iPhone SE 2020 test: Apple makes new out of old

The iPhone SE 2020 is an interesting choice from Apple, which offers this smartphone for less than 500 €. While prices have soared in recent years on the high end, the Apple brand offers an iOS alternative… to all mid-range Android smartphones. And, even if it is very far from perfect, the iPhone SE is on track to be a real commercial success.

iPhone SE 2020 review on video

Can’t wait to find out all the details of the iPhone SE test? After a few days of intensive testing, we finally prepared a comprehensive video to help you know everything in just a few minutes. If you liked the video, do not hesitate to join the Lemon Squeezer community on YouTube by subscribing directly here:

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Design, screen and hardware

To begin this test of the iPhone SE 2020, there are few surprises in terms of the design of this smartphone: Apple is making new with (very) old. We find on this iPhone the same chassis as on the iPhone 8, and on previous models. On the one hand, I liked finding this compact format but the 4.7″ screen is simply too small for my use of a smartphone.

What is unfortunate is that with fashionable contours, Apple could have offered a much larger panel, as Samsung did with its Galaxy S10e. This screen is also the same as on the iPhone 8, namely a Retina LCD panel, the main defect of which is the lack of brightness in direct sunlight.

The iPhone SE comes in three colors – white, black and red – and all the edges are black unlike the red models of the past. In terms of storage, you have the choice between 64 GB, 128 GB and 256 GB, with a public price set at €489 for the smallest model. For my test of the iPhone SE 2020, I took over the RED version, which donates part of the profits to an association that fights against AIDS. Here are the current best iPhone SE prices:

Specificity of this iPhone SE, the return of the Touch ID sensor that Apple had nevertheless decided to abandon several months ago. It’s quite funny to switch from an iPhone 11 (or a premium Android model) to this iPhone SE, as I’m used to more contemporary gestures (swipe…). Pressing the button is no longer a reflex at all, it took me a good day of adaptation to find all my bearings. That said, someone migrating from an older smartphone with a button to the iPhone SE 2020 will have no trouble adapting.

If the front part of the smartphone is quite disappointing, this iPhone SE still offers beautiful finishes – and we recognize Apple’s know-how. If you had an iPhone XR, the RED model of the iPhone SE has a different tint that veers slightly towards pink. The Lightning port is still there, and Apple provides Lightning Earpods in the box but no lightning/jack adapters, which is a bit of a shame.

iPhone SE 2020 performance: an overpowered A13 chip

A very positive point, this iPhone SE is Wi-Fi 6 compatible, which allows it to access much faster networks, which are beginning to be deployed by ISPs and router manufacturers. The iPhone SE is also dual SIM with the NanoSIM/eSIM combination. This is a strong point if you want to have a pro line and a personal line on the same phone. For my iPhone SE 2020 review, that’s a bonus.

The compact size will delight more than one © Presse-citron.net

I finish my test with the greatest strength of this iPhone SE at the hardware level: the integration of the A13 chip which makes it an overpowered smartphone. You have access to a smartphone whose performance has nothing to envy to the latest iPhone 11, which outclasses the rivals at the SoC level. Finally, all that’s missing is a 5G version to be sure of leaving for 4 years with a smartphone that will always be up to date at the technical level.

A simple summary of my iPhone SE review: it’s an iPhone 8 with the raw power of an iPhone 11 Pro, but you already knew that.

iOS 13, a pleasure for its users

I will not redo a complete presentation of iOS 13 that I had already mentioned at length in the test of the iPhone 11 Pro. I found in this test of the iPhone SE all the advantages of the ecosystem and the fluidity of iOS 13.

However, there are slight differences in the OS with that of the iPhone 11 (and the X, Xr, Xs range). The presence of the Touch ID button logically means an absence of facial recognition with the Face ID sensor. The presence of the physical Home button also takes the place of gestures to which recent smartphone users are accustomed.

The return of Touch ID © Presse-citron.net

For example, on an iPhone 11, a bottom-up swipe closes apps (or it opens the recent apps list). On the iPhone SE 2020, this swipe opens the control center. It is therefore necessary to take the double-click reflex to navigate in recent applications.

I find it a bit of a shame that Apple did not leave the choice on this point, the side swipe gestures to switch from app to app being very practical. That said, if you’re switching from an older phone to this iPhone SE 2020, you’ll have no trouble taming it.

For everything else, this iPhone SE can do everything that the iPhone 11 do at the software level, and this is obviously one of the main advantages of this model.

