At first glance, the 4-inch “baby” from Cupertino cannot be distinguished from the iPhone 5s - it has almost the same design, and all the differences from the “five” lie inside.
"Filling"
The model with the SE index received powerful hardware (A9 processor paired with an M9 coprocessor) and 2 GB of RAM. Compared to the iPhone 5s, performance has doubled and graphics capabilities have tripled. Considering the small screen resolution (1136x640 pixels), you don’t need to spend a lot of resources on it, so the power of a 4-inch smartphone is off the charts.
Screen
The display has a high maximum brightness threshold (500 cd/sq.m.), thanks to which the image on it does not fade when exposed to direct sunlight. Unfortunately, the screen does not support 3D Touch pressure recognition technology.
iPhone 6s level camera
Apple did not skimp on the main camera module - its resolution is 12 MP, and the maximum aperture reaches f/2.2. In addition to regular photos, the camera can take “live” images and 63-megapixel panoramas. In terms of video, things are even cooler: the smartphone records videos in resolutions up to 4K; interesting features include slow-motion shooting (240 fps in HD resolution) and time-lapse shooting with stabilization. The front module with a resolution of 1.2 MP looks traditionally simpler - it is enough for selfies and chatting on Skype.
Fashion trends
There are 4 classic case color options to choose from: silver, gold, rose gold and space grey. The smartphone has not bypassed the latest fashion trends - a fast and accurate fingerprint scanner is built into the “Home” key, and an NFC chip is hidden inside the case, designed for payments via payment system ApplePay.
Ease of management
Some problems may arise exclusively with content that is developed taking into account the increased diagonal mobile gadgets— on a small screen, individual elements will look too large. This is hardly a serious drawback, since the ease of control completely eliminates it.
Information about the make, model, and alternative names of the specific device, if available.
Design
Information about the dimensions and weight of the device, presented in different units of measurement. Materials used, colors offered, certificates.
| Width Width information - refers to the horizontal side of the device in its standard orientation during use. | 58.6 mm (millimeters) 5.86 cm (centimeters) 0.19 ft (feet) 2.31 in (inches) |
| Height Height information - refers to the vertical side of the device in its standard orientation during use. | 123.8 mm (millimeters) 12.38 cm (centimeters) 0.41 ft (feet) 4.87 in (inches) |
| Thickness Information about the thickness of the device in different units of measurement. | 7.6 mm (millimeters) 0.76 cm (centimeters) 0.02 ft (feet) 0.3 in (inches) |
| Weight Information about the weight of the device in different units of measurement. | 113 g (grams) 0.25 lbs 3.99 oz (ounces) |
| Volume The approximate volume of the device, calculated based on the dimensions provided by the manufacturer. Refers to devices with the shape of a rectangular parallelepiped. | 55.14 cm³ (cubic centimeters) 3.35 in³ (cubic inches) |
| Colors Information about the colors in which this device is offered for sale. | Grey Silver Golden Pink gold |
| Materials for making the case Materials used to make the device body. | Aluminium alloy |
SIM card
The SIM card is used in mobile devices to store data that certifies the authenticity of mobile service subscribers.
Mobile networks
A mobile network is a radio system that allows multiple mobile devices to communicate with each other.
| GSM GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications) is designed to replace the analogue mobile network (1G). For this reason, GSM is often called a 2G mobile network. It is improved by the addition of GPRS (General Packet Radio Services), and later EDGE (Enhanced Data rates for GSM Evolution) technologies. | GSM 850 MHz GSM 900 MHz GSM 1800 MHz GSM 1900 MHz |
| CDMA CDMA (Code-Division Multiple Access) is a channel access method used in communications in mobile networks. Compared to other 2G and 2.5G standards like GSM and TDMA, it provides higher data transfer speeds and the ability to connect more consumers at the same time. | CDMA 800 MHz CDMA 1700/2100 MHz CDMA 1900 MHz |
| CDMA2000 CDMA2000 is a group of 3G mobile network standards based on CDMA. Their advantages include a stronger signal, fewer interruptions and network breaks, support analog signal, wide spectral coverage, etc. | 1xEV-DO Rev. A |
| TD-SCDMA TD-SCDMA (Time Division Synchronous Code Division Multiple Access) is a 3G mobile network standard. It is also called UTRA/UMTS-TDD LCR. It is designed as an alternative W-CDMA standard in China by the Chinese Academy of Telecommunications Technology, Datang Telecom and Siemens. TD-SCDMA combines TDMA and CDMA. | TD-SCDMA 1900 MHz (A1723) TD-SCDMA 2000 MHz (A1723) |
| UMTS UMTS is an abbreviation for Universal Mobile Telecommunications System. It is based on the GSM standard and belongs to 3G mobile networks. Developed by 3GPP and its biggest advantage is providing greater speed and spectral efficiency thanks to W-CDMA technology. | UMTS 850 MHz UMTS 900 MHz UMTS 1700/2100 MHz UMTS 1900 MHz UMTS 2100 MHz |
| LTE LTE (Long Term Evolution) is defined as a technology fourth generation(4G). It is developed by 3GPP based on GSM/EDGE and UMTS/HSPA to increase the capacity and speed of wireless mobile networks. The subsequent technology development is called LTE Advanced. | LTE 700 MHz Class 17 LTE 800 MHz LTE 850 MHz LTE 900 MHz LTE 1800 MHz LTE 1900 MHz LTE 2100 MHz LTE 700 MHz Class 13 (A1662) LTE 2600 MHz (A1723) LTE-TDD 1900 MHz (B39) (A1723) LTE-TDD 2300 MHz (B40) (A1723) LTE-TDD 2500 MHz (B41) (A1723) LTE-TDD 2600 MHz (B38) (A1723) LTE AWS (B4) LTE 700 MHz (B12) LTE 800 MHz (B18) LTE 800 MHz (B19) LTE 800 MHz (B20) LTE 1900+ MHz (B25) LTE 800 MHz (B26) LTE 800 MHz SMR (B27) LTE 700 MHz APT (B28) (A1723) LTE 700 MHz de (B29) (A1662) LTE 2300 MHz (B30) |
Mobile communication technologies and data transfer speeds
Communication between devices on mobile networks is carried out using technologies that provide different data transfer rates.
Operating system
An operating system is a system software that manages and coordinates the operation of hardware components in a device.
