Everything You Need to Know Before Buying a New IPhone SE
Yesterday, during Apple’s big “Peek Performance” event, the company unveiled a number of new products and chips coming this year . One of them was the third-generation iPhone SE, offering buyers the core features of the iPhone at a reasonable price. What could be better? Well, a phone, for example. That’s good, but it’s not quite the dream device I’d like to see.
First, let’s talk about what the 2022 iPhone SE is . Since the original SE was released in 2016, this product line has served as a kind of entry/budget iPhone—a cheaper, but not cheap, alternative to more expensive flagship models. When you buy an SE, you can expect to use most of the modern iPhone features, especially on the software side, even if the hardware lacks the latest bells and whistles and widescreen lenses. The cuts made to keep the cost down may be a concern for some users, but many others prefer to save money.
This year, Apple is updating the SE with the same A15 Bionic chip found in the iPhone 13 lineup and adding 5G connectivity. These two major upgrades mean the SE is fast and will last you a long time. But it would be wrong to look only at the positives before buying, so let’s run through what Apple is skimping on to make the SE 3 the cheapest iPhone on offer.
The look of the SE is straight out of 2017.
While there are certainly improvements in the SE 3, there is nothing special about the overall design. Apple has kept the form factor largely identical to the 2020 iPhone SE, which in turn is an almost exact copy of the 2017 iPhone 8. If you were to put three phones in a row, it would be difficult for you to know which one was built in this decade.
However, the “outdated” design will not be unpleasant for everyone. To be honest, I love it: the giant top and bottom bezels, combined with the home button, make the iPhone look classic, and there’s a lot to be said for the Touch ID functionality.
It’s more expensive, but not by much.
That’s right: The SE, which sat comfortably at $399, is now more expensive than ever. $429 is the new entry fee for this “budget” iPhone. While this price tag doesn’t necessarily roll off the keyboard like $399, it’s still a pretty solid deal given the phone’s feature set and forward-thinking chipset.
The camera is better, but definitely not the best.
The 2020 SE featured the acclaimed iPhone 8 camera as well as some improvements from the A13 Bionic chip. It took good photos but couldn’t compete with the iPhone 12 line released that same year.
Apple has improved the rear camera on the new SE, adding modern features like Smart HDR 4 and photographic styles. In addition, the ultra-fast A15 chip helps improve photo quality through software settings, so your photos on the SE 3 will definitely have an edge over those taken on the SE 2.
However, this device still only has one camera, and it doesn’t offer the same accuracy as on the iPhone 13. Apple hasn’t even touched the front camera, which means selfies will look exactly like them. did two years ago. That means no 4K selfie videos and no portrait selfies.
I could forgive all this if not for the lack of a night mode. Apple, why is there no night mode on the new SE? It runs on an A15 chip and the camera hardware is definitely good enough. I doubt anyone is going to pay nearly $300 more for an iPhone 13 solely for night mode, so why not add it in a future software update? You know what you want.
SE is not the strongest iPhone
With each new iteration, Apple likes to brag about how “powerful” its smartphones are. Glass is only getting stronger on flagship devices with Ceramic Shield, “the toughest glass in a smartphone.” However, Apple chose not to include this glass technology on the SE, which likely means the phone is more prone to cracking and shattering.
In addition, the device has an IP67 rating against dust and water. While this should protect the SE from accidentally spilling or walking in the rain, it’s not the best protection offered by more expensive designs that are IP68 rated. You should n’t actually submerge your iPhone in water, but you do need to be especially careful not to drown your new SE.
By default, it only includes 64 GB of memory.
I’m grateful that I no longer live in a world where the iPhone came with 16GB of storage by default. But in 2022, 64 GB is still not enough. iPhone 13 and 13 mini start at 128GB! I get it, SE is a “cheap” iPhone. But given that you’re stuck with the storage you buy for the life of the iPhone, it would be nice to see more on offer in the base model.
Lack of MagSafe support
MagSafe is a fun technology that allows you to attach chargers and accessories to the back of your iPhone using magnets. Unfortunately, the new SE doesn’t support MagSafe, so your accessories won’t stick (by themselves anyway). If you have a MagSafe charger, you can use it with the SE, but only as a standard wireless charger.
Battery life won’t win any awards
One of the few (but larger) complaints about the 2020 SE was battery life. Thirteen hours of video (eight if this video was streamed) and 40 hours of audio playback does not provide the most practical battery usage.
This year, Apple improved things by increasing those specs to 15, 10, and 50 hours, respectively. However, the battery still won’t last as long as the iPhone 13, which lasts 17, 13, and 55 hours, respectively.
The new iPhone SE is still more than worth it
Despite its faults and shortcomings, the iPhone SE is an incredible deal. You get the latest and greatest Apple A15 Bionic chip (ensuring software support for years to come), 5G connectivity, and a solid rear camera, among other essential iPhone features, for $429.
Many of us find it hard to turn down the brilliant promises of OLED displays, Face ID, and more powerful front and rear cameras. But there are a lot more people out there who don’t care about these things, and this iPhone does everything they need to and more . As much as I crave the latest and greatest tech, if my current iPhone were to go to dust today, the SE would be at the top of my list.
This article was edited on Wednesday, March 9th to adjust storage prices on SE.
[ 9to5Mac ]