Update December 30, 2022: software support remains exceptional at Apple. The smartphone is, at the time of this writing, indeed compatible with the latest version of the mobile operating software available, iOS 16. Everything indicates that it will also be compatible with a few other major iOS versions.

The smartphone’s A13 Bionic chip is indeed very powerful, and to date Apple supports software updates for its smartphones for 6 years. The 1st generation iPhone SE model launched with iOS 9.3 in 2016 received the iOS 15.7.2 update on December 13, 2022. It won’t get iOS 16, but still got 6 major updates, which shows how you can keep your iPhone SE 2020 for a long time, even if you buy it in 2023.

iPhone SE 2020 camera

The photo part has evolved enormously at the software level since the arrival of Google’s Pixel 3, then the iPhone XR. The manufacturers have shown that it is not enough to multiply the sensors and the megapixels to be able to capture excellent quality shots.

On this iPhone SE, Apple reuses the sensor of the iPhone 8 which was already a reuse of previous models. Thanks to the A13 chip, the shots in good conditions are much better, and you will be able to capture photos that have nothing to envy to the top of the range. Image processing avoids pixels. That said, in a dark environment, Apple remains a step behind its competitors. It is also an advantage of iOS, the trigger speed is a joy.

The rear sensor © Presse-citron.net

But the software is not everything either, and as soon as the conditions deteriorate, so does the quality. If the portrait mode is very well managed by the front and rear sensors, the other characteristics (night mode, zoom, ultra wide-angle) are absent.

In low light conditions, the shots are not good, and do not think you can use night mode, which is simply absent, so you will have to rely on … flash. Old. If the iPhone 11 do better, it remains a notch below some other photophones, like the Pixel 4 or the Huawei P40 Pro.

On the video part, Apple hits hard, with very good quality, stabilization, and the possibility of going up to 4K definition in 60 frames per second. I found one flaw with the video, and that was poor white balance management as you can see in our iPhone SE test video on YouTube. That said, for that price, you shouldn’t ask too much either.

The iPhone SE is therefore much better than the iPhone 8 on the photo/video part, and its sensor does not disappoint. On the rest, it is still far from the iPhone 11 Pro, and from certain models at the same price on Android, such as the Xiaomi Mi 10 Pro, and the Pixel 4. I pass in this test of the iPhone SE now at a critical point at Apple: the battery.

Autonomy: the weak point

For two years, Apple has made real efforts to improve the autonomy of its devices. The difference between iPhone X and iPhone XS was noticeable, and the iPhone 11/11 Pro are even better. On this iPhone SE 2020, the low capacity (estimated at 1,821 mAh) is felt in use.

It is certainly more enduring than the iPhone 8 (probably thanks to the optimization provided by the A13 chip) but you will never last more than a day in standard use. So keep your charger with you “just in case”.

In the box, a charger… 5W! © Presse-citron.net

Positive point of my test, this iPhone SE 2020 is compatible with 18W fast charging and wireless charging. You can therefore in a few tens of minutes recover half of the battery. It’s a very good thing, but it would have been even more interesting if Apple hadn’t just delivered its aging block of… 5W in the box. It will therefore be necessary to go back to the checkout to buy a charger-cable combo from Apple sold respectively 35€ and 25€. Uncool.

My opinion after this test of the iPhone SE

In the end, it’s all about the target, and I think this iPhone SE has everything to be a real hit. I would have liked more endurance and more up-to-date curbs, but it’s a choice made by the manufacturer. By attacking the segment of smartphones under €500, Apple will respond to a colossal demand from existing customers – but also from those who have always wanted an iPhone – who have never wanted to exceed a certain budget.

The iPhone SE 2020 that I tested has all the advantages of an iPhone: it is powerful, iOS 13 is a delight (in 2023 it is entitled to iOS 16 and should benefit from 3 or 4 major updates following) and the ecosystem too. The photo processing is not the best on the market but it is possible to capture excellent shots in a bright environment. In my eyes, the two weak points of this iPhone SE 2020 are the screen and the autonomy. The design is not the most contemporary, but Apple perfectly masters the finishes to make a product very clean on him.

If you’re switching from an iPhone that predates iPhone X and wondering if it’s worth switching to that first iPhone in 2020, the answer is yes. And while it’s not perfect, the iPhone SE is one of the very best smartphones under $500. Moreover, it also deserves its place in our comparison of the best iPhones of the moment.

And you, what is your opinion after testing the iPhone SE 2020?