SoC (System on Chip)
A system on a chip (SoC) includes all the most important hardware components of a mobile device on one chip.
| SoC (System on Chip) A system on a chip (SoC) integrates various hardware components, such as a processor, graphics processor, memory, peripherals, interfaces, etc., as well as the software necessary for their operation. | Apple A9 APL0898 |
| Technological process Information about the technological process by which the chip is manufactured. Nanometers measure half the distance between elements in the processor. | 14 nm (nanometers) |
| Processor (CPU) The primary function of a mobile device's processor (CPU) is to interpret and execute instructions contained in software applications. | Apple Twister |
| Processor size The size (in bits) of a processor is determined by the size (in bits) of the registers, address buses, and data buses. 64-bit processors have higher performance compared to 32-bit processors, which in turn are more powerful than 16-bit processors. | 64 bit |
| Instruction Set Architecture Instructions are commands with which the software sets/controls the operation of the processor. Information about the instruction set (ISA) that the processor can execute. | ARMv8-A |
| Level 1 cache (L1) Cache memory is used by the processor to reduce access time to more frequently used data and instructions. L1 (level 1) cache is small in size and works much faster than both system memory and other cache levels. If the processor does not find the requested data in L1, it continues to look for it in the L2 cache. On some processors, this search is performed simultaneously in L1 and L2. | 64 kB + 64 kB (kilobytes) |
| Level 2 cache (L2) L2 (level 2) cache is slower than L1 cache, but in return it has a higher capacity, allowing it to cache more data. It, like L1, is much faster than system memory (RAM). If the processor does not find the requested data in L2, it continues to look for it in the L3 cache (if available) or in RAM memory. | 3072 kB (kilobytes) 3 MB (megabytes) |
| Level 3 cache (L3) L3 (level 3) cache is slower than L2 cache, but in return it has a higher capacity, allowing it to cache more data. It, like L2, is much faster than system memory (RAM). | 8192 kB (kilobytes) 8 MB (megabytes) |
| Number of processor cores The processor core executes software instructions. There are processors with one, two or more cores. Having more cores increases performance by allowing multiple instructions to be executed in parallel. | 2 |
| CPU clock speed The clock speed of a processor describes its speed in terms of cycles per second. It is measured in megahertz (MHz) or gigahertz (GHz). | 1840 MHz (megahertz) |
| Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) Graphics processing unit (GPU) handles calculations for various 2D/3D graphic applications. In mobile devices, it is most often used by games, consumer interfaces, video applications, etc. | PowerVR GT7600 |
| Number of GPU cores Like a CPU, a GPU is made up of several working parts called cores. They handle graphics calculations for various applications. | 6 |
| Amount of random access memory (RAM) Random access memory (RAM) is used by the operating system and all installed applications. Data stored in RAM is lost after the device is turned off or restarted. | 2 GB (gigabytes) |
| Type of random access memory (RAM) Information about the type of random access memory (RAM) used by the device. | LPDDR4 |
| M9 motion coprocessor |
Built-in memory
Each mobile device has built-in (non-removable) memory with a fixed capacity.
Screen
The screen of a mobile device is characterized by its technology, resolution, pixel density, diagonal length, color depth, etc.
| Type/technology One of the main characteristics of the screen is the technology by which it is made and on which the quality of the information image directly depends. | IPS |
| Diagonal For mobile devices, screen size is expressed by the length of its diagonal, measured in inches. | 4 in (inches) 101.6 mm (millimeters) 10.16 cm (centimeters) |
| Width Approximate screen width | 1.96 in (inches) 49.87 mm (millimeters) 4.99 cm (centimeters) |
| Height Approximate screen height | 3.48 in (inches) 88.52 mm (millimeters) 8.85 cm (centimeters) |
| Aspect Ratio The ratio of the dimensions of the long side of the screen to its short side | 1.775:1 |
| Permission Screen resolution shows the number of pixels vertically and horizontally on the screen. Higher resolution means clearer image detail. | 640 x 1136 pixels |
| Pixel Density Information about the number of pixels per centimeter or inch of the screen. Higher density allows information to be displayed on the screen with clearer detail. | 326 ppi (pixels per inch) 128ppcm (pixels per centimeter) |
| Color depth Screen color depth reflects the total number of bits used for color components in one pixel. Information about the maximum number of colors that the screen can display. | 24 bit 16777216 flowers |
| Screen area Approximate percentage of screen area occupied by the screen on the front of the device. | 61.05% (percent) |
| Other characteristics Information about other screen features and characteristics. | Capacitive Multi-touch Scratch resistance |
| Retina HD display 800:1 contrast ratio 500 cd/m² Full sRGB standard Oleophobic (lipophobic) coating LED-backlit |
Sensors
Different sensors perform different quantitative measurements and convert physical indicators into signals that a mobile device can recognize.
Rear camera
The main camera of a mobile device is usually located on its back panel and may be combined with one or more secondary cameras.
| Sensor model | Sony IMX315 Exmor RS |
| Sensor type | |
| Sensor size Information about the dimensions of the photosensor used in the device. Typically cameras with larger sensors and lower pixel densities offer more high quality images despite the lower resolution. | 4.8 x 3.6 mm (millimeters) 0.24 in (inches) |
| Pixel size Pixels are usually measured in microns. Large pixels are able to capture more light and therefore provide better low-light photography and wider dynamic range than smaller pixels. On the other hand, smaller pixels allow for higher resolution while maintaining the same sensor size. | 1.19 µm (micrometers) 0.001190 mm (millimeters) |
| Crop factor The crop factor is the ratio between the dimensions of the full-frame sensor (36 x 24 mm, equivalent to a frame of standard 35 mm film) and the dimensions of the device's photosensor. The indicated number represents the ratio of the diagonals of the full-frame sensor (43.3 mm) and the photosensor specific device. | 7.21 |
| Svetlosila | f/2.2 |
| Focal length Focal length indicates the distance in millimeters from the sensor to the optical center of the lens. Equivalent focal length (35mm) is the focal length of a mobile device camera equal to the focal length of a 35mm full-frame sensor, which will achieve the same viewing angle. It is calculated by multiplying the actual focal length of a mobile device's camera by the crop factor of its sensor. Crop factor can be defined as the ratio between the diagonals of a 35 mm full-frame sensor and the sensor of a mobile device. | 4.02 mm (millimeters) 29 mm (millimeters) *(35 mm / full frame) |
| Number of optical elements (lenses) Information about the number of optical elements (lenses) of the camera. | 5 |
| Flash type The rear (rear) cameras of mobile devices mainly use LED flashes. They can be configured with one, two or more light sources and vary in shape. | Double LED |
| Image Resolution One of the main characteristics of cameras is resolution. It represents the number of horizontal and vertical pixels in an image. For convenience, smartphone manufacturers often list resolution in megapixels, indicating the approximate number of pixels in millions. | 4032 x 3024 pixels 12.19 MP (megapixels) |
| Video resolution | 3840 x 2160 pixels 8.29 MP (megapixels) |
| 30fps (frames per second) | |
| Characteristics | Autofocus Continuous shooting Digital zoom Digital image stabilization Geographical tags Panoramic photography HDR shooting Touch Focus Face recognition Exposure compensation Self-timer |
| Sensor type - RGBW Hybrid IR filter Sapphire crystal glass lens cover 1080p @ 60 fps 720p @ 240 fps |
Front-camera
Smartphones have one or more front cameras of various designs - a pop-up camera, a rotating camera, a cutout or hole in the display, an under-display camera.
| Sensor model Information about the manufacturer and model of the sensor used by the camera. | OmniVision OV2E0BNN |
| Sensor type Information about the camera sensor type. Some of the most widely used types of sensors in mobile device cameras are CMOS, BSI, ISOCELL, etc. | CMOS (complementary metal-oxide semiconductor) |
| Svetlosila F-stop (also known as aperture, aperture, or f-number) is a measure of the size of a lens's aperture, which determines the amount of light entering the sensor. The lower the f-number, the larger the aperture and the more light reaches the sensor. Typically the f-number is specified to correspond to the maximum possible aperture of the aperture. | f/2.4 |
| Video resolution Information about the maximum video resolution that the camera can record. | 1280 x 720 pixels 0.92 MP (megapixels) |
| Video recording speed (frame rate) Information about the maximum recording speed (frames per second, fps) supported by the camera at maximum resolution. Some of the most basic video recording speeds are 24 fps, 25 fps, 30 fps, 60 fps. | 30fps (frames per second) |
| Characteristics Information about additional software and hardware features of the rear (rear) camera. | Face unlock |
| 1.2 MP Retina flash HDR Exposure compensation Self-timer |
Audio
Information about the type of speakers and audio technologies supported by the device.
