Apple iPhone SE 2020 Camera review(dxomark.com)
dxomark.com
Apple iPhone SE 2020 Camera review
https://www.dxomark.com/apple-iphone-se-2020-camera-review/
93 comments
If you buy it with AppleCare ($79) and sell it after 2 years when that expires the total cost of ownership and the associated risk of owning it is unbeatable. Works out at around $12 a month.
$80 insurance with $30 and $100 deductibles for a $400 product seems to be a terrible deal unless you are very prone to breaking your phone or you absolutely can’t afford to spend $400 for a new one.
https://www.apple.com/support/products/iphone/
https://www.apple.com/support/products/iphone/
At first thought I totally agree, and feel quite similar about many insurance offerings -- especially on relatively low-value items. That said, and heavily based on my wife's track record & the fact that two years is roughly the average life expectancy for her iPhones (commonly broken glass and poor battery performance at/before 'EoL'), I actually think it's not such a bad sell -- but she's a much "heavier" phone user than I am.
I'll probably pick it up for her next iPhone, which likely will be a higher-priced one, but even at the lower end the variance reduction isn't the worst thing for a luxury item that is relatively prone to breakage.
I'll probably pick it up for her next iPhone, which likely will be a higher-priced one, but even at the lower end the variance reduction isn't the worst thing for a luxury item that is relatively prone to breakage.
I think AppleCare+ is one of the rare insurances that can sometimes be a good value, but after looking over the numbers for phones I scratch my head.
Looking at a broken screen: $80 upfront and $30 per incident -> $110 [1] $129 out of warranty [2]
Out of warranty battery replacement is $49. In warranty is $0 (but in this scenario you paid $80 upfront) and depending on your use-case it may not qualify.
It also sucks to tie yourself to Apple for repairs. For me they've required a scheduled, in person appointment before accepting a repair. Both parts and appointments have often been pushed out weeks. Since iPhones are so common, almost any mall has a spot that will repair screens/batteries on the spot within a few hours. I wouldn't recommend it to the average person, but iFixit has walked me through doing many by myself.
The math does change if you get multiple broken screens, but they cap incidents at 2.
[1] https://www.apple.com/support/products/iphone/ [2] https://support.apple.com/iphone/repair/service/screen-repla...
Looking at a broken screen: $80 upfront and $30 per incident -> $110 [1] $129 out of warranty [2]
Out of warranty battery replacement is $49. In warranty is $0 (but in this scenario you paid $80 upfront) and depending on your use-case it may not qualify.
It also sucks to tie yourself to Apple for repairs. For me they've required a scheduled, in person appointment before accepting a repair. Both parts and appointments have often been pushed out weeks. Since iPhones are so common, almost any mall has a spot that will repair screens/batteries on the spot within a few hours. I wouldn't recommend it to the average person, but iFixit has walked me through doing many by myself.
The math does change if you get multiple broken screens, but they cap incidents at 2.
[1] https://www.apple.com/support/products/iphone/ [2] https://support.apple.com/iphone/repair/service/screen-repla...
I think we lose a screen every 12 months here across 5 phones. People make mistakes. It’s a reasonable hedge on repair costs.
As for a sibling comment’s lifespan estimation, that’s why it’s economical to dump the thing instantly after AppleCare has run out. It has the best reasonable return second hand if you sell it on eBay at the point of most risk of ownership.
As for a sibling comment’s lifespan estimation, that’s why it’s economical to dump the thing instantly after AppleCare has run out. It has the best reasonable return second hand if you sell it on eBay at the point of most risk of ownership.
I have the SE 2020. It's awesome. Battery life and screen brightness outdoors is the only weakness. Perfectly smooth, processor is amazing.
I also don't like the swipe gestures. Plus having a $1k+ phone on me while biking would make me kinda nervous.
I also don't like the swipe gestures. Plus having a $1k+ phone on me while biking would make me kinda nervous.
