iPhone SE (2020) review
Our Verdict
The iPhone SE is an outstanding phone for less than $400, delivering fast performance and very expert cameras in a compact design. The only affair missing is Night Manner.
For
- Affordable price
- Fast A13 Bionic performance
- Very good cameras
- Compact pattern
- Supports wireless charging
Confronting
- Big bezels
- Lacks 5G
- No Dark mode
- Shorter bombardment life than other iPhones
Tom's Guide Verdict
The iPhone SE is an outstanding phone for less than $400, delivering fast performance and very adept cameras in a meaty design. The merely matter missing is Nighttime Mode.
Pros
- +
Affordable toll
- +
Fast A13 Bionic performance
- +
Very proficient cameras
- +
Compact blueprint
- +
Supports wireless charging
Cons
- -
Large bezels
- -
Lacks 5G
- -
No Night mode
- -
Shorter bombardment life than other iPhones
iPhone SE Specs
Toll: $399/£419
CPU: A13 Bionic
Storage: 64GB, 128GB, 256GB
Display: 4.7 inches (1334 x 750)
Rear camera: 12MP (f/one.8)
Front camera: 7MP (f/ii.2)
Video recording: 4K video up to 60 fps
H2o resistance: IP67
Battery life: Up to thirteen hours video playback
Wireless charging: Yes (Qi)
Fast charging: Yep via optional 18W adapter
Size: v.45 ten ii.65 x 0.29 inches
Weight: 5.22 ounces
The iPhone SE 2020 remains ane of the best phones for those on a budget, even more than than a year after its release. However, some may want to wait for the new iPhone SE 3, which is expected to launch in March or April. That telephone is predicted to feature Apple's newer A15 Bionic chip along with 5G connectivity while still keeping a low price.
If you actually want a inexpensive iPhone now, the current iPhone SE is still good. For less than $400, you lot get Apple tree's A13 Bionic processor, delivering fast performance and photographic camera capabilities you lot'd expect from a pricier phone. And information technology's all wrapped in a meaty design.
The iPhone SE offers premium features you won't observe on some Android phones in its price range — including its metal-and-drinking glass design, wireless charging and water resistance. Some sometime-school features are along for the ride here, too, such every bit Touch ID for unlocking the device (which tin can come in handy at a time when we're nonetheless wearing face up masks).
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I only wish Apple trimmed the bezels on this phone and added a night mode for the photographic camera. If you're wiling to spend more than, the $699 iPhone 13 mini is a skillful alternative with a larger 5.4-inch display and 5G.
Regardless, yous can't deny that the iPhone SE 2020 remains one of the all-time phones you can buy for the money.
iPhone SE 2020 cost and release date
The iPhone SE costs $399/£419, the aforementioned price information technology debuted at in April 2020. The $399 model features 64GB of storage for $399, but you tin can upgrade to the 128GB version for $449/£469 and to 256GB for $549/£569.
Trade in your former device when y'all purchase the iPhone SE, and you lot could become as much as $120 off your new phone, lowering the price to $279. Yous tin as well check out the best iPhone SE deals to see if there are additional savings bachelor.
The iPhone SE is bachelor through all of the major carriers, including AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile and Verizon, also as other carriers including Xfinity Mobile and Visible.
iPhone SE 2020 review: Blueprint and colors
I generally similar the iPhone SE'due south design — with one exception. On the plus side, information technology'south a very well made handset with the aforementioned sturdy drinking glass-and-aluminum pattern of the iPhone 8. At that place are three color options for the iPhone SE: black, white and (Production)Red. I similar how the aluminum band is colour matched with the back of the device.
I tried out the black model, which looks and feels sleek but did choice up smudges despite the oleophobic coating. You'll probably want to opt for white if you want to hibernate fingerprints.
Some other plus to the iPhone SE: The whole pattern is almost comically meaty compared to the iPhone 11 Pro Max or the new iPhone 12 Pro Max. It's the difference betwixt barely noticing a phone is in your front pocket and having it bulge out. I likewise didn't experience whatsoever discomfort when gaming for over thirty minutes at a time; I can't say that about my iPhone 11 Pro Max.