Radio
The radio of the mobile device is a built-in FM receiver.
Location determination
Information about the navigation and location technologies supported by your device.
WiFi
Wi-Fi is a technology that provides wireless communication for transmitting data over close distances between various devices.
Bluetooth
Bluetooth is a standard for secure wireless data transfer between various devices of different types over short distances.
USB
USB (Universal Serial Bus) is an industry standard that allows different electronic devices to exchange data.
Headphone jack
This is an audio connector, also called an audio jack. The most widely used standard in mobile devices is the 3.5mm headphone jack.
Connecting devices
Information about other important connection technologies supported by your device.
Browser
A web browser is a software application for accessing and viewing information on the Internet.
Video file formats/codecs
Mobile devices support different video file formats and codecs, which respectively store and encode/decode digital video data.
Battery
Mobile device batteries differ from each other in their capacity and technology. They provide the electrical charge necessary for their functioning.
| Capacity A battery's capacity indicates the maximum charge it can hold, measured in milliamp-hours. | 1642 mAh (milliamp-hours) |
| Type The type of battery is determined by its structure and, more precisely, the chemicals used. Exist different types batteries, with lithium-ion and lithium-ion polymer batteries most often used in mobile devices. | Li-polymer |
| 3G talk time 3G talk time is the period of time during which the battery charge is completely discharged during a continuous conversation on a 3G network. | 14 h (hours) 840 min (minutes) 0.6 days |
| 3G latency 3G standby time is the period of time during which the battery charge is completely discharged when the device is in stand-by mode and connected to a 3G network. | 240 h (hours) 14400 min (minutes) 10 days |
| Characteristics Information about some additional characteristics of the device's battery. | Fixed |
Specific Absorption Rate (SAR)
The SAR level refers to the amount of electromagnetic radiation absorbed by the human body while using a mobile device.
| SAR level for head (EU) The SAR level indicates maximum amount electromagnetic radiation to which the human body is exposed when holding a mobile device near the ear in a conversation position. In Europe the maximum permissible value SAR for mobile devices is limited to 2 W/kg per 10 grams of human tissue. This standard established by the CENELEC Committee in accordance with IEC standards, subject to the ICNIRP guidelines of 1998. | 0.97 W/kg (Watt per kilogram) |
| Body SAR level (EU) The SAR level indicates the maximum amount of electromagnetic radiation to which the human body is exposed when holding a mobile device at hip level. The maximum permissible SAR value for mobile devices in Europe is 2 W/kg per 10 grams of human tissue. This standard has been established by the CENELEC Committee in compliance with the ICNIRP 1998 guidelines and IEC standards. | 0.99 W/kg (Watt per kilogram) |
| Head SAR level (US) The SAR level indicates the maximum amount of electromagnetic radiation that the human body is exposed to when holding a mobile device near the ear. The maximum value used in the USA is 1.6 W/kg per 1 gram of human tissue. Mobile devices in the US are regulated by the CTIA, and the FCC conducts tests and sets their SAR values. | 1.17 W/kg (Watt per kilogram) |
| Body SAR level (US) The SAR level indicates the maximum amount of electromagnetic radiation to which the human body is exposed when holding a mobile device at hip level. The highest permissible SAR value in the USA is 1.6 W/kg per 1 gram of human tissue. This value is set by the FCC, and the CTIA monitors mobile devices' compliance with this standard. | 1.19 W/kg (Watt per kilogram) |
additional characteristics
Some devices have characteristics that do not fall into the above categories, but it is important to point them out.
| additional characteristics Information about other device characteristics. | A1662 - SAR (Specific Absorption Rate) EU: head - 0.970 W/kg; body - 0.990 W/kg A1662 - SAR (Specific Absorption Rate) US: head - 1.170 W/kg; body - 1.190 W/kg A1723 - SAR (Specific Absorption Rate) EU: head - 0.720 W/kg; body - 0.970 W/kg A1723 - SAR (Specific Absorption Rate) US: head - 1.170 W/kg; body - 1.170 W/kg A1724 - SAR (Specific Absorption Rate) EU: head - 0.720 W/kg; body - 0.970 W/kg A1724 - SAR (Specific Absorption Rate) US: head - 1.170 W/kg; body - 1.170 W/kg |
Like many Apple announcements over the past few years, the iPhone SE announcement was both expected and unexpected. Expected - in terms of the general idea: everyone was ready for Apple to release more cheap smartphone with a small display diagonal. The surprise was that the body of the new product turned out to be exactly identical to the iPhone 5s, and the hardware characteristics, on the contrary, were inherited from the iPhone 6s, Apple’s current flagship.
Let's take a look at the characteristics of the new product.
Apple iPhone SE Specifications
- Apple A9 SoC 1.8 GHz (2 64-bit cores, ARMv8-A based architecture)
- Apple A9 GPU
- Apple M9 motion coprocessor including barometer, accelerometer, gyroscope and compass
- RAM 2 GB
- Flash memory 16 / 64 GB
- No memory card support
- Operating system iOS 9.3
- Touchscreen IPS, 4″, 1135×640 (324 ppi), capacitive, multi-touch
- Cameras: front (1.2 MP, 720p video) and rear (12 MP, 4K video)
- Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n/ac (2.4 and 5 GHz; MIMO support)
- cellular: UMTS/HSPA/HSPA+/DC-HSDPA (850, 900, 1700/2100, 1900, 2100 MHz); GSM/EDGE (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz), LTE Bands 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 12, 13, 17, 18, 19, 20, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 38, 39, 40, 41
- Bluetooth 4.2 A2DP LE
- Touch ID fingerprint scanner
- NFC (only for Apple Pay)
- 3.5mm stereo headset jack, Lightning dock connector
- Li-polymer battery 1624 mAh, non-removable
- GPS / A-GPS, Glonass
- Dimensions 123.8×58.6×7.6 mm
- Weight 113 g (our measurement)
For clarity, let’s compare the characteristics of the new product with the iPhone 6s, iPhone 5s (since this is what the new product is replacing), as well as with the Sony Xperia Z5 Compact - this is perhaps the main iPhone competitor SE for now.
