The iPhone SE is the ideal smartphone
I wish I was an iPhone SE person. Since its re-launch in 2020, the iPhone’s entry model has evolved from yes to residue-era shapes and has become a prime example of the smartphone’s “what it wants and nothing more”.
While Apple has retained the smaller 4.7 ”screen and Touch ID authentication system, it has aggressively enhanced the internals of the SE models – making them incredibly efficient per dollar. The 2022 model runs on the A15 bionic chip, which also powers the iPhone 13 Pro on top of it. This is not a part-bin iPhone from a core computing standpoint.
Instead the approach here is to trim the technology in the display section – the Retina HD screen looks great but any iPhone 13 Pro user will immediately notice the lack of Apple’s 120hz promotion display – and the camera. Instead of a triple camera system you will get a single rear camera with 12MP wide-angle lens enabled but not comparable. Before the multi-camera smartphone race started with the iPhone 8 Plus, we were all used to it.
The original iPhone SE, if you recall, was positioned as the “special version” of the iPhone that brought the iPhone 5 back to styling and small size in one last buzz. Since then, the world has come a long way from small phones, but there is still a segment of people who prefer the 4.7 ″ form factor for usable or unneeded reasons. Like last year’s device, I found that 4.7 ते remains the lower limit on which I now type comfortably.
You won’t find a leader for night mode, no ultra wide or tele lens, no cinematic mode and no Dolby Vision. You will find a simple camera that still captures one of the best smartphone images out there. Although the width of this iPhone SE is the same as the functionality of the 2020 version, you will be enhanced by the ISP and A15’s neural engine, which includes better performance in low-light, improved HDR, photographic style portrait mode, portrait lighting. And Deep Fusion – many of these are the first in SE’s 7MP front camera.
This is a very solid camera, especially for those who see the iPhone as the most convenient memory maker rather than a photographic tool. Lack of night mode in static images is probably the biggest problem otherwise there is a fully serviceable small camera system.
Your ability to capture images without flash doesn’t compare to the incredible capabilities of the Mutli-Lens Night-Mode-enabled iPhone 13 lineup, when daylight or well-lit interior images look just like casual users.
As far as I can tell, Apple has not throttled the performance of the A15, at least from a benchmark or practical point of view. This phone will feel as fast as iPhone 13 for any daily driver type activities.
The casing is also pleasantly thin and light in such a way that there is no longer a high-end phone. They are all like jewelry in their density, sharp edges and texture. The iPhone SE is a slender, sand-blasted spherical glasspill. It is very enjoyable to hold and use and does not ask much from you. It is to serve and to disappear, not to be present.
I still have issues with Touch ID from my review of the 2020 SE that changes the way you communicate with the phone. After many years of use of top-end iPhone models, I prefer seamless swipe mechanics and paradigms. I know a lot of people don’t care and they’re fine with wrong-button-push haptics and thumb-oth. It’s a compromise that stays between the two decent options, instead of the “good” and the “terrible”.
At $ 429, the price has jumped slightly over the previous SE, but is still the most affordable in the iPhone lineup. You can buy a low priced phone, but there are several factors that make SE the best budget option in the smartphone market. First, Apple has given this device an equally powerful chip in its high-end phones. Second, the company has shown a serious commitment to support its devices with safety, feature and quality of life updates for almost five years after its release – an unusual role in the wider industry. And third, despite the lack of some high-end features, the design and materials used still feel very premium.
Like the Flying Economy, I think people have a habit of behaving like dirt if they don’t choose the most expensive option. The iPhone SE is a rare situation where just choosing an option from point A to point B does not mean that you have to live with disrespect.
After using this phone for a few days, I wish I was a person of iPhone SE. Unfortunately, I’m obsessed with the sophisticated advances in high-end equipment screen and camera technology to keep me satisfied with anything other than the “latest”.