I agree... and what annoys me also is i can't quickly "tap and hold" on notifications on the lockscreen, for example to complete reminders. There seems to be no (hardware related) reason why this would not be possible.
(on the X and 11 this is done with 3D-touch.)
iPhone 11 doesn't have the 3D touch hardware, and iOS 13 retroactively killed it on older devices.
But good news on the lock screen notifications, long press for actions is back in the iOS 14 beta:
https://streamable.com/ebkhe4 (recorded on a 6s)
But good news on the lock screen notifications, long press for actions is back in the iOS 14 beta:
https://streamable.com/ebkhe4 (recorded on a 6s)
Ah! I thought of buying one and using it as bike computer on my bike, do you think the screen brightness would be an issue for this use case?
Well it’s the same as the 7, 8, and I believe 6s.
I’d say it’s fine at the right angle. Maybe noon is tougher.
I’d say it’s fine at the right angle. Maybe noon is tougher.
So... this would be a good iPhone 6S upgrade?
It's the iPhone 11 hardware in an iPhone 6S~8 body so yeah.
I made a comparable upgrade path and I’m unexpectedly stoked with where I landed with the SE. It’s a wonderful little device in its own right, and a significant upgrade over a 6S. I didn’t expect to like this phone as much as I do.
Someone else mentioned the screen brightness isn’t great outdoors. It’s perfectly usable but my previous phone was noticeably better. It really doesn’t matter to me, though. I’m typing this without issues in direct afternoon sunlight.
Someone else mentioned the screen brightness isn’t great outdoors. It’s perfectly usable but my previous phone was noticeably better. It really doesn’t matter to me, though. I’m typing this without issues in direct afternoon sunlight.
Yes, it's also really future proof with that A13 chip.
That said though, the 6S is surprisingly good even today. Doesn't feel slow for normal tasks, and probably supported for at least one more OS upgrade cycle. Impressive little 5 year old phone.
That said though, the 6S is surprisingly good even today. Doesn't feel slow for normal tasks, and probably supported for at least one more OS upgrade cycle. Impressive little 5 year old phone.
If it had a headphone jack...
Removing the headphone jack was a pure marketing move to get the bad press out of the way with iPhone 7, so iPhone X wouldn’t have to deal with it. Keeping the jack off of the 8 and SE is just spite. It’s the only flaw in the SE.
Ugh, agreed. I miss having a jack all the time. I’m so reluctant to buy an adapter for good headphones so I’m still using the ones it shipped with. They’re not great.
Yes
Would be a lot more useful in practice if they did all of the benchmarks after touching the lens. Flare when you point it at the sun? No kidding.
So it competes favorably with the Google Pixel 3, released in 2018.
According to this†, the Pixel 3 stops receiving updates next year. We know that Apple supports its phones for at least five years, so this iPhone should last until 2025. Seems like a pretty good investment for $399.
† https://support.google.com/pixelphone/answer/4457705?hl=en
† https://support.google.com/pixelphone/answer/4457705?hl=en
I just picked up a SE with the T-Mobile free additional line & 50% off promotion. Cost was only $200 + Taxes. Amazing deal when you consider the support & hardware quality.
Until you remember you're on the T-Mobile network, and realize you'd now be willing to pay double to be on a different network
It depends on where you are. There are certain places where T-Mobile is the best network to be on.
People like to think that Network X is terrible in my neighborhood, so it's terrible everywhere. That's simply not the case. The big three networks got to be the big three by buying smaller regional networks. Some of those networks were very good.
T-Mobile, for example, is excellent in the upper Midwest because it came into the market by buying Voicestream, which had huge and dense coverage.
There are places I have to visit in Nevada where T-Mobile is the only provider. Heck, there are portions of the city of Las Vegas where T-Mobile/Sprint was the only signal at all until AT&T service came in last year, and there's still no Verizon to be found as recently as February (I carry all three when I'm working).
