Why the New IPhone SE Costs an Extra $29
Apple updated the iPhone SE for the third time at the Peek Performance event . It looks the same on the outside, but like many things in life, it’s what’s on the inside that matters.
How is the new iPhone SE different?
Apple has essentially added the iPhone 13 to the iPhone SE and all they charge for it is $429. Sure, it’s the body of an old iPhone 8 with a physical home button, 720p screen, and a single camera on the back – it’s about as far away from a flagship with an edge-to-edge display as you can imagine – but we’re glad Apple has updated iPhone SE.
Our editor Jake Peterson already covered the little things about the iPhone SE that Apple didn’t mention at the event, so here we’ll focus on why we consider the iPhone SE a budget smartphone to buy, even at the new $429 starting price. .
iPhone SE comes with 5G
It may seem trivial now, but it will play a huge role in the coming years: The iPhone SE comes with 5G (not mmWave, but below 6GHz, which means no gigabit downloads). In 2022, US carriers are already phasing out 3G networks, and in the next couple of years it will be 4G’s turn.
The iPhone SE is not a phone that users buy and upgrade after a year or two; This is usually a phone that stays for four or five years, maybe longer, so this feature really comes in handy at the end of the cycle. So even though the iPhone SE costs $30 more and you can find an older 2020 iPhone SE for less, we recommend buying the 2022 model just because of 5G.
iPhone SE has a better processor
Apple has put the processor from its $799 flagship iPhone 13 into the iPhone SE. A15 Bionic is a processor with 6 codes, two performance cores and four efficiency cores. Plus 4-core GPU and 16-core Neural Engine.
This basically means you have more than enough power for high-end gaming and applications will launch in an instant. The old iPhone SE is no fool, and with this processor, the new iPhone SE will work without delay for years to come. Also, it’s more about the capabilities of this processor, and this is a computational photo, our next item.
iPhone SE has better camera specs
The iPhone SE comes with a single 12MP sensor on the back, which is rare because budget Android smartphones have three or four cameras on the back. But it’s better to have one great camera than four mediocre ones.
A similar story with the chip, Apple has added physical sensor and computing capabilities from a flagship smartphone. This means you get access to technologies like Smart HDR 4 and Deep Fusion that work behind the scenes to enhance your photos.
But the best thing might be adding photographic styles. This feature allows you to change the look of photos to make them warmer or colder, and you can make it the default so you can click photos as if they came from a Pixel or Samsung smartphone . However, not all features of the iPhone 13 are available here – there is no night mode and no cinematic mode.
You must receive security and feature updates for 5+ years.
In 2021, the iPhone 6s Plus, a six-year-old device, received an update to the latest version of iOS 15. The fact that the iPhone SE has the processor from the iPhone 13 means that it will continue to receive major iOS updates. at least more than five years. And you’ll get security updates for even longer. For budget smartphones, this is unprecedented. In the land of budget Android smartphones, you’ll be lucky to get updates for two years, let alone six.
The iPhone SE has slightly better battery life.
One issue with the 2020 iPhone SE has been battery life, and it looks like Apple has listened to the complaints. Since reviews haven’t been published yet, we don’t know the real impact, but you do get slightly better battery life, according to Apple. Video playback up to 15 hours out of 13; streaming video up to 10 hours out of eight; and audio playback up to 50 hours out of 40.
iPhone SE has a stronger frame
Unfortunately, the iPhone SE doesn’t have a ceramic screen – it’s still reserved for the iPhone 13 Pro – but according to Apple, the iPhone SE has a more durable body. Apple claims it has “the most durable glass in a smartphone” on both the front and back, but then again, we won’t know more about these claims until the iPhone SE is released and tested.
However, progress is progress, and we’re glad the iPhone SE is covered in stronger glass. Plus, the iPhone SE is still IP67 rated, which means it’s splash, water, and dust resistant. It can survive at a depth of one meter for up to 30 minutes.
And while the colors are broadly the same — black, white, and red — Apple has tweaked them a bit to look more like the iPhone 13.
The iPhone SE has a Home button and Touch ID.
All said and done, the iPhone SE is the home button and Touch ID. While this comes at the cost of larger bezels, that alone can cost an extra $29 for the 64GB model. If you don’t like the iPhone 13’s gesture interface, the iPhone SE still has a physical home button and will continue to do so for years to come.