Samuel Gibbs, writing for The Guardian:

In the hand the body feels sharp and hard, with unforgiving edges which are only acceptable because of the phone’s diminutive size. The hard edges are easier to grip than the slippery rounded sides of the iPhone 6S, and particularly the large 6S Plus, but they hurt my palms after clutching it for an hour or two.

I don’t remember a single comment about the edges of the iPhone 4 or 5 being too sharp and hard. It’s purely when compared to the iPhone 6. So the SE is too hard and small, and the 6 is too slippery. Hmm.

Using a 4in screen in 2016 is a compromise. Websites feel very cramped, apps often leave only a small amount of screen to the content they’re trying to display and buttons can end up very small making tapping them a bit of a challenge.

If the 4 inch screen is too small, no one will buy them and the iPhone SE will quickly die. But people are buying them, and there seems to be plenty of love for the smaller screen.

To be fair, I love my iPhone 6s Plus. I wouldn’t go back to the smaller screen. But my kids (with their youthful eyes) have no issue with the smaller screen and love the smaller footprint.

I think my central point of disagreement with this review is the generalization that a small screen has no place in 2016. Apple did their homework. They would not have sent the iPhone SE to manufacturing unless they dead certain knew that there were folks out there who would buy a smaller, cheaper iPhone.