Bring your Verizon phone to southern Ohio, and get a fraction of the coverage you would get on a Cincinnati Bell (or AT&T roaming) phone.
Cell phone networks, like politicians, vary in quality by region.
People like to think that Network X is terrible in my neighborhood, so it's terrible everywhere. That's simply not the case. The big three networks got to be the big three by buying smaller regional networks. Some of those networks were very good.
T-Mobile, for example, is excellent in the upper Midwest because it came into the market by buying Voicestream, which had huge and dense coverage.
There are places I have to visit in Nevada where T-Mobile is the only provider. Heck, there are portions of the city of Las Vegas where T-Mobile/Sprint was the only signal at all until AT&T service came in last year, and there's still no Verizon to be found as recently as February (I carry all three when I'm working).
Bring your Verizon phone to southern Ohio, and get a fraction of the coverage you would get on a Cincinnati Bell (or AT&T roaming) phone.
Cell phone networks, like politicians, vary in quality by region.
This doesn't add any value to the discussion.
Also, I've had TMo without any sort of contract or lease for 5 years now, lived in 3 different states, and travel all over the US (and a little bit of Europe). I've never once said "Wow, if only I had Verizon". It's been really great, and the only time I don't get phone service is deep in the mountains or desert
Also, I've had TMo without any sort of contract or lease for 5 years now, lived in 3 different states, and travel all over the US (and a little bit of Europe). I've never once said "Wow, if only I had Verizon". It's been really great, and the only time I don't get phone service is deep in the mountains or desert
Link? Promo still on? I’m a glutton for a deal.
Thread on the free line promo.
https://www.reddit.com/r/tmobile/comments/hi8a98/reminder_ge...
https://www.reddit.com/r/tmobile/comments/hi8a98/reminder_ge...
Thank you for the extra free line! Worked a treat.
Obviously 5 > 3, and hopefully Android/Pixel keeps making progress, but I don't know that these numbers are directly comparable since Android does less through OS updates, and iOS updates tend to not perform great on old phones, so I wouldn't take these numbers uncritically.
I’ve never had a problem with iOS updates on old phones even going back to iPhone 4. We still have an updated iPhone 6 being used with no problem. I was using an iPhone 6S Plus until the new SE came out with no issues either.
I don’t believe that’s a relevant comparison. AFAIK Pixel always has been the Android flagship. iPhone SE clearly isn’t its iOS equivalent. It speaks to a completely different audience / sub-market.
Parent comment might have meant Pixel 3a, which also aims for the market segment of $400, nice camera, no frills.
I don't know who would consider Pixels to be flagships. Other than the relatively pure Android and timely updates, and the relatively good hardware, there are better phones available.
Google is also very strict with their update policy, which means that after 3 years after release, the phone is EOL. I'm repeating myself on here but Nokia (HMD Global) is actually still providing my Nokia 6 from January 2017 with updates every 3 months. I recently went on a research mission for a new Android phone but noticed how bad the situation on Android still is.
Google is also very strict with their update policy, which means that after 3 years after release, the phone is EOL. I'm repeating myself on here but Nokia (HMD Global) is actually still providing my Nokia 6 from January 2017 with updates every 3 months. I recently went on a research mission for a new Android phone but noticed how bad the situation on Android still is.
The Pixel is Google's flagship android phone, there's no argument to be had here
Might be Google's but they certainly aren't Android flagship phones. Samsung, Huawei, and previously Xiaomi are packing better hardware with innovative technology like under-screen fingerprint scanners and multi-lense cameras.
You don't seem to understand the word "flagship". It doesn't mean the most bodacious ship in the fleet. It means the one from which the admiral flies their flag. This is clearly Google and the Pixel, in the Android analogy.
GP clearly said "Android flagship". Google is only selling Pixels, that's like saying iPhones are Apple's flagships which clearly says nothing.
Well let’s see in four years which one is still likely to be getting operating system and security updates.
