This is the new second-generation iPhone SE. I was actually
gonna start this article by saying that I'm using the Oneplus 8 Pro at the
moment and how dinky and cute the new SE looks next to that. But actually, I had
to pause writing because the mailman knocked on my door. Because the original SE (2016) original
has just come from eBay which I bought a few days ago.
iPhone
SE 2016 VS SE 2020
You can see actually compared to that this original SE just
feels like almost like a kid's toy or something and I think that's one of the
reasons why the new SE is going to sell by the truckload. Because the vast
majority of my friends and people I talk to, they're not spending a thousand on
a new phone. They want something that's affordable a reasonable size that they
can use one-handed. You know is going to last them a few years and has a good
camera and this checks all the boxes for this. But lined up, you can see the
new SE is a little bit smaller than the iPhone 11 pro but still a good deal
bigger than the original SE.
Display
and Design
We're looking at a 4.7-inch display and essentially we're
getting the body of an iPhone 8 but with vastly improved internals. So, we have
a glass back that does support wireless charging. We've got an aluminum chassis
around the edge, stereo speakers. It's also IP 67 water resistance which means
you can dunk this in up to a meter of water for half an hour. There's a single
camera lens on the back which Apple is very cleverly saying is the best
single camera on iPhone up to date. It comes in three colors black white
and this product red which I think is my favorite color and a portion of the
proceeds goes towards a covert relief charity.
When I first unboxed this my initial impression was
everything feels so small. Because I'm using the OnePlus 8 Pro at the moment
which is massive compared to this. But if you are using an older of 8 or 7 or 6
gen iPhone or even the original SE and this is gonna feel right at home for you
actually. So with the SE obviously had the touch ID button. These pretty chunky
bezels were about as thick as my finger. and side by side with the iPhone 11 pro
(which just cost two and a half times more it does) feel a little bit
old-fashioned. But you could argue it's a more classic iPhone look. Aside from
the size, one thing you'll notice is missing on the new SE is the headphone
jack. This is something we got on the original one but it has disappeared here
as you would expect really. Apple wants you to buy their Air pods, so yeah, that
is something that we've lost.
iPhone
11 Class Hardware
So from the outside, it is a slightly refined iPhone 8 with
absorb centralized Apple logo, a slightly different camera layout, but it's
what's on the inside that counts. We've got Apple’s latest A13 Bionic chip
that's the same one that you'll get in the iPhone 11 Pro max which costs about
three times more. This is insane for a phone that costs $400 or 420 pounds and
using it feels just like the iPhone 11 Pro. To be honest, it's got the same 60
Hz refresh, it's powered by the same A13 chip what does that really mean well
you can burn or play any Apple game on this flawlessly. And you'll be able to
do that from probably several years to come. We get the latest software. This
shipped with iOS 13.4. and it's just lovely to use. I kind of forgot how much I
appreciate using our phone one-handed.
Camera
It's been a few years but aside from the price, I think what
really makes the SE stand out is the camera. Apple on going into specifics
about exactly which sensor it is using. But the 12-megapixel f/1.8
camera on the back again given the price is incredible. We can even shoot up to
4k 60 videos. so here's a few shots from the SE but I also wanted to compare it
to the iPhone 11 Pro. Just to see what we are missing out versus the higher-end
iPhones. On the face of it, there isn't a massive difference really they both
use my HDR. You can use portrait mode on both and to be honest, even cropping
in by three times there's not really much in it. sometimes the SE, by
comparison, is a little less detailed and maybe a tad noisier. but if you're
just posting these on Instagram I think most people will be hard-pressed to
tell them apart. of course, we are missing out on the ultra-wide and the
telephoto lens plus we don't get any night mode on the SE 2020. This is a
little bit disappointing.
Shooting video at 4k 30 on both the iPhone SE 2 and the
iPhone 11 Pro to see if there's much difference actually they both seem to be
focusing pretty much the same. but what about the front-facing video, the SE 2020
actually shoot at 1080p and the iPhone 11 Pro which I've got here goes up to 4k
with the front camera. I'm not sure how often or how many people would actually
use 4k obviously you do get bigger file sizes. However, then again it's a higher-resolution
and thus looks a little bit sharper. But handling the dynamic range of a very
bright background then a slightly darker foreground and again just changing the
lighting up a little bit, at least I don’t see a big difference between The SE
2020 and 11 Pro.
Need more in-depth camera review? Visit here.
Battery
Life
For battery life, I think I need to spend a little bit more
time with it. In my experience so far, it's good and a little bit less than the
iPhone 11 pro. While it has a relatively tiny battery, smaller screen size, and a lower resolution and also the
lower peak brightness which tops out at 625 nits, all helped it to mitigate. So
you'll still easily get a full day out of it but it's not in the same league as
say the iPhone 11 pro max.
Alternatives
This really is one of the best budget/sort of mid-range
phones that you can buy. Yes, I do know that there were tons of really good
Android alternatives for similar money or some of them are even less. You can
get the Realme X2 pro, Xiaomi Mi Note 10, and of course the pixel 3a and hopefully
also the pixel 4a coming soon which I can't wait to put this again. So that's
gonna be I think the real competitor to this but the thing is while they're all
great phones and some of them offer better specs and some regards maybe full HD
screens, maybe more RAM. However, the truth is I think most Android users
probably upgrade their phones every two years or so. I bet with iPhones, it's
less often. I know a couple of people who still have the original SE in fact.
Should
You Buy it?
Yes, I know that Apple was guilty of software updates
slowing down all the phones so that their batteries didn't explode and all that.
So that is a concern but as a package with that A13 chip, the latest software,
the really good camera and all for $400 or 420 pounds. I don't think there's a
better value phone and I think this like the original SE for a lot of people
will be their phone for the next three-four maybe even five years. With those
specs, I think it can easily last that long. Although to be fair no other phone
in 2020 has a bezel and a screen to body ratio like this. I appreciate it helped, Apple makes the SE 2020 cheaper and we can argue it's a classic design but it
does seem a little lazy from being honest. I mean we give Google and the pixel
phones enough grief for their bezels and I think if the 4a launch looking like
this, people would make a big deal about it. They've got the fundamentals right
and for the vast majority of my friends who asked me pretty often what phones I
should buy. If they want an iPhone, this is gonna be the one that I recommend.
If you want a more in-depth review of the iPhone SE 2020, visit here.