The iPhone SE measures 5.45 x two.65 x 0.29 inches and weighs 5.22 ounces, which is smaller and narrower than the Google Pixel 4a but well-nigh the same weight. The Pixel 3a has a much bigger 5.81-inch border-to-edge display with a pigsty punch cutout. Yet, unlike Google'due south upkeep phone, the iPhone SE 2020 has IP67 water resistance. That means it can be submerged in 1 meter of weather condition for up to xxx minutes. Y'all also shouldn't have to worry near java or soda spills with this phone.
Unfortunately, the bezels around the iPhone SE's screen look big and dated for a 2020 smartphone. I kept trying to zoom in on videos to no avail. I would take liked Apple to fit a larger display in the aforementioned size chassis.
Some other issue is that Haptic bear on does not work on the lock screen of the iPhone SE for some reason. Different other iPhones, you tin can't long press on notifications to expand them on the lock screen.
iPhone SE 2020 review: Touch ID
Although Apple tree has offered Face ID on all of its newer phones for the past couple of years, the new iPhone SE 2020 uses a Touch ID sensor underneath the display for unlocking the device. This same sensor can be used for authorizing App Store downloads, Apple tree Pay and entering passwords.
Just similar I remembered, the combo Affect ID/home push button worked well, and you tin can cull the corporeality of haptic feedback you prefer when you press downwards. The Touch ID button has a very important — and unexpected — benefit right now as many are being ordered to vesture face up masks in public. You tin still easily unlock your iPhone SE without having to take off your mask. Confront ID won't piece of work with masks.
iPhone SE 2020 review: Display
A four.seven-inch screen on a modern-24-hour interval phone may seem antiquated, but those shopping for one of the best small phones won't be disappointed in this panel.
I enjoyed checking out the Wonder Woman 1984 trailer on YouTube on the iPhone SE 2020's Retina Brandish. The superhero's gleaming red, blue and gold adjust popped as she deflected bullets with her silvery bracelet. The iPhone SE's screen also did a skillful job rendering finer details in a Tiger King scene: I could brand out private whiskers on the majestic animal'due south face up.
Just don't await a full Hard disk drive flick. The iPhone SE's display resolution is just 1334 x 750 pixels. Nosotros would prefer to run into a 1080p display simply it's not too bad of a merchandise-off.
The iPhone SE'due south screen is bright, equally it's rated for 625 nits and scored an even higher 653 nits in our testing. It'south just a flake dimmer than the Pixel 4a'southward 681 nits.
I didn't take whatsoever issues viewing the screen outdoors when surfing the web or taking photos. The panel also supports True Tone, which ways it can automatically adjust the screen'southward color temperature based on the ambient lighting conditions.
Based on our tests, the iPhone SE's display reproduces 111.2% of the sRGB color gamut, which but barely beats the 105.8% from the Pixel 4a'south OLED panel. The iPhone SE delivers accurate colors, too, achieving a Delta-E score of 0.2; a score of zero is perfect. The Pixel 4a'southward screen scored 0.29.
iPhone SE 2020 review: Cameras
The iPhone SE 2020'due south camera is then good that you'd be hard pressed to tell the difference between information technology and the iPhone 11 in many cases. The one exception is Night style, which the iPhone SE just does not have.
Like the iPhone eight before information technology, the iPhone SE features a single 12-megapixel rear camera and a 7MP front camera. You don't become a ultra-wide bending lens like the iPhone xi or a telephoto lens with optical zoom like the iPhone 12 Pro models. But the iPhone SE's A13 Bionic chip boosts its camera operation in several means.
For case, you tin accept portraits using both the back and front camera on the iPhone SE, complete with Portrait Lighting effects and the ability to control the depth of field. The iPhone SE too benefits from Smart HDR for bringing out the highlights in faces.
I was pleasantly surprised by the level of detail in this iPhone SE photo of a human-fabricated swimming. You tin make out the drops of water in the waterfall in the distance, and the greenery pops around the rock formations. The iPhone SE also did a cracking job capturing the black-and-white and orange-and-white fish in that swimming, as well as the bluish-light-green water.