The original iPhone SE released in 2016 will be supported at least through September 2021.
The original iPhone SE released in 2016 will be supported at least through September 2021.
It will keep on going slow. My ipad is very slow compared to what it was 4 years ago.
Another 4 year original SE user here, which is what I’m swiping this message from. Still going strong, no lag. Decided I’m upgrading before I need to with the 5.4” iPhone 12 this year.
Only issue I had was the battery going to 1% quickly and then lasting half a day, but that seemed to clear itself too with a few full run downs.
Apple absolutely dominates mobile devices from a longevity and usability standpoint. I left Android long ago and never looked back. I’m not all in though, never was convinced by macOS, Windows is just too customizable and useful.
Only issue I had was the battery going to 1% quickly and then lasting half a day, but that seemed to clear itself too with a few full run downs.
Apple absolutely dominates mobile devices from a longevity and usability standpoint. I left Android long ago and never looked back. I’m not all in though, never was convinced by macOS, Windows is just too customizable and useful.
Longevity yes. Usability nope. For me Android is far better usability and ui then iOS. iOS was good once but not now. People are still considering it good for what was before. Plus I feel most guys here are in apple ecosystem and have not experienced anything outside.
Mac is still better than windows I would have gone to ubuntu if not for iOS development.
I think we should encourage more people to replace batteries every 2-3 years. Their phones are not slow. It is just the battery.
Writing this from my 4 year old SE. IMO it got much snappier with the last 2 OS upgrades.
Ha. When I type I need to see what I have written. The tap response is slow feels like early Android mobiles.
I assume it is the battery. It must be replaced.
When was the last time you replaced the battery?
Replacing anything on Apple hardware after warranty is very costly in India. Hopefully it would last. Some have lasted but becomes very slow. I use a air for personal work which now runs slow. Have to endure for iOS work. Otherwise I foot bill to company.
All rechargeable batteries wear out over time as they are used and recharged. And when batteries wear out, they can't provide the same voltage as before. And when they can't provide the same voltage, the electronics must either slow down or stop working entirely. Replacing batteries isn't necessarily hard to do either (you do have to be careful). You can find highly detailed descriptions of how to do it yourself if there isn't anyone in your area who can provide the service cheaply.
Battery is still good though, I don't use it much but after days it still has enough power. In terms of battery iOS is very good.
Will it also run slower and slower until you know that you can pay Apple to replace its battery, or buy a new one?
You can disable the performance reduction and deal with the random shutdowns, if you'd prefer.
It doesn’t really help. Dead battery will discharge and heat up quickly thermal throttling the cpu. Overall, batteries simply must be replaced in all phones.
Friends don’t let friends throw away phones. Replace the battery.
Friends don’t let friends throw away phones. Replace the battery.
It doesn't sound better.
I never said that Apple had access to magical battery technology that didn’t lose it ability to charge
nope!
You can just stick with Android which will randomly shut off instead. I'm sure Apple isn't worried about losing the business of irrational cranks.
Another fun feature of Android is you can just wait for Google to ship that one last major release that makes the phone an unusable slideshow, the way they did to the Nexus 5X.
Another fun feature of Android is you can just wait for Google to ship that one last major release that makes the phone an unusable slideshow, the way they did to the Nexus 5X.
If your battery is degrading and you choose not to have it replaced, probably.
Realistically nobody still uses the original iPhone SE now.
You can run Windows 10 on a Centrino laptop from 2010 but you're not gonna have a good time.
You can run Windows 10 on a Centrino laptop from 2010 but you're not gonna have a good time.
According to various iOS app stats, the 1st generation iPhone SE is about 3-5% of the fleet, making it roughly as popular as the iPhone 11.
https://david-smith.org/iosversionstats/
https://david-smith.org/iosversionstats/
Realistically nobody still uses the original iPhone SE now.
Why not? My old boss was rocking an iPhone 6 as recently as January, and that came out two years earlier — in 2014.