| Apple iPhone 6s | Apple iPhone 5s | Sony Xperia Z5 Compact | ||
| Screen | 4″, IPS, 1136×640, 324 ppi | 4.7″, IPS, 1334×750, 326 ppi | 4″, IPS, 1136×640, 324 ppi | 4.6″, 1280×720, 423 ppi |
| SoC (processor) | Apple A9 (2 cores @1.8 GHz, 64-bit ARMv8-A architecture) | Apple A7 @1.3 GHz 64 bit (2 cores, Cyclone architecture based on ARMv8) | Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 (8 Cortex-A57 @2.0 GHz + 4 Cortex-A53 @1.55 GHz) | |
| GPU | Apple A9 | Apple A9 | PowerVR SGX 6 Series | Adreno 430 |
| Flash memory | 16/64 GB | 16/64/128 GB | 16/32/64 GB | 32 GB |
| Connectors | Lightning dock connector, 3.5mm headset jack | Lightning dock connector, 3.5mm headset jack | Micro-USB with OTG and MHL 3 support, 3.5mm headset jack | |
| Memory card support | No | No | No | microSD (up to 200 GB) |
| RAM | 2 GB | 2 GB | 1 GB | 3 GB |
| Cameras | main (12 MP; video recording 4K 30 fps, 1080p 120 fps and 720p 240 fps) and front (1.2 MP; video recording and transmission 720p) | main (12 MP; video shooting 4K 30 fps, 1080p 120 fps and 720p 240 fps) and front (5 MP; shooting and transmitting Full HD video) | main (8 MP; video recording 1080p 30 fps and 720p 120 fps) and front (1.2 MP; video recording and transmission 720p) | main (23 MP, 4K video shooting) and front (5.1 MP, Full HD video) |
| Internet | Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac MIMO (2.4 GHz + 5 GHz), 3G / 4G LTE+ (LTE-Advanced) | Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n (2.4 GHz + 5 GHz), 3G / 4G LTE | Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac MIMO (2.4 GHz + 5 GHz), 3G / 4G LTE+ (LTE-Advanced) | |
| Battery capacity (mAh) | 1624 | 1715 | 1570 | 2700 |
| operating system | Apple iOS 9.3 | Apple iOS 9 | Apple iOS 7 (upgrade to iOS 9.3 available) | Google Android 6.0 |
| Dimensions (mm)* | 124×59×7.6 | 138×67×7.1 | 124×59×7.6 | 127×65×8.9 |
| Weight (g)** | 113 | 143 | 112 | 138 |
| average price | T-13584121 | T-12858630 | T-10495456 | T-12840987 |
| Apple iPhone SE (16GB) offers | L-13584121-5 | |||
| Apple iPhone SE (64GB) offers | L-13584123-5 | |||
*according to manufacturer information
** our measurement
The table clearly shows that with the exception of the screen, dimensions and battery capacity iPhone specs 6s and iPhone SE are identical. But there is no option with 128 GB of internal memory, which, of course, is a minus (especially considering the possibility of shooting in 4K). In turn, the dimensions and screen are similar to the iPhone 5s, but all other parameters have become much more advanced. Even the battery capacity has increased, although the body is the same.
As for comparison with Android competitors, things are not so simple here. Apple devices lag behind in almost all characteristics, but, as we have repeatedly seen, this may not directly affect real performance and other user qualities. So let's proceed directly to testing.
Packaging and equipment
The packaging of the iPhone SE is much closer to the iPhone 6s than the iPhone 5s. This is evidenced by both the overall light color scheme and the picture on the smartphone screen.
The packaging of Apple smartphones has not contained any surprises for a long time. The new product is no exception. Here are the EarPods, enclosed in a beautiful box, leaflets, a charger (5 V 1 A), a Lightning cable, stickers and a key for removing the SIM card cradle.
Design
Now let's look at the design of the iPhone SE itself. The first emotion when you take it out of the box: my God, how small and, at the same time, plump!
In fact, the dimensions of the new product exactly match the iPhone 5s. Down to the millimeter. However, in the two and a half years that have passed since the release of the iPhone 5s, we have already become accustomed to a smaller thickness and, of course, a significantly larger screen. It’s not for nothing that Sony’s Compact model has a diagonal of 4.6 inches. And the Chinese have already stopped producing fewer smartphones. So four inches looks like an outright atavism.
But this is exactly the case when the opinion of technologists does not coincide with the opinion of many ordinary users, among which the iPhone 5s is still popular. And although for some of them this is due solely to financial reasons, others simply prefer compact models. The iPhone SE is aimed at them.
Strictly speaking, there are only three design differences from the iPhone 5s. The first is the new Rose Gold color. We have seen this color in all new mobile products. Apple latest generation, and now it is available on a compact smartphone. The girls will probably be happy. Not only is it beautiful in itself, but it also emphasizes that you don’t have some kind of old iPhone 5s, and the most new thing yet. However, three other color options (gold, dark gray and silver) are also available.
The second design element that has undergone changes compared to the iPhone 5s is the branded apple. Now it is not pressed into the metal surface, but is made of glossy metal as an independent block, inserted into the body and slightly recessed - like the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus. It looks elegant, but, in essence, it is such a trifle that you can hardly catch it with your eyes unless you specifically look closely.
Finally, the last detail that helps not to confuse the iPhone SE with the iPhone 5s is the letters SE directly below the word iPhone on the back of the device. However, obviously, this does not in any way affect the perception of the design. Otherwise, the smartphones are absolutely identical: the material, the location and shape of the buttons, the connectors - everything is exactly like the iPhone 5s. As a plus, we note that although the camera here is significantly better, it does not protrude above the body at all (as is the case with all iPhones with a six in their name).
An interesting question is what version of the Touch ID fingerprint scanner is installed in the smartphone. As we remember, it debuted in the iPhone 6s/6s Plus a new version scanner that works faster and more accurately. Owners of these models know that they only need to quickly touch their finger and immediately pull it away for the smartphone to recognize the owner. Since Apple doesn't give details about the version of Touch ID in the iPhone SE, we tested it with a simple comparison - pressing simultaneously Home button on iPhone 6s Plus and iPhone SE. The result is clear: the fingerprint scanner in the iPhone SE is slower. That is, apparently, it is the same here as in the iPhone 5s.
Generally, iPhone design SE can be called a time-tested classic (although it looks somewhat archaic compared to modern devices, even in the middle segment). Two cosmetic innovations - a new color and a differently designed logo - do not affect the overall impression. In terms of appearance, this is just an iPhone 5s. No more and no less, no better and no worse.
Screen
The screen parameters of the iPhone SE do not differ from those of the iPhone 5s: 4-inch diagonal, IPS matrix with a resolution of 1136×640. By modern standards - very little: both diagonal and resolution (less than 720p is difficult to find even in the mid-budget segment).
It is also important that the iPhone SE screen does not support 3D Touch technology.