The iPhone SE held its own against the Pixel 3a in this photo of lite pink cherry blossom flowers. The iPhone SE'due south shot is warmer and brighter, but the Pixel 3a's image is a bit more detailed and has more than dissimilarity.
I besides requite the nod to the iPhone SE hither with this portrait. My pare tone looks more natural and the bokeh effect looks very convincing. The Pixel'due south manages to take a chunk out of the right side of my caput. There is 1 pocket-sized drawback to the iPhone SE when taking portraits, though; y'all accept to go considerably closer to your subject area than you lot do with the iPhone 11 Pro because the iPhone SE doesn't accept a telephoto lens. (You volition be within half-dozen feet, which is not social-distancing friendly.)
The iPhone SE pulled ahead in this photograph of an Aperol Sprtiz cocktail. The overall image simply looks brighter and more appetizing. I also like how the iPhone SE blurs out the background. The only strike against the iPhone hither is that the tile looks more yellow than white; the Pixel 3a got that right.
The one camera weakness for the iPhone SE is the lack of a Night Mode. In this photo taken outside at night, the Pixel 3a is able to render the trees in the foreground, the motorcar in the street and the house in the background. Yous can barely brand out anything in the iPhone SE's shot. I don't know if the iPhone SE could pull off a Dark mode with a software upgrade, merely it would be great to encounter Apple add the feature.
If you're wondering how the iPhone SE's cameras measure up to a more recent device than the Pixel 3a, bank check out our Google Pixel 4a vs. iPhone SE face-off for a photographic camera comparison to Google's current budget offering.
On the video front end, the iPhone SE can record 4K video at up to lx fps, and you can savour extended dynamic range if you drop downwards the frame rate to 30 fps. This brings out more details in the shadows forth with better highlights.
iPhone SE 2020 review: Performance
While Android telephone makers outfit their budget phones with weaker processors, the iPhone SE packs the same A13 Bionic chip as the iPhone eleven and iPhone eleven Pro. This means you'll enjoy the same fast and responsive performance.
For example, the iPhone SE delivered silky smooth gameplay while I sped along in Sayonara Wild Hearts and tried to stay on the track in Super Incommunicable Road. The graphics were not as crisp due to the iPhone SE's lower-res display, but the overall action was just equally swift and enjoyable. Loading apps and switching betwixt apps was also lag-free.
Scrolling on the iPhone SE feels slower than on phones with a 90Hz or 120Hz refresh rate, just I don't look that perk on a sub-$400 phone.
On Geekbench five, which measures overall performance, the iPhone SE scored 3,226 on the multi-cadre examination and 1,337 on the single-cadre portion. Those numbers are comparable to what the iPhone eleven (3,251 and i,331) turned in. They as well beat the Galaxy S20, which scored three,147 and 867 and costs $600 more than.
The iPhone SE performed very well on real-world performance tests, too. Information technology took the phone just 43 seconds to transcode a 4K video to 1080p after applying a few edits in the Adobe Premiere Rush app. That result actually beats the pricier Samsung Milky way S20, which took 1 minute and 15 seconds.
Since our testing iPhone SE review, Apple has released the iPhone 12 family, with iv models powered by the faster A14 Bionic fleck. Those phones outperform the iPhone SE, but make no error — the A13 inside Apple'due south cheapest iPhone notwithstanding delivers a dial that tops many other devices.
iPhone SE 2020 review: Bombardment life and charging
The iPhone SE is rated for less battery life than the the iPhone eleven, so you shouldn't look the longest endurance. For instance, Apple says that the iPhone SE delivers 13 hours of video playback, versus 17 hours for the iPhone 11.
On the Tom's Guide Battery Test, which involves continuous spider web surfing over 4G LTE, the iPhone SE 2020 averaged nine hours and 18 minutes. That's well below the endurance of the iPhone 11 (11:sixteen), iPhone 11 Pro (10:24) and iPhone 11 Pro Max (11:54). The iPhone SE did, yet, best the Pixel 4a, which scored a mere 8:55.
