Are you interested in the iPhone SE?

By Joe Maring
published

iPhone SE 2020
iPhone SE 2020 (Image credit: Apple)

Just one day after OnePlus announced its most expensive phones to-date, Apple made an announcement of its own with the brand new iPhone SE — an iPhone that has the body of the iPhone 8 with the latest A13 Bionic processor for just $399.

Factor in the 64GB of base internal storage, 12MP camera with portrait mode, IP67 dust/water resistance, Qi wireless charging, and years of software updates, and it's easy to see why Apple basically killed all value flagships in the Android space.

Some of our AC forum members shared their thoughts on the iPhone SE, saying:

Yeah andriod better be worried

mustang7757

I really like the idea of including the latest chip on a cheap device, performance and updates will be pretty good. But that's it I think. What I see is a phone with a tiny screen, huuuuge bezels and a screen-to-body ratio of ~65%, all numbers basically the same than my old Moto G that I bought in 2013. Many people love smaller phones, but in this case the biggest corner being cut is a tiny...

Javier P

So the match-up to keep an eye on is the Pixel 4a vs iPhone 9. At that price range, I know people aren't expecting flagship performance, but with these two models, that's basically what they're getting. There are some luxuries that they give up, like screen real estate or high refresh rate, but at the end of the day, both are powered by Google and Apple directly, which goes a long way. I'm...

MoreDef

That's pretty cool. Glad Apple is making some headway with producing phones at a lesser cost.

Morty2264

What about you? Are you interested in the iPhone SE?

Join the conversation in the forums!

Joe Maring
Joe Maring

Joe Maring was a Senior Editor for Android Central between 2017 and 2021. You can reach him on Twitter at @JoeMaring1.

