Hands on: iPhone SE (2022) Review
Trusted Reviews
Founded in 2003, Trusted Reviews exists to give our readers thorough, unbiased and independent advice on what to buy
First Impressions
Key Features
Introduction
The iPhone SE 2022 is Apple’s most affordable?5G?device, and it comes packing some of the same tech you’ll find in the far more expensive?iPhone 13 Pro.
This is a phone aimed at those who are still using a previous gen’?iPhone SE, or an?iPhone 8?and it offers notable upgrades on both in many areas.
With an?A15 Bionic?chipset, many of the camera software features that make the?iPhone 13 Pro Max?one of the?best camera phones?and handy extras like wireless charging and water resistance, the iPhone SE 2022 could be seen as a bargain.
But does an old design and cramped display hamper the experience? Let’s have a deeper look and see.
Design and Screen
Let’s get the elephant in the room out of the way first. Comfortably the most disappointing aspect of this phone is the display. At 4.7-inches it’s small and I find it very cramped when using the on-screen keyboard. I know people like smaller phones, but for me this is just one step too far.
Image Credit (Trusted Reviews)
It’s also a fairy mundane panel. There’s no?OLED, no fast refresh rate for smoother scrolling and chunky bezels surround it. Watching videos on it isn’t a great experience and while it gets bright enough to combat a sunny day, there’s nothing standout about it. Other phones in this price range have OLED screens for deeper and richer colours. Many also have 90 or 120Hz tech. The screen is the biggest area where the iPhone SE 2022 could have been so much more.
The design of the iPhone SE 2022 probably needs little explanation. I’m sure everyone reading this is familiar with the look of this device as its been around, in one form or another, since 2014 and the?iPhone 6. That’s not far off a decade ago.
Image Credit (Trusted Reviews)
I’ll run through the good stuff first. The iPhone SE 2022 is fantastically well built and finished to the same standard as Apple’s other higher-end phones. There’s tougher glass on the front and back (no Ceramic Shield though) and handy extras like the mute toggle and an?IP67?rating. Water resistance is often ditched at the price so it’s great to see it remain.
The physical home button is a quick and effective way of unlocking and there’s something reassuring about it. It feels old fashioned as I have spent so long with Apple’s more modern devices, but if you’re coming from an iPhone 6 to an iPhone 8 or an older SE and you like the button then you’ll be glad it remains.
Image Credit (Trusted Reviews)
I think the size of this phone will be a pro to some and a dealbreaker for others. Next to the?iPhone 13 Pro Max?it looks comically tiny; dwarfed by the 6.7-inch screen on the Max model. I know many people who love smaller devices that can be comfortably held in one hand and this device is catering to them. I would still say the?iPhone 13 Mini?is a better overall size though, as it avoids the cramped display issues of the SE 2022.
Camera
The single 12-megapixel camera on the back of the iPhone SE 2022 takes really nice pictures in daylight situations. In a well-lit environment, the difference between snaps taken with this and with an?iPhone 13?are, when viewed on the phone screen, minimal. Along with the?Pixel 4a, these are easily the two best main cameras at this price.
In terms of hardware, the iPhone SE 2022 is using basically the same sensor as the older model. Where the updates come are in the software and image processing, and these are because of the A15 Bionic chipset.
领英推荐
Image Credit (Trusted Reviews)
The skills of the A15 Bionic and its neural engine allow for both?Deep Fusion?and?Smart HDR?4, two software features that really help pictures.?Deep Fusion?works in weaker lightning, helping to bring out more detail. Smart HDR 4 focuses on dynamic range and really helps add more pop to photos. There’s also the Photography Styles feature from the iPhone 13, which alters an image’s profile allowing for it to be cooler or more vibrant.
The big missing feature here is any sort of dedicated Night Mode. The iPhone SE 2022 shoots the same in daylight as at night and it can’t automatically jump into a dedicated mode to boost brightness. While using the iPhone SE 2022 I was at a gig and it just couldn’t handle the tough lighting conditions very well, pulling out a rather dark and lacking image. The iPhone 13, on the other hand, impresses very much in this particular area.
The 7-megapixel selfie camera is also in need of a freshen up. Snaps here are a bit dim and lacking in detail.
