The Apple iPhone SE has returned with more power under the hood, an improved camera and other treats such as wireless and fast-charging. At £419 this device sounds like great value for money.
Good
A13 chipset gives iOS room to grow
Good battery life
Software updates for years
Supports fast LTE and Wi-Fi 6
Wireless charging is a nice touch
Great Touch ID sensor is back
Low price for iPhone
Water-resistant design
Bad
Small screen compared to every other phone
Camera underperforms in certain settings
Tired design with big bezels
Older screen technology
The original iPhone SE was first shown to the world a little over four years ago and quickly became one of those iconic devices Apple has a regular habit of producing. Despite its age, there’s still plenty of people who continue to adore this dinky device with its small size and low price making it a hugely popular option.
The new handset is the spitting image of the iPhone 8, complete with glass front and back, 4.7-inch display, and a physical home button with an integrated TouchID fingerprint reader.
iPhone SE Spec
Display: 4.7-inch Retina HD display with True Tone
Cost: From £419 (£399)
Cameras: Single wide-lens 12MP rear camera and 7MP selfie camera
Powered by: A13 Bionic chip
Memory: 64GB, 128GB or 256GB
Identity verification: TouchID
Connectivity: 4G, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and NFC
Colours: Black, white and red
Waterproof rating: Up to 1 metre (just over 3 feet) for 30 minutes
it has given it a brain transplant in the form of its A13 Bionic chip the same one used in the iPhone 11 which is Apple’s fastest processor yet and is built for efficiency.
This means the iPhone SE is not only faster than the iPhone 8 and has better battery life, but is future-proofed for the next few years of iOS updates.
Moreover, while the new iPhone SE only has a single-lens 12-megapixel camera like the iPhone 8 before it, the A13 chip enables it to create Portrait Mode depth-effect photos using software.
This is not entirely new — the iPhone XR, which launched in 2018, was able to capture Portrait Mode shots with just a single lens too.
But this has been stepped up a gear with the iPhone SE, which is able to take advantage of Apple’s depth controls and all six of its Portrait Lighting effects, making shots appear more dramatic.
The front-facing camera also supports Portrait Mode, so you can add a touch of flair to your selfies.
It lacks of few of the high-end camera features available on Apple’s more expensive models, such as Night Mode, which helps you capture detail in low-light conditions, and ‘Slofies’, which are ultra-slow-motion selfie videos.
Portrait Mode on the iPhone SE also only works when you’re taking photos of people you cannot capture the same depth effect for pets or objects, for example.