44 Comments
  • In the end this is good news for all of us. Competition is good. Apple has pushed Android makers to reconsider some things with their more recent devices - lower pricing, bigger batteries, etc. I personally won't use one but I bet they sell a ton of them with that price point
  • No I'm not interested in any iPhone
  • This isn’t the phone for me, mainly due to the small display size along with how I’ve been used to the much larger displays packed into bodies that feature thinner bezels. It’s also lacking some features that I’ve taken for granted these days. However, I can see those who’ve been holding onto their iPhone 6/6s/7/8 phones and refusing to upgrade due to their personal disdain with the X-form factor (notch, gesture navigation, no TouchID etc.) being interested in it. The price also makes this a pretty good deal especially towards those groups and may appeal as a budget iPhone provided that the potential customer would be okay with the older design if it meant they could save a bit of cash. It’s hardly exciting in many regards outside of its core hardware and relation to its price. But I know a very specific userbase is going to be quite happy.
  • Yeah so nice to see almost flagship level specs with competitive price and most of all unlimited Google photos storage cause of ios's new standards of photos naming scheme
  • Flagship level specs? Besides the chip what else about that phone is "flagship level"? I think that is over stating it.
  • I would have to agree with Tx_tuff. Aside from putting their latest chip in it, everything is mediocre.
  • Nope. Great they brought wireless charging to it, but it's probably at a slow 7.5w like the latest iPhone.
    The slow 18w fast charger comes separate. Low res display, low base storage and a single camera. Outdated design and too small form factor. I don't see the hype in this. It's a powerful phone but it's definitely a midrange specs with good cpu.
  • Yes, please bring back Galaxy S10e like phone next year Samsung!
  • Hellllzzzz no! Nope...👎👎👎👎👎
  • I get it. Seems great and the price is right. Can't stand iOS though.
  • Show me the USB-C then definitely maybe.
  • No
    No
    No
  • They copied the pixel 3a. Almost flagship specs but priced at 400. Why is this suddenly revolutionary and all over the news? Right, cause apple. Typical copycat apple
  • By that logic, the Pixel 3A copied the OnePlus 3..... In case you didn’t realize, everyone copies from each other in the tech-space. I couldn’t be arsed to give 2 craps if what they copied is good.
  • I think his point wasn't that they're copying, but why everyone's having phone-gasms about this. Like you said, this has been done before a few times, but now that it's Apple doing it, it's revolutionary!
  • I mean, even the iPhone SE itself isn't new. It's basically the exact same recipe as the previous one in 2016; old body with current SoC to cater for a specific group. It just so happened that Apple's chip game evolved significantly since then.
  • Bwhahahahahahahahaha, the Pixel 3a was a decent mid range phone that took great photos but everything else was decidedly mid range and nowhere near flagship specs, the iPhone SE 2 just killed the Pixel 4a before it's even announced hahahahahahahaha, Apple just outsmarted Android OEMs again.
  • No. Also, if you factor in memory...as in a 256g model, you're at $550, which doesn't seem like as much of a screaming deal any longer. Yeah, yeah, iCloud.. which also costs extra if you want a halfway decent amount of it. Last...iOS. Ugh.
  • Not interested at all in IOS. Regardless of price.
  • I'm not interested in anything Apple does. Typical though. They are praised for having the "courage" to remove things like the front button, and now they're praised for bringing it back. That company can do no wrong.
  • And yet you just commented. Apple has won again and you're salty about it. With the most powerful chip on a smartphone and the longest software support of any vendor, it's game over for Midchester he Android mid range segment.
  • Interested in it if: * It runs Android.
    * It has a universal USB-C port.
    * It has slim bezels and operates via gestures. It is good that they dared recycle available components and machined molds. This will be part of the new economy. Hopefully Android phone manufacturers will follow the lead and improve upon it.
  • In 2017 I bought myself the S8 and my wife an iPhone SE since she prefers iOS to Android. I will probably buy her this one. (I'm still on the S8 and can't decide whether to get the S20 or wait for the Note 20.)
  • Not interested - I'm only okay that this phone may force Android oems to bring their pricing down. Doesn't matter how "powerful" the a13 is (stop calling it the most powerful, IT ISN'T), iOS has limited functionality and is still garbage. Imagine having a v16 semi diesel truck with 3 inch tires. That's the iPhone. Hideous design and useless.
  • The A13 bionic is the most powerful SoC, we get it you don't like iOS but the truth is Apple's A series SoCs are 2 years ahead of Qualcomm's flagship Snapdragon SOCs. The salt is strong with you Android fanboys and before you try and flame me, I'm an Android user by the way but I'm not a blind one either.
  • You're an Android user that can't stop talking about how you're going back to iOS. Why are you trying to convince us that iPhones are soooo much better?
  • I'm not saying iPhones are better, I'm saying that Apple's SoCs are better.
  • "Apple's A series SoCs are 2 years ahead" Beno, I think we need to do some fact checking here. It's fine that you like iPhones. I get that. I gave my friend an iPhone last year because it was a better fit for them. But the "2 years ahead" mantra is getting old. Think about it: If that was true, then the A11 Bionic in the iPhone X would have sat undefeated for two years. But as history records, it didn't work out that way. The iPhone X was released on 11/3/2017, and six months later it got beatdown by an Android with the SD845. The contest between the iPhone X and the HTC U12+ wasn't even close, with YouTube speed testers commenting how the iPhone was getting destroyed. Then the OnePlus 6T came along and beat the iPhone even worse. Please explain this.
  • The biggest thing holding iPhones back is that Apple doesn't put enough RAM in iPhones because if you have noticed that in the first lap of these speed tests, the iPhone always opens apps faster and renders videos much faster than the Android phones but the Android phones extra RAM helps them in the second lap but overall nobody uses their phones like this.
  • Which is probably why Apple doesn't put extra RAM in their phones. Aside from iOS 13's initial memory management issues, I've rarely heard of anyone struggling with memory limitations. iOS also uses less memory than Android, which is part of the reason too
  • Beno,
    Just don't let anyone tell you that the HTC u12+ is better than any and every other device. If it was good as "they" say it is, htc would not have gone bankrupt and now trying to produce budget models. I've seen speed tests and camera tests between the iPhones and the u12+, and the results are proof of why they are in the situation that they are in. My friends u12+ is sluggish, random reboots, finicky "capacitive" side rails/buttons, half baked camera/software.
    I would choose LG over htc. And you know I don't like LG.
  • I personally wouldn't buy an iPhone SE 2 (I want an iPhone 11 Pro Max) as it's too small but I'm impressed with what Apple has done, they just killed the Android mid range segment with this phone.
  • I wouldn't go as far as to say they have "killed" it. Yes, it's far more powerful and will be supported for longer, but Apple didn't make this phone to woo Android people who want a newer design or a larger battery or multi-cameras. It's a phone made specifically to cater for people who want iPhone 11 hardware but wish to stay on the older iPhone 6/7/8 design due to TouchID or other reasons. I do hope that the $400-600 segment gets re-lit again though. 2016 was a fantastic year for that segment.
  • We just got the 11 pro max. I was a little hesitant being on Android so long but this phone has been great. I haven’t missed my Android phone since. My biggest gripe was all the apps on the home screens but I have not minded it at all
  • You can help the home screen clutter by putting some of the apps in folders. That's what I do. The apps I don't use, I stick in a "misc" folder on the last screen, lol
  • I would be if the screen was bigger.
  • Not interested in one for myself, but glad to see Apple returning to small(er) form factor and sub-$500 price. Hopefully Android manufacturers will follow.
  • I like the concept, but what does the SE bring to the table for someone who already has a flagship, even an older one? Cost is not a factor because you won't be spending anything to keep your old phone. Display quality: Worse
    Resolution: Worse
    SOC: Better
    Camera: Worse
    Audio: Worse
    Screen to body ratio: Laughable
  • Nope. Lol at all the gloom and doom people about android. Competition is a good thing.
  • Agreed, Hopfully the android phone manufacturers will get their heads out of their ass. Well google as well since android is still laggy on first rate hardware. And down right bad on mid range.
  • Competition is always a good thing! But Apple as a jailed SO!!! Its so boring see the same thing all days/months/years!!! Nothing change, nothing new! Over and over and over again! Isnt for me! Freedom is priceless!;D
  • Where is HTC's mid-range phones at? A u12+ destroys an iphone x? Talk about laughable lol.
    Good thing they don't (or can't) make that junk anymore.
    My friends u12+ freezes, random reboots, and has been nothing but a paperweight.
  • Sure am interested. This is really going to shake up the mid-range market.
  • When it's all said and done this is excellent news for everyone. This puts pressure on other manufacturers to offer something similar. As far as the phone istelf goes, it's super duper boring. Yeah it has a flagship SoC, solid camera but at the end of the day it's an iPhone and once things settle after you've bought it, you will be bored to death. So it's a no go for me.