However, technical characteristics and the presence or absence of additional technologies are just the tip of the iceberg. A comprehensive examination of the quality of the iPhone SE screen was carried out by the editor of the “Projectors and TV” section, Alexey Kudryavtsev.
The front surface of the screen is made in the form of a glass plate with a mirror-smooth surface that is scratch-resistant. Judging by the reflection of objects, the anti-glare properties of the screen are better than those of the Google Nexus 7 (2013) screen (hereinafter simply Nexus 7). For clarity, here is a photograph in which a white surface is reflected when the screens are turned off (on the left is Nexus 7, on the right is Apple iPhone SE, then they can be distinguished by size):
The screen of the Apple iPhone SE is slightly darker (brightness according to photographs is 104 versus 110 for the Nexus 7). The ghosting of reflected objects in the Apple iPhone SE screen is very weak, this indicates that there is no air gap between the layers of the screen (more specifically, between the outer glass and the surface of the LCD matrix) (OGS - One Glass Solution type screen). Due to the smaller number of boundaries (glass/air type) with very different refractive indices, such screens look better in conditions of strong external illumination, but their repair in the case of cracked external glass is much more expensive, since the entire screen has to be replaced. The outer surface of the screen has a special oleophobic (grease-repellent) coating (effective, but still no better than that of the Nexus 7), so fingerprints are removed much more easily and appear at a slower rate than with regular glass.
When manually controlling the brightness and displaying the white field in full screen, the maximum brightness value was about 610 cd/m², the minimum was 6 cd/m². The maximum brightness is very high, and given the excellent anti-glare properties, readability will be ensured even on a sunny day outdoors. In complete darkness, the brightness can be reduced to a comfortable value. There is automatic brightness adjustment based on the light sensor (located to the left of the front speaker). IN automatic mode When external lighting conditions change, the screen brightness both increases and decreases. The operation of this function depends on the position of the brightness adjustment slider - the user can use it to try to set the desired brightness level for the current conditions, but we cannot predict what the brightness will be in other conditions and simply when changing and returning the level of external illumination. If you don’t touch anything, then in complete darkness the automatic brightness adjustment function reduces the brightness to 6 cd/m² (too dark), in an office illuminated by artificial light (about 400 lux) the brightness increases to 100-140 cd/m² (normal), in in a very bright environment (corresponding to the lighting of a clear day outdoors, but without direct sunlight - 20,000 lux or a little more) is set to 500 cd/m² (this is enough). We were more satisfied with the option obtained after several attempts at brightness correction in different conditions, and for the three conditions indicated above we received 8, 115 and 600 cd/m². It turns out that the auto-brightness function works more or less adequately, and there is some possibility of adjusting the nature of the brightness change to the user’s requirements, although there are some not obvious features in its operation. At any brightness level, there is no significant modulation of the backlight, so there is no flickering of the screen (or rather, at minimum brightness there are very narrow peaks with a frequency of 50 Hz, but flickering was still not noticeable even with great effort).
IN this smartphone matrix is used IPS type. The microphotographs show a typical IPS subpixel structure:
For comparison, you can see the gallery of microphotographs of screens used in mobile technology.
The screen has good viewing angles without significant color shift even with large viewing deviations from perpendicular to the screen and without inverting shades. For comparison, here are photographs in which Apple screens iPhone SE and Nexus 7 display the same images, while the screen brightness is initially set to approximately 200 cd/m² (on the white field in full screen, on the Apple iPhone SE this corresponds to 60% brightness when using third party programs), and the color balance on the camera is forcibly switched to 6500 K. There is a white field perpendicular to the screens:
Note the good uniformity of brightness and color tone of the white field. And a test picture:
Color balance varies slightly, color saturation is normal. Now at an angle of approximately 45 degrees to the plane and to the side of the screen:
It can be seen that the colors did not change much on both screens and the contrast remained at a high level. And a white field:
The brightness at an angle of the screens decreased (at least 5 times, based on the difference in shutter speed), but in the case of the Apple iPhone SE the drop in brightness is slightly less. When deviated diagonally, the black field is lightened weakly and acquires a light red-violet tint. The photographs below demonstrate this (the brightness of the white areas in the direction perpendicular to the plane of the screens is approximately the same!):
And from another angle:
When viewed perpendicularly, the uniformity of the black field is good:
The contrast (approximately in the center of the screen) is normal - about 760:1. The response time for the black-white-black transition is 20 ms (11 ms on + 9 ms off). The transition between halftones of gray 25% and 75% (based on the numerical value of the color) and back takes a total of 25 ms. The gamma curve, constructed using 32 points with equal intervals based on the numerical value of the shade of gray, did not reveal any blockage in either the highlights or the shadows. The power function fitting exponent is 1.93, which is lower than the standard value of 2.2, so the image is slightly brightened. In this case, the real gamma curve deviates little from the power-law dependence:
Color gamut is almost equal to sRGB:
Apparently, the matrix filters mix the components with each other to a moderate extent. The spectra confirm this:
As a result, visually the colors have a natural saturation. The balance of shades on the gray scale is good, since the color temperature is slightly higher than the standard 6500 K, and the deviation from the blackbody spectrum (ΔE) is less than 10, which is considered an acceptable indicator for a consumer device. At the same time, color temperature and ΔE change little from hue to hue - this has a positive effect on the visual assessment of color balance. (The darkest areas of the gray scale can be ignored, since there is no color balance of great importance, and the error in measuring color characteristics at low brightness is large.)
As in, the iPhone SE has a function Night Shift, which makes the picture warmer at night (the user specifies how much warmer). The graphs above show the values obtained at the middle position of the parameter slider Color temperature(by the way, the correct word is “color temperature”), when shifted all the way to Warmer and to Colder(graphs are signed in the appropriate way). Yes, the color temperature decreases, which is what is required. A description of why such a correction can be useful is given in the specified article about iPad Pro 9.7. In any case, when having fun with mobile device at night, it is better to reduce the screen brightness to a minimum, but still comfortable level, and only then, to calm your own paranoia, turn the screen yellow by setting Night Shift.
Let's summarize. The screen has a very high maximum brightness and has excellent anti-glare properties, so the device can be used outdoors without any problems, even on a sunny summer day. In complete darkness, the brightness can be reduced to a comfortable level. It is also possible to use a mode with automatic brightness adjustment, which works more or less adequately. The advantages of the screen include an effective oleophobic coating, the absence of an air gap in the layers of the screen and flicker, high black stability to deviation of the gaze from perpendicular to the screen plane, good uniformity of the black field, as well as the sRGB color gamut and good color balance. There are no significant shortcomings. At the moment this is probably best display among smartphones with small screens.
Performance and Heat
The iPhone SE runs on the same Apple A9 SoC as the iPhone 6s. And this means that there is also Apple processor M9, which provides support for voice unlocking (with the “Hey Siri!” command).
