Review of iPhone SE 2020 - a smartphone with top-end hardware and outdated design

Apple seems to have released the new iPhone SE just in time. In the current conditions, many will not want to spend 70-80 thousand on flagship smartphones and the novelty for half their price has every chance to shoot. But is it worth taking the iPhone in the old design instead of the similarly priced Xiaomi and Realme? Let's figure it out.

Table of contents

• Specifications
• Design and ergonomics
• Screen
• Software and performance
• Sound and vibration
• Camera
• Autonomy
• Outcome

Specifications

Design and ergonomics

Many people fondly remember the design iPhone 8, and just such users will like the novelty. The compact "sandwich" made of glass and metal fits perfectly in the palm, and the laconic design of the back perceived as a breath of fresh air: modern smartphones with a bunch of cameras are more and more like a nightmare trypophobia. The build quality and materials are also impeccable.

The 2020 iPhone SE, on the other hand, does not boast of rational use of space on the front. There are thick indents above and below the screen, and the side frames are also quite bold.

In addition, the Home button with the Touch ID fingerprint scanner is back. As with the iPhone 8, there is no mechanical click, and the Taptic Engine provides feedback when pressed.

Users have lost the habit of this solution, but it is still very convenient for both system navigation and unlocking. By the way, the fingerprint reading here is much more accurate and faster than in Android smartphones with screen scanners.

Also, a multimedia speaker and a Lightning connector are placed on the bottom end. On the right side there is a power button and a SIM-tray, and on the left there are a volume control and a mute switch. All controls are easily accessible, so you don't have to intercept the smartphone or reach for the buttons with your finger.

Screen

The most controversial point about the new iPhone SE is its display. Still, the 4.7-inch diagonal doesn't seem to be enough anymore, and the 16: 9 aspect ratio limits vertical space. Because of this, surfing the web and viewing feeds on social networks is not as convenient as on devices with aspect ratios of 20: 9 and larger diagonal.

There are no complaints about the matrix itself. The Retina display is made using IPS technology, has a resolution of 1,334 × 750 pixels and a pixel density of 326 ppi. Matrix technology is the same as in iPhone 11there is even support for True Tone. The stock of brightness is excellent, the colors are natural, the viewing angles and the level of contrast are also not satisfactory.

Software and performance

The iPhone SE 2020 is running iOS 13, so the smartphone supports all the "goodies" of the Apple ecosystem. The hardware platform is the A13 Bionic chipset paired with 3 GB of RAM. In synthetic tests, the novelty is gaining slightly less points than the iPhone 11. Perhaps the engineers have limited the memory and processor frequencies to avoid overheating.

However, the performance is still sufficient to play in World of Tanks: Blitz at maximum settings with stable 60 FPS. You can only find fault with the small screen size, because of which interface elements are cramped.

Other applications and the OS itself also work flawlessly: low resolution in combination with flagship hardware gives excellent results. There is, however, one caveat: unlike the iPhone 8, the new product does not support 3D Touch. This makes shortcuts slower and makes moving the cursor in the keyboard less convenient.

Sound and vibration

The smartphone received stereo speakers, but their quality is not as impressive as in the iPhone 11. However, the volume headroom is sufficient for watching YouTube and listening to podcasts without headphones. Also included are EarPods with Lightning connectivity. Their sound will satisfy the undemanding user.

The Taptic Engine is responsible for the tactile response. It provides accurate and linear multi-gradation feedback and is well ahead of Android smartphones. Of the latest devices, only Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra pleased with a similar vibration feedback.

Camera

The new iPhone SE received the same camera as the iPhone 11, but without additional modules. The latter greatly limits the shooting scenarios, because you have to be content with a single focal length of 26 mm.

Quality photos excellent. The smartphone received a 12 megapixel image sensor with large pixels of 1.4 microns, phase detection autofocus, as well as a lens with an f / 1.8 aperture and optical stabilization. The front camera has a resolution of 7 megapixels, there is a portrait mode with background blur.

Video recording has always been a strong point of the iPhone, and the new product is no exception. The maximum resolution is 4K at 60 FPS.

Autonomy

The novelty received a battery from the iPhone 8, but the updated hardware consumes less power. As a result, the iPhone SE 2020 holds a charge much better, which confirmed independent tests.

In our case, after a day of active use with social networks, web surfing and YouTube, there was still 20-30% of the energy reserve. You can put your smartphone "to zero" if you play a lot or shoot with a camera.

The included charger only delivers 5 watts, which will take 2.5 hours to fully recharge. You can fix the situation by purchasing a more powerful adapter. The smartphone also supports Qi wireless charging.

Outcome

iPhone SE 2020 has most of the modern features in the old design. Of course, the 4.7-inch screen looks a bit too small compared to newer models - Apple should have made the 5.5-inch iPhone SE +. But these are dreams, but in reality we got a relatively affordable, compact and powerful device with a good camera. If you are tired of "shovels" and want to try iOSthen the new iPhone SE is a great option.

Buy

The author thanks Apple for the device provided for testing. The company had no way to influence the test result.