down. One trip on the list for next year, possibly two, but it’s all on the other side of the wall for now.
And with no serious travel plans, the iPhone 13 mini – especially with the fresh battery installed – is still perfect in every respect. Sure, a full day on the run will take 130% of the battery, but I’m not on the run that much and I have the booster pack ready to go if needed. And I have a one-handed phone that belongs to me, not my employer, and has my work and personal lines alike. I fully intend to ride this phone into the ground, and there’s no reason I can’t get another year out of it. And I can let somebody else go first with the nonsense of Apple’s 5G modem or Apple Intelligence or the like.
Honestly, the next phone will probably be a pivot point back to “one device for everything.” And that’s fine. But if I’m not trying to do serious work on it – and I’m not, especially now – there’s no reason to give up my favorite iPhone ever. In fact, I don’t even own another phone at the moment, which I think is a first in…20 years? More? Certainly in the GSM era. Now all I need is for USMobile to support the Apple Watch so I can leave the phone at home on pub night, and we’ll call it square.
It’s the age old search for just the right thing: I’ve begun paring down anything that’s not a keepsake in hopes of reducing the amount of stuff I’ve accumulated. We’ll see how it goes.