It is important that the CPU frequency in the iPhone SE is not reduced. We outlined the details about the SoC in the article about the iPhone 6s, so we won’t repeat ourselves and go straight to testing. In addition to the main testing hero, we included the iPhone 6s Plus and iPhone 5s in the table, since our main tasks are to understand whether there are any differences in the performance of the iPhone SE compared to other smartphones based on the Apple A9, and also how much faster the new product is than iPhone 5s. As for comparison with Android competitors, as we previously found out, the Apple A9 is still the leader, so there is simply no point in such a comparison in the case of the iPhone SE.
Let's start with browser tests: SunSpider 1.0.2, Octane Benchmark, Kraken Benchmark and JetStream. We used the Safari browser throughout.
The result is predictable: we see approximate parity between the iPhone SE and iPhone 6s Plus, as well as a huge superiority (three to four times) over the iPhone 5s. We emphasize that different versions could give some error operating systems and browsers, so the slight difference between the two Apple A9 smartphones should not be confusing.
Now let's see how the iPhone SE performs in Geekbench 3 and AnTuTu 6 - multi-platform benchmarks. Unfortunately, we don’t have results for the iPhone 5s, because at the time we tested it, AnTuTu did not support iOS at all, and Geekbench was available in previous version. Therefore, you will have to be content with the results of the latest smartphones.
Here is a more strange result: the slight but still present superiority of the iPhone SE over the iPhone 6s Plus in Geekbench, as well as, on the contrary, the lag in AnTuTu, attracts attention.
The last group of benchmarks is dedicated to testing GPU performance. We used 3DMark, GFXBench Metal (in the case of the iPhone 5s, the results are from a simple GFXBench) and Basemark Metal.
Let us remind you that Offscreen tests involve displaying images in 1080p, regardless of the actual screen resolution. And Onscreen tests mean displaying a picture in the resolution that matches the device screen resolution. That is, Offscreen tests are indicative from the point of view of the abstract performance of the SoC, and Onscreen tests are indicative from the point of view of the comfort of the game on a specific device.
(Apple A9) |
Apple iPhone 6s Plus (Apple A9) |
Apple iPhone 5s (Apple A7) |
|
| GFXBenchmark Manhattan 3.1 (Onscreen) | 58.0 fps | 27.9 fps | — |
| GFXBenchmark Manhattan 3.1 (1080p Offscreen) | 25.9 fps | 28.0 fps | — |
| GFXBenchmark Manhattan (Onscreen) | 59.4 fps | 39.9 fps | — |
| GFXBenchmark Manhattan (1080p Offscreen) | 38.9 fps | 40.4 fps | — |
| GFXBenchmark T-Rex (Onscreen) | 59.7 fps | 59.7 fps | 25 fps |
| GFXBenchmark T-Rex (1080p Offscreen) | 74.1 fps | 81.0 fps | 27 fps |
As we can see, even the most resource-intensive 3D scenes do not cause any difficulties for the iPhone SE. Here, of course, the matter is not only in the SoC, but also in the low screen resolution. Hence the difference with the iPhone 6s Plus in Onscreen modes. Interestingly, in Offscreen mode, the larger model slightly outperforms the compact newcomer. But the user doesn't care about this. The main thing for him is that any games on the iPhone SE will simply fly.
Next test: 3DMark. Here we are interested in the Sling Shot Extreme and Ice Storm Unlimited subtests.
The significant superiority of the iPhone 6s Plus over the iPhone SE in the most difficult test, Sling Shot Extreme, looks rather strange. It would be logical to assume that the GPU of the cheaper iPhone operates at a reduced frequency. And this looks like a completely logical solution, since with a significantly lower screen resolution the load on the GPU becomes lower.
Finally - Basemark Metal.
And here is a similar picture, strengthening us in the assumption made above. But despite the slight loss to the iPhone 6s in points, the iPhone SE demonstrated a significantly higher number of frames per second during the test - from 38 to 45, while the iPhone 6s Plus barely jumped over the border of 30 fps. Therefore, even a game of this level will not be a problem for the iPhone SE.
One more thing to note: during testing in Basemark Metal, the iPhone SE got very hot. Below is a thermal image of the back surface obtained after two consecutive runs (about 10 minutes of work) of the Basemark Metal test:
It can be seen that the heating is localized in the upper right part of the device, which apparently corresponds to the location of the SoC chip. According to the heat chamber, the maximum heating was 44 degrees (at an ambient temperature of 24 degrees), this is already very noticeable.
In the same test, the iPhone 6s Plus showed significantly less heating (more precisely, it was localized in one place, so the smartphone can be held comfortably in your hands). Therefore, although iPhone performance SE is more than enough for any games, and will last for another two years, but playing really resource-intensive applications may not be entirely comfortable due to high heating.
Cameras
The main camera of the iPhone SE fully matches the parameters iPhone camera 6s. We decided to check whether the iPhone SE's photo capabilities are really as good as Apple's current flagship! The examination was carried out by Anton Soloviev.
Like the iPhone 6s, the iPhone SE can shoot 4K video. Moreover, the quality of daytime photography is very good. With night photography, things are, of course, worse, but still not completely terrible.
| Video | Sound | |
| Daytime shooting | 3840×2160, 29.97 fps, AVC MPEG-4 [email protected], 50.5 Mbit/s | AAC LC, 84 Kbps, mono |
| Night photography | 3840×2160, 29.97 fps, AVC MPEG-4 [email protected], 52.7 Mbit/s | AAC LC, 87 Kbps, mono |
Here is a still frame from the first video, shot during the day (a screenshot in original resolution is available by clicking). And you can even see the license plate number of a passing car, not to mention the details in the background!
As a minus, we note the lack of optical stabilization (it is still only available in the iPhone 6 Plus and iPhone 6s Plus), as well as the fact that the front camera of the iPhone SE has a resolution of only 1.2 megapixels and is of the same quality as the similar camera of the iPhone 5s.
Autonomous operation
Although the iPhone SE has a more capacious battery than the iPhone 5s, it is still inferior to the iPhone 6s and, especially, 6s Plus.
However, since the screen resolution of the iPhone SE is lower and the screen area is smaller, the duration battery life The iPhone SE is roughly identical to the iPhone 6s. That is, with fairly active everyday use, the device will have to be recharged every day; with moderately active use, there is a chance that by the end of the day there will still be some charge left.
conclusions
The iPhone SE is perhaps Apple's most boring smartphone, in both a good and a bad way. There is no innovation here - neither in terms of design, nor in terms of capabilities and hardware platform. In addition, there is nothing new here at all: it is simply a hybrid of previously released devices - the iPhone 5s and iPhone 6s. From the first they took the design, screen, fingerprint sensor and front camera, from the second - SoC, RAM, communication capabilities and the main camera. Well, they added a new color - Rose Gold.
However, for those who are not buying innovations, but a device for everyday use, the iPhone SE may turn out to be the best choice, which is predictable in a good way. In the sense that when buying this smartphone, you know exactly what you will get in the end. There are no pitfalls here, no surprises. The only thing that upset us a little was the overheating of the device in the most difficult 3D tests, but, in fairness, we note that these tests, in principle, would not have gone well on the iPhone 5s. So if you don’t want overheating, don’t load your iPhone SE with games of this level (although they don’t exist yet, benchmark developers are ahead of game makers).
