iPhone SE Reviews: High-End Performance With Budget-Friendly Price

First impressions and reviews of the new iPhone SE are now out, with many praising the device's flagship performance at a budget-friendly price.

The second-generation iPhone SE has a similar design as the iPhone 8, including a 4.7-inch display and a Touch ID home button, but it takes a big leap forward in performance. Despite starting at just $399, the device is powered by the latest-and-greatest A13 Bionic chip, the same processor found inside the high-end iPhone 11 Pro.

iphone se 2020 red
The Verge's Dieter Bohn:

If I were buying the iPhone SE, I'd seriously consider spending the extra $50 to upgrade the storage to 128GB, just in case I'd want it three or five years down the road. That timespan is the reason the iPhone SE is a big deal. No other phone that costs less than $500 can claim to be this good, nor last that long.

The iPhone SE is not just a good deal. It's also a really good smartphone.

The new iPhone SE can be pre-ordered on Apple.com in the United States and more than 40 other countries and regions. Pricing starts at $399 for 64GB of storage, with 128GB and 256GB options available for $449 and $549 respectively. The first deliveries to customers and in-store availability at select resellers will begin Friday, April 24.

Reviews

Video Reviews and Unboxings










With the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus now discontinued, the lower end of Apple's smartphone lineup now includes the new iPhone SE and the iPhone XR, released in October 2018. Thinking about upgrading? Read our comparison of the devices.

Tag: Reviews
Related Forum: iPhone

Popular Stories

iPhone 17 Pro 34ths Perspective

iPhone 17 Pro Launching Later This Year With These 10 New Features

Sunday March 23, 2025 10:00 am PDT by
While the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are not expected to launch until September, there are already plenty of rumors about the devices. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models as of March 2025: Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro models have a titanium frame, and the iPhone ...
Generic iOS 18

iOS 18.4 Coming Soon With These New Features for Your iPhone

Tuesday March 25, 2025 6:45 am PDT by
Apple is expected to release iOS 18.4 to the general public as soon as next week, following more than a month of beta testing. Apple's website says some iOS 18.4 features will be released in "early April," so the update should be out as early as Tuesday, April 1. Apple this week seeded the iOS 18.4 Release Candidate, which is typically the final beta version, barring the discovery of any...
ios 19 messages app

Here's What Apple's iOS 19 Messages App Might Look Like

Tuesday March 25, 2025 11:52 am PDT by
Leaker Jon Prosser today shared a mockup of what he says the Messages app will look like in iOS 19, demoing an interface with rounded, translucent bubble-shaped navigation buttons at the top and softer, rounder corners for the keyboard and word suggestions. Jon Prosser's Messages app mockup The return button, a button for going back to the Messages list, and the FaceTime button have a deeper...
iCloud General Feature Redux

iPhone Users Who Pay for iCloud Storage Receive a New Perk

Thursday March 20, 2025 12:01 am PDT by
If you pay for iCloud storage on your iPhone, Apple has a new perk for you, at no additional cost. The new perk is the ability to create invitations in the Apple Invites app for the iPhone, which launched in the App Store last month. In the Apple Invites app, iCloud+ subscribers can create invitations for any occasion, such as birthday parties, graduations, baby showers, and more. Anyone ...
airpods max 2024 colors

Don't Buy Into Apple's Hype About AirPods Max Gaining Lossless Audio

Monday March 24, 2025 4:24 pm PDT by
Apple today announced that AirPods Max with a USB-C port will be gaining support for lossless audio and ultra-low latency audio with a firmware update next month, alongside the release of iOS 18.4, iPadOS 18.4, and macOS 15.4. For context, audio files are typically compressed to keep file sizes smaller. There are lossy compression standards like MP3 and AAC (Advanced Audio Codec), which...
Generic iOS 19 Feature Mock