The lack of any secondary sensors might also put some people off. Not having a zoom (aside from the digital option) is restrictive, while the lack of an ultrawide does limit creativity somewhat.
Performance
The iPhone SE 2022’s biggest upgrades are on the inside. While the design feels tired, the internals are bleeding edge and in some ways not far off what’s powering the iPhone 13 Pro Max.
But it’s not just the benefits of speed boosts and better gaming performance having a high-end chip brings. Arguably the biggest upgrade is longevity and how long this phone will be supported. Buy the iPhone SE 2022 now, and I wouldn’t surprised to see it pick up iOS updates for five, six or seven years at least. The original iPhone SE, for example, was released in 2016 and that is still supported.
Long software support, both for security patches and new feature updates, isn’t something you’ll really find on Android phones at this price. Pick up a Motorola, Realme or Xiaomi device and you’ll be lucky to get two years of updates. I see the iPhone SE 2022 as a phone that’ll last and that could be a real reason to choose this over some of the competition.
The actual chipset used here is the A15 Bionic – the current flagship mobile chip in Apple’s arsenal and the grunt of the iPhone 13 series. It’s the fastest mobile silicon around, outshining the?Snapdragon 8 Gen 1?in benchmarks and flying through anything thrown at it. To have that power in a phone that not only costs less than ￡500/$500, but one that’s also this small is incredibly rare.
In the Geekbench 5 test – a synthetic all-around performance benchmarking tool – the iPhone SE 2022 matches the scores of the iPhone 13 Pro and beats the?Galaxy S22 Ultra. Two phones that cost more than double its price.
Benchmarks don’t mean everything, and in real-world use the iPhone SE 2022 shines. The dinky display means I can’t see this being a favourite of mobile gamers, but the punch is there to easily play top titles like Genshin Impact and Asphalt 9 – if you wish. I have liked having the power in a small form-factor for photo editing in Lightroom too.
Apple never mentions the amount of RAM inside its phones, but the iPhone SE 2022 has an extra 1GB when compared to the older model. The 4GB at play here should again help with that longevity aspect and, of course, ensure apps stay in memory longer.
This is the cheapest Apple phone to get support for 5G thanks to the Qualcomm modem inside. Unlike the iPhone 13 series there’s no mmWave 5G, so if you’re in the USA or other locations where that even faster 5G tech is live then that’s something to note. I wouldn’t update to this phone purely for 5G, even though I am starting to notice its benefits more, but it’ll be a nice feature to have a few years down the line. Again, it all feeds into this idea the iPhone SE 2022 will last a long time.
Image Credit (Trusted Reviews)
I’ve not spent enough time with the phone to offer any final judgements on its battery life out so my full thoughts on the endurance will come in our full review. First impressions are mixed though, even if it feels like a notable upgrade over the iPhone SE 2020. There’s a physically larger battery inside and the more efficient chipset is also there to help eke more juice out.
After a few days of use I have noticed a few things about the battery life. When you’re not using the phone it barely drops at all – leaving it unplugged overnight saw a mere 2% battery drop and tasks like music streaming, browsing Safari and WhatsApp messaging all sip juice slowly. An hour of Netflix streaming took the battery down 5%, which isn’t that surprising considering the small display and comparatively low resolution.?
But this is still a meaty processor and a fairly small cell and when pushed the battery drain is visible. Gaming is a noticeable culprit, as is anything that pushes the chipset to work hard,
There’s no charger inside the box, so if you don’t have one around I would suggest investing in a?USB-C?plug that can charge at least 20w. At this speed, you’ll get a full charge in just over an hour. Wireless charging is much slower and there’s no?MagSafe?support for that extra fast wire-free charging.
Early Verdict
The iPhone SE 2022 is a strange phone. In many ways, it’s very ambitious, especially when it comes to daylight camera performance and general speed. I also appreciate that this will be a phone that’s updated through software for years to come and I really believe that’s an important skill Android devices at this price mostly ignore.
But if you’re hoping for a fresh take on the SE’s design or a larger option then you’re going to be disappointed. The screen is small and cramped in a way the?iPhone 13 Mini?avoids and the design just feels a bit dated.