iPhone SE (2022) review
If you can deal with a small display, the new iPhone SE provides best-in-class performance and amazing photographs at an inexpensive price.
The iPhone SE 2022 is a phone that packs modern features into a vintage style that’s almost modest in size. Despite the vintage feelings, the finished product is rather appealing to people on a budget.
For $429, you get a 5G connection as well as the same A15 Bionic chipset as the iPhone 13, resulting in the greatest performance and stunning images. Apple also claims that the new iPhone SE 3 will have two hours longer battery life than the previous iPhone SE 2020, as well as a more robust build. While Face ID isn’t available, some users may prefer the traditional Home button with Touch ID for speedy unlocking.
The iPhone SE 2022 is now available for pre-order, with a March 18 release date. The new iPhone SE has a starting price of $429, which is $30 more than the previous iPhone SE 2020.
For the iPhone SE 3, there are three storage options to choose from. The standard model comes with 64GB of storage, but you can upgrade to 128GB or 256GB for $479 or $579, respectively.
Specifications
Starting price : $429
Display : 4.7-inch LCD (1344 x 750)
CPU : A15 Bionic
Storage : 64GB, 128GB, 256GB
Rear cameras : 12MP (f/1.8)
Front camera : 7MP (f/2.2)
Size : 5.45 x 2.65 x 0.29 inches
Weight : 5 ounces
Colors : Midnight, Starlight, Red
Design
Picking up the iPhone SE 2022 is like going back in time for me. In comparison to, like, the iPhone 13 mini or Google Pixel 5a, there’s a Touch ID button instead of Face ID, and the bezels around the display take up a lot of space.
It’s for people who like small phones and are probably stepping up from the iPhone 8 with the same size display and nearly the same design.
A compact device measuring 5.45 x 2.85 x 0.29 inches and weighs only 5.09 ounces. It gives my iPhone 13 Pro Max a skyscraper-like appearance, and I appreciated having a phone that I could easily sneak into my pocket without being noticed. I also appreciated being able to accomplish almost everything with just one hand.
Display
Watching shows and movies on the iPhone SE 2022 is not exactly immersive. This 4.7-inch LCD panel has a resolution of 1344 x 750 pixels, so it’s not full HD, and it’s impossible not to notice the large bezels when watching movies and videos on this phone.
Still, the iPhone SE 2022’s display performed well in our lab tests. The panel registered 114.7% of the sRGB color gamut and 81.2% of the more demanding DCI-P3 color space. That’s good, but behind the 119.3% and 84.5% turned in by the Pixel 5a. However, the new iPhone SE still wins on color accuracy with a Delta-E score of 0.21 (where 0 is perfect); the Pixel 5a scored 0.32.
Cameras
The bad news is that the camera hardware on the iPhone SE 2022 has remained the same. There’s only a single 12MP wide-angle camera on the back, so there’s no ultra-wide lens like in the iPhone 11 ($499) and Pixel 5a. The front camera, meanwhile, retains its low-resolution 7MP sensor.
The good news is that the A15 Bionic CPU adds additional computational photography tools and capabilities to the camera. Smart HDR 4 for handling difficult lighting while improving face rendering, Deep Fusion for richer details and textures, and Photographic Styles for more creative freedom are all included.
Performance
I shouldn’t be shocked by the iPhone SE 2022’s speed, given that it uses the same A15 Bionic CPU as the iPhone 13. But that doesn’t take away from its accomplishments.
I had a lot of fun as Captain America in the Marvel Revolution game, fighting several adversaries with my shield and using dazzling special attacks. Then I took on Red Skull, who had a frightening amount of detail on his face. The action was fast-paced, and the graphics were stunning.
Battery life and charging
The iPhone SE 2022 is rated to deliver up to 2 hours of longer battery life than the previous iPhone SE, thanks to a slightly larger battery and efficiency gains from the A15 Bionic chip.
The new iPhone SE 3 lasted 9 hours and 5 minutes on the Battery Test, which involves continuous web surfing over 5G at 150 nits of screen brightness. That’s actually a bit less than the iPhone SE 2020’s runtime of 9:18; however, that was over a 4G LTE connection, which uses less power. The 5G-enabled Google Pixel 5a lasted a longer 9 hours and 45 minutes.
On the plus side, the iPhone SE can charge fairly quickly if you have a 20W Apple charger. We got to 61% in 30 minutes, which is better than Apple’s 30-minute claim.
The $429 iPhone SE 2022 is a phone that straddles the future and the past. The A15 Bionic chip inside this phone delivers flagship power for hundreds less than the iPhone 13. And the image quality is mostly excellent despite being limited to a single rear camera. I just wish Apple found a way to include a proper Night mode.
And yet the design of the new iPhone SE looks like a throwback with its small 4.7-inch display and huge bezels around the display; the iPhone 13 mini shows that you can cram a larger 5.4-inch display into a small phone, but it costs $699.
Overall, the iPhone SE 2022 mostly succeeds in terms of providing great value. Next time I’d like to see a design that better matches the cutting-edge vibe of the internals.