In my anecdotal testing, I constitute that the iPhone SE does have less staying power than my iPhone 11 Pro Max, as it has a smaller battery. For instance, afterwards unplugging the iPhone SE at seven am and using it for web surfing, playing games, taking photos and more throughout the 24-hour interval, I had 20% juice left at 8 pm. That'south not bad, but my iPhone 11 Pro Max yet had close to 40% power.
Unfortunately, the iPhone SE comes with Apple's standard v-watt Lightning charger. (The bright side? Apple stopped including chargers with final fall's iPhone 12 releases.) And with that you can look to get to just 29% ability in 30 minutes, based on our testing. If you want to be able to juice this phone to 50% in 30 minutes, y'all're going to have to pay actress for an 18W charger from Apple. It's $29 for the power brick and some other $19 for the USB C to Lightning cablevision.
If you want to go wireless, the iPhone SE supports vii.5W wireless charging and supports the Qi standard. Check out all the best wireless chargers to pair with this phone.
iPhone SE vs Google Pixel 4a
Released after the iPhone SE, the Google Pixel 4a is a very adept alternative to Apple's phone. At $349, it costs $fifty less than the iPhone SE. And for that price you become a bigger 5.8-inch OLED display, much slimmer bezels and a Night mode for the camera, which the iPhone SE lacks. The Pixel 4a also offers double the storage at 128GB vs 64GB for the iPhone.
On the other hand, the Snapdragon 730 processor inside the Pixel 4a is slower than Apple's A13 Bionic bit. Plus, the iPhone SE has a water resistant design, too as wireless charging. So it actually comes down to whether you prefer iOS or Android.
iPhone SE 2020 review: Verdict
The iPhone SE 2020 is the affordable iPhone to beat, and the one of the best cheap phones y'all tin can get. It's the closest thing to hereafter-proof y'all'll detect under $400, offer the fastest performance around, very adept cameras, wireless charging and a premium pattern that outclasses cheap Android phones.
Yes, I wish the bezels were smaller and that Apple included Nighttime mode for the camera — and you don't become 5G connectivity — but overall information technology's difficult to complain too much at this price. A 5G-capable iPhone SE iii could exist on the horizon, but information technology probable won't arrive until 2022.
The iPhone XR is a tempting culling to the iPhone SE equally it now costs just $499. For that money you bet a bigger brandish and bigger battery but a slower CPU and less advanced cameras. If yous prefer a smaller phone, however, this handset will non disappoint. Overall, the iPhone SE is the i of the best phones for those on a budget.
iPhone SE review cheat sail: Reasons to buy and skip
Reasons to purchase the iPhone SE 2020
- A13 Bionic processor: The A13 scrap is the fastest in a phone and offers shine performance, whether y'all're juggling multiple apps, playing games or using AR apps.
- Solid cameras: That A13 chip also boosts the photography powers of the iPhone SE, as you lot get Portrait mode for the front and rear shooters, Smart HDR for better highlights and extended dynamic range in 4K video.
- Premium design: While a lot of premium phones have plastic designs, the iPhone SE is fabricated of glass and metal and is too IP67 h2o resistant.
- Brilliant and colorful display: It's not full HD, simply the 4.vii-inch Retina Display on the iPhone SE is easy to see outdoors and provides a vibrant picture.
- Like shooting fish in a barrel to use with one hand: Fans of pocket-sized phones will appreciate how compact the iPhone SE is. And the Touch ID button lets you lot easily unlock the device.
Reasons to skip the iPhone SE 2020
- Big bezels: The iPhone SE would be even more than attractive if Apple tree were able to deliver something closer to a full-screen design.
- No Night way for the camera: The iPhone SE lacks the Night Mode camera feature on the iPhone 11 and iPhone 11 Pro, not to mention every iPhone 12 model. And then you'll have to rely on the flash in really dim atmospheric condition.
- No 5G: Apple didn't add 5G to its phones until the iPhone 12 family last fall. 5G networks are expanding, and y'all'll miss out on the faster download speeds with this iPhone SE.
- More than: iPhone 12 mini vs. iPhone SE
Source: https://www.tomsguide.com/reviews/apple-iphone-se-2020-review
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