While it's not my daily driver, I have a launch day iPhone 5 that I use at least once a week. It's from 2012.
You can run Windows 10 on a Centrino laptop from 2010 but you're not gonna have a good time.
The iPhone SE was launched in 2016, not 2010.
Why not? My old boss was rocking an iPhone 6 as recently as January, and that came out two years earlier — in 2014.
While it's not my daily driver, I have a launch day iPhone 5 that I use at least once a week. It's from 2012.
You can run Windows 10 on a Centrino laptop from 2010 but you're not gonna have a good time.
The iPhone SE was launched in 2016, not 2010.
I’m still using my iPhone 6 Plus, replaced the battery earlier this year and the only annoying thing is I can’t copy any paste from one website to another, instead I need to copy to notes because the pages will reload (due to 1GB of RAM I’m guessing)
Another 2016 SE user.
Only reason I’ve got SE2020 which haven’t arrived yet is storage and me seeing worse.
(My SE is 16GB)
Anecdata: I do. Bought it second hand, it's about to receive iOS 14, and I don't have any performance issues, it still works very well.
Well actually Windows 10 runs quite well on my circa 2010 Dell Core 2 Duo 2.66Ghz laptop with 8GB of RAM
https://www.cnet.com/reviews/dell-latitude-e6500-review/
https://www.cnet.com/reviews/dell-latitude-e6500-review/
That's a 3000$+ laptop at the time, makes me miss the portability of laptops.
But can you do anything productive on that thing now? How is the battery life?
But can you do anything productive on that thing now? How is the battery life?
Of course the battery sucks. But it’s easy to find a new battery if I cared. Also it’s extremely heavy. Before I retired it early this year. It was a computer that sat next to my work computer to do personal things on - Office 365, Chrome, etc.
It was the company laptop until 2012. The company folded and they sold everything really cheaply.
It could transcode one or two 720p streams simultaneously Witt Plex.
It was the company laptop until 2012. The company folded and they sold everything really cheaply.
It could transcode one or two 720p streams simultaneously Witt Plex.
Why? I used it until a month ago, and my son still uses it. Battery changed (29€) and it's still a good phone (camera is a bit dated, but for the rest it can definitely be used). I know many people still using it (for the format).
[deleted]
I use the smallest iPhone and the biggest iPad, just because I feel they are the best form factors for my needs. A friend of mine would love to be able to use only an iPad mini, if only he could send and receive phone calls.
I don’t upgrade because there is nothing wrong with these devices. And they have a jack :)
I don’t upgrade because there is nothing wrong with these devices. And they have a jack :)
In reality, you’d be very wrong.
My wife is not the only one who’s holding on to hers “until Apple releases another one with the same form factor”.
(Not that this will happen anytime soon, if ever...)
My wife is not the only one who’s holding on to hers “until Apple releases another one with the same form factor”.
(Not that this will happen anytime soon, if ever...)
I use mine every day.
Original SE user checking in
I think the Pixel 3a is a more relevant comparison. Very similar score to the SE and also a budget phone.
The Pixel 3a has been discontinued and the 4a is either not released yet or cancelled.
But I had a Pixel 3a, it was the worst phone I ever owned. The screen coating had a defect that Google refused to fix. The body is plastic and the screen is more brittle than Gorilla glass, so it shattered after hitting the ground on its corner. In 13 years of carrying these things around, it's the only phone I ever broke.
This iPhone can't possibly be any worse.
But I had a Pixel 3a, it was the worst phone I ever owned. The screen coating had a defect that Google refused to fix. The body is plastic and the screen is more brittle than Gorilla glass, so it shattered after hitting the ground on its corner. In 13 years of carrying these things around, it's the only phone I ever broke.
This iPhone can't possibly be any worse.
Funny thing is that my first smartphone was an iPhone but after replacing it 3 times because of dead pixels, I switched to a Samsung Galaxy S3 or 4, can't remember. You're right that the Pixels are lacking in build quality but I think your experience is a bit unlucky like my own experience with iPhones.
