It’s actually downgrade in some respects like larger form factor and missing earphone jack.
That said, it’s not as big as my Android phone (ZenFone Max M2). I used phone of this size (iPhone 6S) last year for a few weeks and found it’s not too bad. Still a bit big but pretty much nobody else make iPhone SE-sized phone nowadays so I guess I should just finally start getting used to it.
As for headphone jack, I haven’t gotten over it yet but at least I don’t use it that often. And whenever I need one I’ll just go dongle. I imagine it would be rather annoying on mid-length trip but I rarely do it and I don’t usually listen to anything during normal transit. Also as I bought this second hand, I don’t feel too bad about it as it’s not directly supporting the manufacturers.
It’s a second hand iPhone 8, 64GB storage model. I think it’s network locked to KDDI au. I’m using UQ Mobile which thankfully work with it without needing to unlock first. That also kept the price down. It’s 24400 yen, bought from Iosys. It’s actually the cheapest phone I bought since… Xperia Mini Pro which I bought 9 years ago. Even the mid-end Android which I ended up not using was still more expensive than this.
The item rank was C but apart of minor scratch on top part of front bezel and back camera rim, it is in pretty much good condition.
The battery is surprisingly still in relatively fresh condition as well at 94% original capacity. It’s actually better than my previous phone which is at 91% and I just replaced it last year.
Not sure if there’s any other problem but it seems fine so far.
Overall it’s not much different compared to iPhone SE with main difference being the fake home button which feels like shit. The touch ID does seem slightly faster but the vibration effect just doesn’t feel right. Also it requires capacitive touch just like the screen so it can’t be pressed when using (non-touch) gloves.
This all started last year when I discovered that Iosys sells cheap iPhone 7. It’s still rather expensive for iPhone 8. Around end of last year, silent mode switch problem on my iPhone SE has gotten worse and I realized I should’ve gotten it fixed before switching back to it after using my other phone.
Earlier this month though I discovered that iPhone 7 and later now can read suica card. It’s one thing I’ve been missing after shelving my Nexus 5 (on the side note, I probably should sell it already). And lastly, as I checked Iosys around the same time period, the iPhone 8 price has fallen down as far as 24k. It’s really good price that I’m willing to overlook some of its problems.
Granted it’s only C rank but from what I can find even at that rank, the overall condition is usually still pretty good.
It’s also network locked but it works with my current provider and at this price point I’m willing to accept that drawback. It’s not like I’m switching provider every now and then. Unfortunately it doesn’t work with my non-Japanese SIM card. And as it looks like the original payment for this phone hasn’t finished yet, it’ll be a while until I can unlock this phone. Well, it shouldn’t be a big problem – I still have my other phone(s?).
Back to using the phone itself, I bought screen films. Two of them because I messed the installation of the first one and bottom edge didn’t attach correctly. Also the installation method which involves locking into position using charger cable didn’t quite work. The second one installed fine and easier but it’s few mm slimmer than the first one: while the first one cover almost entirety of the screen, this one is a bit too small for the screen. The second one is the same brand as my current SE film and it was fine so I think this one will stick just as fine. It’s just a bit of the screen bleeds out. I may just go without any screen film if I end up finding it annoying. That’s what I did for my Zenfone. I like my screen matte though.
As for phone case, I made print request a custom one but that will take a while. And that’s if it passes the check as I’m using unlicensed image and it looks like the printer is a bit more strict on that recently 🙃 In the meantime I go a cheap transparent case which looks pretty terrible. I couldn’t find cheap hard case for it so that’ll have to do for now. I don’t like using wobbly phone on desk so a case is kind of a must. Thanks, camera bump.
Overall I think I got a pretty good deal on this. I actually prepared having to replace the battery (thankfully Apple made it easy for this model) and not having to do it made the deal even better. I just hope I end up using this for at least three years.