And the main question that you need to answer for yourself before purchasing is: are you ready to use a smartphone with a small (by today’s standards) screen? Some will say: definitely not - let it at least be a super-flagship inside. Obviously, the iPhone SE is not suitable for these users. And someone will say: yes, I always dreamed of a compact flagship! It is precisely for such people that the iPhone SE is made. Considering that the price of the iPhone SE is 37,990 rubles for the 16-gigabyte version, while the iPhone 6s with the same amount of memory will cost 19,000 more (one and a half times the difference!), this offer seems really attractive. For comparison, the official Sony store sells the Xperia Z5 Compact for the same 37,990 rubles, despite the fact that its performance is lower, the screen is worse (see our testing), the design is less attractive (the body is noticeably thicker, the material used is plastic, not metal). So lovers of compact smartphones, and anyone who, in principle, is not against a small screen, should pay close attention to the iPhone SE.
In conclusion, we suggest watching our video review of the Apple iPhone SE smartphone:
If you want powerful smartphone, with advanced functionality, a small screen diagonal and great camera, then the choice is obvious - this is .
Its design and dimensions are completely identical to the compact iPhone 5S (the color beloved by many is now available - “rose gold”), but at the same time the technical characteristics are almost completely identical to the iPhone 6S model. CPU latest generation A9 is twice as powerful as the 5S, plus it has a built-in M9 coprocessor, which is responsible for collecting fitness data and operating the gyroscope, accelerometer, and digital compass. Any of the hundreds of thousands of games and applications available in the App Store work without freezing or slowdown. This is the most powerful compact smartphone at the moment. 32 GB of internal memory is allocated for storing user content.
New camera Apple iPhone SE 32 Gb Space Gray, also inherited from the 6S model. Main 12 MP iSight camera - shoots Live Photos, videos in 4K format (while recording which, you can also take a photo with a resolution of 8 MP), slow-motion video at up to 240 frames per second, makes panoramic shots with a resolution of 63 MP and much more . It is equipped with a digital stabilization system, autofocus, a five-element lens, a hybrid IR filter and other technologies that will allow you to get photos and videos of truly amazing quality. To unleash your creative potential, the iMovie video editor is installed. By using front camera you can make video calls to any other device that supports FaceTime and, of course, take selfies that can be immediately published on social networks.
The smartphone, like all recent Apple products, has a TouchID fingerprint sensor. It allows you to quickly unlock your device, pay for purchases in the App Store and eliminates the need to confirm your actions in applications by entering a password - just put your finger on it. Compact size Apple iPhone SE 32 Gb Space Gray, is achieved through the use Retina display, 4 inches diagonal. It has a resolution of 1136x640 pixels, with a density of 326 ppi. The screen is covered with an oleophobic coating, which protects it from fingerprints and allows the finger to glide more pleasantly and easily across its surface.
The smartphone is able to connect to points Wi-Fi access, which operate with a/b/g/n/ac standards, in the dual-frequency range, with a maximum speed of 433 Mbit/s. But access to the Internet at high speed (up to 150 Mbit/s) can also be obtained using mobile networks, thanks to 4G/LTE support. Bluetooth version 4.2 will allow you to easily connect wireless speakers, headphones or a headset. NFC supports the Apple Pay payment system. Used for navigation satellite systems GPS and GLONASS.
To many, the iPhone SE will seem very familiar. The phone received the chassis of the 5s model and became the 3rd generation of Apple smartphones, which used the same design. However, despite the external similarity inside, the model has undergone serious modernization. The processor frequency has increased to 1.85 GHz, the amount of RAM has doubled, and the camera resolution has increased to 12 megapixels.
Design
Even without photographs, the design of the SE 32GB smartphone is easy to imagine. In fact, it has not changed since 2012. Perhaps only about HTC One M7 you can say something similar.
From an aesthetic point of view, the chassis style of the iPhone 5, 5s and SE is still one of best solutions for smartphones. The flat edges, beveled edges, round volume buttons and antenna buds all look elegant and are considered by many to be better than the 6's built-in plastic antenna lines, oblong buttons and camera bump. On the other hand, the ergonomics of the phone have definitely improved. While the SE's flat surfaces and beveled edges give the device an elegant design, the rectangular shape doesn't fit well with the human hand.
Externally, almost nothing has changed in the iPhone SE 32GB smartphone. The dimensions remained the same, but the weight increased only by 1 g. Only 2 differences can be found. Firstly, the logos have disappeared from the rear panel, and secondly, the shiny bevel around the edge has been replaced by a matte finish that matches the rest of the chassis. In addition, there is a new color option - rose gold.
Such conservatism has its advantages and disadvantages, which often turn out to be sides of the same coin. For example, due to the fact that the manufacturer did not strive to make a relatively inexpensive model thinner, this left more space for the battery and eliminated the camera protrusion. Old design distinguished by a large frame width on the left and right side screen, and the black space between the white bezel and the actual display is significantly thicker than on newer models.
IPhone SE 32GB Gold became part of general trend don't change the design until the market is ready for it. In many respects, the change in design meant significant deficiencies that required new solutions. A good design is durable and requires only minor modifications to accommodate new features and continually reduce the thickness of the device.
Performance
As expected, the iPhone SE 32GB's performance matches that of the 6s. Compared to the 5s, the improvement was significant, roughly doubling the performance of its predecessor: the phone scores 2,038 in the 3DMark Sling Shot Extreme Unlimited test.
NAND memory also performs no worse than that of the iPhone 6. Reading data in random order is faster (27 versus 23.33 MB/s), and writing is almost equal (2.21 versus 2.22 MB/s). Sequential reads are slightly worse (378.36 and 404.39 MB/s), but writes are the same (165.33 and 165.55 MB/s). Minor differences can be attributed to testing variance and we can confidently say that the SE memory performance corresponds to the 6s model.
iPhone SE 32GB: battery review
The smartphone copes very well with the web surfing test over a Wi-Fi connection. When Apple announced that SE had a large web resource to work with offline mode than the 6s and 6s Plus, some were surprised, although in fact this is a natural result. The SE features a much smaller, lower-resolution LCD display than other models, which has significantly reduced its overall power consumption. The increase in battery capacity over the 5s also helps improve battery life. According to Apple, smartphone iPhone The SE 32GB can last 2 hours longer than the 6th model, and users confirm this. Web surfing over a Wi-Fi connection can last 9 hours 16 minutes.
LTE connection lasts 3 hours longer than the 6s and is a couple of hours slower than the previous test.
4-inch models always showed low results in the GFXBench test. Here the SE demonstrates the shortest battery life - only 1.46 hours. The phone is, of course, better than the 5s, even though its results in this test are half an hour less, since by the end of the test the iPhone SE shows 6 times increased performance due to greater thermal regulation of the A7 processor.
