iPhone SE Review: A Good Introductory Phone For First Time iPhone Users

The first generation of the iPhone SE was released back in 2016 on 31st March. It has come a long way since then and now the iPhone SE received a huge upgrade in 2022.

Earlier this year, Apple announced the release of new colours for the iPhone 13 variants as well as an upgraded version of the iPhone SE. Some even called the iPhone SE the new iPhone 8 but we’ll be the judge of that. We got the opportunity to test out the upgraded iPhone SE and here’s what we think.

Design and Display

Design wise, there’s nothing new about it. There’s not much difference to how it was before. The iPhone SE has a 4.7-inch display with a 65.4% screen-to-body ratio which is smaller than most smartphones nowadays but if you prefer smaller screen phones then the iPhone SE is perfect.

The iPhone SE offers a HD resolution display and you can still enjoy your favourite shows on Netflix or video games without having to turn down the quality. Other than the screen size, there’s nothing much to complain about resolution.

Battery Life

Battery life is pretty impressive on this phone. After playing basically 2 hours of “Honkai Impact”, the iPhone SE still has some juice left in it ranging from 70% – 80%.

For normal use, the phone can pretty much last you for at least 2 days after a full charge. You wouldn’t have to worry about charging it overnight. Speaking of charging, the iPhone SE can be fully charged in just in an hour.

Camera

As far as smartphone cameras go, the iPhone SE is not necessarily bad but not great either. The iPhone SE comes with a 12MP rear camera and an all-new system that offers the same as the iPhone 13 line-up but it lacks the Night Mode which is bad news for those who enjoy going out at night.

If you’re a selfie person then you may not be happy with its 7MP front facing camera. With all that being said, the iPhone SE can still take good HD quality photos and videos if you’re just a casual smartphone user. Here are some samples we took with the iPhone SE:

Videos taken with the upgraded iPhone SE pic.twitter.com/4Xcph8GsKI

— Afiq Nuradli ｱﾌｲｸ (@afiqnuradli) April 8, 2022

Performance

The biggest upgrade to the iPhone SE would be its processor. The upgraded version is powered by the A15 Bionic chip which is the same one as the more expensive and newer model iPhones such as the iPhone 13.

While this isn’t a gaming phone, the iPhone SE’s performance is still quite impressive and one way to test its performance is through video games. We tested big titles like “Genshin Impact” and “Honkai Impact” and both games can run smoothly with little to no lag on high graphics.

Genshin Impact gameplay on the new iPhone SE pic.twitter.com/LMDjVdfoQi

— Afiq Nuradli ｱﾌｲｸ (@afiqnuradli) April 8, 2022

Final Thoughts

Is the upgraded iPhone SE worth your money especially in 2022? If you’re an android user looking to try switching to iPhones (and don’t mind phone sizes), then the iPhone SE is definitely a good introductory phone for you to get familiar with how iPhones work.

But if you’ve been an iPhone user since day-1 then perhaps it’s better to invest on the newer models. With a price starting from RM 2,099, you could be better off using a newly released android smartphone or iPhone 11 variants that can offer you more or less the same specs around that price range.

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Overall it’s still a really good phone and it’s definitely good for those who are looking to switch over to iPhone. The price is quite reasonable for the things it offers. In the end, it’s all up to you whether you think it’s the phone for you.

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