I'm a bit behind on the times, but it seems to me that for build quality Samsung is still the best. They've always been ahead with stuff like Super AMOLED, thin bevels (even curved edges), microSD slot, etc. But software matters more to me these days which is why I like the Pixel 3a. It was dirt cheap and has decent microG support. In my own very personal, biased, subjective experience, iPhones have had mediocre build quality and the worst software.
I'm a bit behind on the times, but it seems to me that for build quality Samsung is still the best. They've always been ahead with stuff like Super AMOLED, thin bevels (even curved edges), microSD slot, etc. But software matters more to me these days which is why I like the Pixel 3a. It was dirt cheap and has decent microG support. In my own very personal, biased, subjective experience, iPhones have had mediocre build quality and the worst software.
The score itself is identical to the Pixel 3A, which is from last year.
But these scores are very subjective, so....
But these scores are very subjective, so....
[deleted]
It's a shame Huawei isn't allowed to have Google services on Android anymore. Their flagships smartphones have the best cameras in test, by far.
But an Android phone without Google is not very attractive in the western world.
But an Android phone without Google is not very attractive in the western world.
Amazing testing work; interesting to read about the company behind it:
https://corp.dxomark.com
https://corp.dxomark.com
iPhone SE has one camera, no night sight, latest A series chip, Fingerprint ID.
11 has a wide angle camera, night sight, larger screen, latest A series chip , Face ID.
11 has a wide angle camera, night sight, larger screen, latest A series chip , Face ID.
iPhone SE (1st generation) is still supported. iPhone SE 2020 is branded to manipulate consumers.
Off topic irony:
A web site focused on visual quality uses #777777/#FFFFFF for its main content, rendering a FAIL for text readability on WebAIM.
https://webaim.org/resources/contrastchecker/
A web site focused on visual quality uses #777777/#FFFFFF for its main content, rendering a FAIL for text readability on WebAIM.
https://webaim.org/resources/contrastchecker/
It's now officially against the rules to post these. See third from bottom: https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html
Ah, good to know. Is that a recent addition to the rules, or did I forget that since I joined?
This seems like a more recent addition, though I don’t agree with it. I personally value such comments and avoid the sites in question. And the more the people who write about it and avoid those, the better.
I wouldn’t have known about this new guideline if I hadn’t seen your comment above.
>Please don't complain about website formatting, back-button breakage, and similar annoyances. They're too common to be interesting. Exception: when the author is present. Then friendly feedback might be helpful.
I wouldn’t have known about this new guideline if I hadn’t seen your comment above.
>Please don't complain about website formatting, back-button breakage, and similar annoyances. They're too common to be interesting. Exception: when the author is present. Then friendly feedback might be helpful.
I understand the motivation (it doesn't encourage discussion about the topic at hand), but like to see these criticisms both as a warning before visiting the site and to know more about what things really bug other users and sites that may help quantify them.
I also avoided sites with (helpful imo) comments that the site did things like breaking the back button, or blocking full screen popups.
archive.org suggests this was added on 27th June.
Perhaps there should be Some rule against immediately chastising people for rules that have just been added.
Perhaps there should be Some rule against immediately chastising people for rules that have just been added.
It's against the guidelines.
Also, who's to say when an author/stakeholder in a post might be present?
Also, who's to say when an author/stakeholder in a post might be present?
While the budget-friendly Apple device offers comparable quality in many respects to the more expensive iPhone 11, its single camera setup falls short for zoom and bokeh shots compared to our top performers.
So, a $399-$549 phone doesn't perform as well as a $999-$1,449 phone. Shocking.
So, a $399-$549 phone doesn't perform as well as a $999-$1,449 phone. Shocking.
It sounds a little hyperbolic but for $399 the iPhone SE 2020 seems to be shockingly good value.