Charging time
Similar to the iPhone 6s Plus, the SE comes with a 5-watt charger. Such low power would be problematic for a large model, but for a small capacity battery it is quite sufficient. SE charging time from 0 to 100% is 1 hour 40 minutes.
Screen
The display provides greatest benefits model, but not because of its characteristics. The iPhone SE 32GB replaces the 5th model with the same 4-inch IPS screen with a resolution of 1136 x 640. While we can't confirm that the panel remains the same, we can confirm that they are quite similar.
Apple rates the brightness of its displays at 500 nits. SE reaches 598 nits at peak brightness. This is more than the iPhone 6 and 6s, which have higher specifications.
The black level at maximum brightness is quite high (0.69 nits). Part of this is due to the screen's bright backlight, but ultimately, even with high peak brightness, contrast lags well behind other phones, and even compared to the 5s it's quite low. It's important to note that Apple rarely uses displays with an 800:1 contrast ratio, but if you put the phone side-by-side with modern IPS panels on smartphones like the iPhone 6 and LG G4, black looks like a dark gray.
The phone screen reproduces shades of gray very accurately. As usual, there is a blue shift, but it is small and the average color temperature is below 7000 K. The gamma is fairly straight and there are no grayscales at the end with DeltaE > 3, which is what is generally required. With an average DeltaE = 1.87, there is nothing to be desired.
Color reproduction on the iPhone SE 32GB is highly accurate. For many edema DeltaE< 1, т. е. ошибка незаметна, даже если эталонный цвет положить рядом. В крайнем случае достигается насыщенность с DeltaE = 2, что весьма впечатляет. В среднем DeltaE = 1,24, и здесь улучшать практически нечего.
Given that color mixture accuracy is only a function of saturation accuracy and gray scale accuracy, it is not surprising that the iPhone SE shows good results. There are no errors with DeltaE > 3, and, in general, most of them are in the range between 1 and 2.
In general, the IPS display of the iPhone SE 32GB is praised by reviews. 1136 x 640 isn't the highest resolution on the market, but Apple does offer best-in-class color accuracy, and the 326 dpi density is high enough that no extra anti-aliasing is needed.
Camera
Like the iPhone 6, the SE has a 12MP 1/3" sensor and an f/2.2 aperture lens. The A9 chipset includes the same ISP processor, so theoretically the photos should be identical. This is a huge improvement over the 5s, which used Apple's first 1/3" sensor with 8 MP resolution. The upgrade to a higher-resolution sensor allows for UHD video recording, and the new ISP offers 1080p 120fps slow-motion video and Live Photos. The photo and video results for the SE and iPhone 6 are the same.
Image quality
According to reviews, the iPhone SE 32GB allows you to get good photos. They are noticeably sharper than frames taken on the 5s, which is due to the combination of more high resolution sensor and image processor improvements. As expected, due to the same camera and ISP, the image quality is essentially the same as the 6s and definitely the best among phones under $400.
Night shots are identical to those of the 6s. But iPhone price SE 32GB is $250 less. The quality of daytime photos is good, but in low light it is inferior to the 6s Plus due to the smaller sensor and lack of image stabilization. It's clear that camera quality has been sacrificed for the lower cost. But the SE has the best image sensor in its price range.
iPhone SE 32GB: 4-inch design review
The Android world has long abandoned 4" smartphones. While Apple was still using 3.5", competitors' phones were moving to 4", 4.3", 4.5", etc. Nowadays, the standard flagship Android phone has a display size of more than 5 inches, and 4. A 5" screen is considered tiny. Of course, there are other factors related to the size of the device, such as whether there are physical or on-screen buttons and how big the panel is, but the screen diagonal still defines the window boundaries on the web and in all apps.
When going from 5” to 4” the smartphone really does seem small. After some getting used to, you can enjoy using the phone with one hand. The 4-inch screen is much easier to use with one hand, without the fear of dropping your smartphone or shifting your hand to reach the top left area of the display.
On the other hand, the 4” screen feels quite cramped, even after getting used to its small size. With the default settings, the information density is absolutely ridiculous and it is almost impossible to use the phone without setting the font to a minimum. Therefore, users who need larger letters due to poor vision should immediately exclude the iPhone SE if they do not want to constantly scroll. Even after the changes, the display cannot accommodate everything you need. There are one fewer line of shortcuts on the home screen, fewer emails are shown in the Mail app, and no avatars in the messaging app. Similar shortcuts are repeated in other Apple and third-party apps. Programs like Control Center only fit half of an entire iPhone 6s page.
All of these changes are just a function of display size, and while they seem obvious, it's hard to know to what extent they change the experience of using the phone.
The Last of the Mohicans
By far, the iPhone SE 32GB specs are the best among 4-inch smartphones, and you can ignore all the specs since it is the only offering in this size. Android makers have given up on making small phones, and most haven't released a top-tier model of this size in several years. By 2012, the emphasis was on 4.5" and larger, and in late 2011 Samsung introduced 5.3" Galaxy Note. The idea of a compact Android phone is something similar to the Xperia Z5 with a 4.6” screen, which is slightly smaller than the iPhone 6s display. Downsizing further means moving towards cheaper smartphones like the Moto E, but that's a completely different part of the market.
Advantages and disadvantages
Compared to the smallest modern phones high class on Android platform, it is easy to see that the characteristics of the iPhone SE 32GB put it in first place. The Apple A9 is still one of the fastest chips out there, and it goes without saying that the Snapdragon 810 in the Compact can't compare. According to reviews, the camera is also unrivaled in phones of this class. It's not up to par with the flagships, but using the 6's sensor allows for some truly beautiful photos and the best 4K video you can get on a phone.
The iPhone SE 32GB Black's 4-inch IPS display is perfectly calibrated and has enough resolution to avoid anti-aliasing, although it's certainly not as sharp as many Android smartphones. According to user reviews, the main drawback of the screen is low contrast and high level black brightness, which is noticeable in use when compared to more modern phones or any AMOLED panel. The screen is probably one of the SE's weak points, although overall it's a good IPS display.
Conclusion
The fact that the design of the phone has not changed since the iPhone 5s, according to the owners, is not its drawback. The design is reliable and there is no reason to arbitrarily modify the product in each generation. The SE was a necessary update to Apple's 4-inch model, considering it's been over 2 years since its introduction. The fact that the user gets the same camera performance and display calibration as the 6s is quite attractive considering the device costs $250 less. Battery life is better or worse depending on the situation than the 6s, but it's definitely improved over the 5s. Faster LTE and much faster Wi-Fi connections are also welcome changes, as is Apple Pay. It would have been difficult for the manufacturer to include anything else without cutting into its margins, and it would have raised questions about why the 6s was so much more expensive.
Some owners who have used the SE on a daily basis have reported that they are looking to upgrade to models like the Nexus 5X and iPhone 6s because the small display doesn't suit them well. But the fact that Apple sells 32 million 4" devices a year suggests there is a lot of demand for a small phone with high performance. Moreover, after the announcement of the 8th model, the price of the iPhone SE 32GB dropped to $349.