Gurman: Jon Prosser's iOS 19 Mockups 'Aren't Representative' of Redesign

Tuesday March 25, 2025 4:47 pm PDT by
The iOS 19 mockup images that leaker Jon Prosser shared today are not representative of the actual iOS 19 design, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said on social media. According to Gurman, the images that are "floating around" are based on "very old builds" or "vague descriptions," and are lacking key features. Gurman says that we can "expect more from Apple in June." Gurman made the same comment ...
Apple Lumon Terminal Pro

Apple's Mac Site Features Fictional 'Lumon Terminal Pro'

Wednesday March 26, 2025 12:19 pm PDT by
Apple is going all out with promotions for the popular Severance Apple TV+ show today, and as of right now, you'll find a new "Lumon Terminal Pro" listed on Apple's Mac site. The Lumon Terminal Pro is designed to look similar to the machines that Severance employees like Mark S. and Helly R. use for macrodata refinement. The Terminal features a blue keyboard, a small display with wide...
Generic iOS 19 Feature Mock Light

iOS 19 Again Rumored to Feature visionOS-Like 'Glassy' Design

Tuesday March 25, 2025 3:25 pm PDT by
Leaker Jon Prosser today shared a "first look" at Apple's upcoming iOS 19 update, providing mockups of what different apps and features will supposedly look like. Prosser claims the mockups are based on "the real deal" version of iOS 19 that he has seen, but says he is sharing replica images in order to prevent his sources from getting into trouble. Confusingly, Prosser's video features some ...

Top Rated Comments

nameischarles Avatar
64 months ago
I really thought my mum would have wanted this as her iPhone 6S is slowly dying and she never really wanted to get rid of it for so long.

I told her I'll upgrade her to the new SE and she told me she didn't want the same boring looking phone again haha she wanted the newer fancy looking iPhone 11 Pro. So I upgraded her to the iPhone 11 Pro today.
Score: 20 Votes (Like | Disagree)
I7guy Avatar
64 months ago
Apple might just have hit the nail on the head with the new Iphone SE.
Score: 15 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Justanotherfanboy Avatar
64 months ago

Think this. Apple tried hard from iPhone 4-8 to keep iPhone look symmetrical especially front. Than Apple let go symmetry concept when introduced iPhone X with top notch and nothing similar at bottom.
So, Apple could have increased the screen towards top side giving more screen in the same iPhone 8 size frame by reducing thick top bezel like most android phones top part of screen. Bottom could not be reduced because of beloved Touch ID. This could have given 2020 SE new identity. Wasn't that difficult.
Think this.
Apple is only able to offer a phone this crazy cheap every 3-4 years or so by reusing EVERY SINGLE part that they possibly can, that’s already been in production for years & they have reached economies of scale with.... processor from the latest 2 phones, casings they’ve been making for many years now, etc.
The reason this phone can be cheaper whilst maintaining a profit margin is because there’s very little r&d to recoup, no new manufacturing techniques to work wrinkles out of, etc.
You're talking about new design, new tech, more r&d, etc...
What isn’t that difficult is seeing why they went their route, not yours.
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
dubar Avatar
64 months ago
I think I might be able to convince the wife to get rid of her Android. She's only slightly jealous of me being able to control the Apple TV from my phone.

Crosses fingers
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Pearple Avatar
64 months ago
I would like to share my detailed comprehensive review of the new iPhone SE with all the folks at Mac rumors.

Here it is:












WAY

















TOO






















BIG!
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
willyx Avatar
64 months ago

This will be a big hit for a lot of people.

But I can’t help think that they could’ve made a phone with a 4.7” edge-to-edge screen with a smaller footprint than the first iPhone SE. The first iPhone SE measured about 5.4” diagonally, so if you take any bezel space into account you could squeeze a 5 inch screen in there.

Wait a minute, it all makes sense. There’s a 5.4” iPhone that’s rumored in the fall. That’ll be the high end compact version.
For the 100th time. The WHOLE POINT of this device is to reuse an old iPhone case, for which there is already an amortised logistic chain in place, to make it CHEAP by Apple standards. So no, there is no way they would have changed the design for the iPhone SE to accommodate a larger screen or anything else that does not fit the iPhone 8/7/6s/6 chassis.

Enough of these kind of comments, seriously.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)