IPhone SE - what is it? Should I buy an iPhone SE?

Smartphone iPhone SE, despite the fact that it was known long before its release, caused many to be surprised and caused a lot of questions. Does anyone else buy 4-inch iPhones? Is Apple playing with fire, representing such a design? It can be argued that the answer to both questions is positive, but after getting to know the phone it becomes clear that this does not matter. Regardless of the reasons that forced the company to go for the creation of this device, the iPhone SE (the photo is placed further in the article) is equally an excellent smartphone for both novice acquaintance with the iOS OS and for users with small hands.

Summary

The fact that the new iPhone SE looks like an old-fashioned device does not mean that it functions the same way. In a familiar and relatively inexpensive form, Apple managed to squeeze the performance of the flagship level and the best battery life that the iPhone has been demonstrating for many years. The device lacks some of the 6s subtleties, and its screen for someone may be too small, but SE is the best compact smartphone that the company has ever produced.

Phone iPhone SE: what is it?

If you answer quickly, then this iPhone 6s in the body 5s. On this, in principle, you can stop. Although this statement is greatly simplified, it is true. Almost all the things that make the model 6s the way it is are here, only now they are compressed into a case, the dimensions of which did not seem to be destined to be seen again. Apple could go economically conscious way and offer a sixth smaller iPhone, and in this case one can only rejoice that this did not happen. The performance of the phone will be discussed below, but the A9 chipset with the M9 motion tracking processor used in the SE is an exact copy of the company's flagship models, starting at its clock speed to 2 GB of RAM, with which it is paired. In short, SE does not give the feeling of a second-rate device.

This also applies to its design. The iPhone SE 64 GB is also light and well built, like the 5S two years ago, with slight differences. In fact, in addition to the appearance of the iPhone SE Rose Gold in pink gold, which was not the case with 5s, there are only two changes: the SE logo on the rear panel and the matt chamfers around the flat edges of the phone. If someone liked the design of the iPhone 5s old school, then he will feel at home. And if not, he was not going to purchase this smartphone anyway.

There is also a third camp: buyers who liked the design of 5s, and then they opened a generation of large screens. And for them to return to a small phone after two years spent with the sixth family, it would be strange. They wonder how they could use small screens for so long? Buyers even a week can not type text messages on a tight on-screen keyboard, as they did before. In addition, there is a feeling of frustration with how little text can fit on a smaller display.

Less is better, but better

Nevertheless, the size has its advantages. According to the owners, after months of using large smartphones (iPhone 6s Plus, Galaxy Note 5 and Nexus 6p, etc.), the right hand is in a rather tense state. She quickly gets tired and starts to ache, especially when trying to reach her little finger to the bottom edge of the phone or by stretching her thumb across the screen to push something in the corner. Weekly use of SE is like a mini vacation for the hand. A small display does not suit everyone, but it can not be denied that the SE is a very convenient small device.

In the tested phone, the iPhone SE 64GB Space Gray has a gray color with 64 GB of internal memory. Almost 64, since OS IOS 9.3 takes some place, and 55.7 GB remain available. It's no surprise that the entry-level model comes with 16 GB of memory, but I hope that this is the last time that the company leaves so little space for user data and programs. This is only one of the compromises that have to go, moving to such a form factor at such a price. For example, none of the modifications, including the iPhone SE 64GB Gray, does not have a 3D Touch. Fingerprint scanners on the home screen buttons belong to the first generation, which is not as fast as in the 6s. And the front camera is a 1.2-megapixel step back to the fifth model.

In addition to the already mentioned gray and pink-gold colors of the case, Apple iPhone SE Gold is made of gold and Silver silver shade.

Picture and sound

One can confidently say about the screen of the iPhone SE that it is a full compliance with the display of 5s. It still works with a resolution of 1136 x 640, which also means the previous pixel density of 326 dots per inch (the same as in 6s). If you look not at the numbers, but on the screen itself, you can see that it is as bright and saturated as in the old days. Nevertheless, 6s buyers will need some time to get used to the display. The screen is slightly darker than the 6s or 6s Plus, and the color temperature is a little warmer. In any case, the biggest difference here is the loss of the 3D Touch, which some will feel sharper than others. But some buyers who enthusiastically took 3D Touch gestures when 6s appeared, now rarely use them. Therefore, owners of ayfon with experience may not survive because of the lack of this function, and the newcomers of her absence will not even notice.

Meanwhile, one speaker located at the bottom of the SE is much louder than expected, especially at high and medium frequencies. For any long-term listening, you still need a pair of headphones, but the speaker has enough power to voice the video on YouTube and give the charm to your favorite soundtrack.

Software

Apple iPhone 5 SE comes with iOS 9.3 firmware, which does not add a lot of especially important features. In any case, the most notable addition is Night Shift, a function that can automatically lower the color temperature of the screen to ease the load on the eyes at night. This is not a completely new idea. Applications such as f.lux, for many years could do this on the desktop. Compared to ordinary white, warm colors really make evening reading easier. Instead of setting a specific schedule for switching to night mode, you can manually adjust the heat of the screen. Theoretically, changing the color should help ease the sleep cycle, but as a result, the user gets an annoying orange display. According to buyers, it does not help them to fall asleep faster, but there is a hope that there will be those who will benefit from this function.

In addition, it is now possible to block certain entries in the Notes application. Their discovery requires a password or a fingerprint on the sensor fingerprint sensor. And Verizon subscribers finally got the opportunity to make Wi-Fi calls to their friends (others had the opportunity to use it for some time). The Health application now takes into account the power data. This program is especially nice to have on SE: the smaller size of the device allows the phone to be a more pleasant companion in training.

Yes, and the "News" application has become a little better to determine which topics users prefer. Although it still overestimates the demand for Donald Trump, but this is probably a symptom of a larger problem. With the iOS 9.3 firmware, the 3D Touch has become more diverse, but it's obvious that no gesture here works. That is life.

Ironically, some phone owners are faced with Siri's strange work after activating the voice activation setting. When listening to audible books in the Audible application, excerpts from it with phrases that are completely different from "Hey, Siri", called for a virtual assistant puzzled by the puzzle of random fragments of the dialogue. The same book on 6s did not cause a similar effect.

Camera

Camera iPhone 6s is excellent. And since in SE it is exactly the same, then in its quality it is not necessary to doubt. In fact, it's even slightly better for the following reason: The Apple iPhone 5 SE is slightly thicker, it lacks the uncomfortable bulge that is present in the sixth generation. Here's an argument for thicker phones.

In any case, one can speak for a long time about how the company's deep-seated defense does not allow shedding light on the dark photographic diodes covered by darkness, but this is not necessary. All you really need to know is that the phone is capable of producing surprisingly detailed, beautiful color photographs. Pictures on the SE and 6s Plus are almost identical. True, the latter is in the lead when it comes to photography in low light, because it has optical image stabilization.

With a weak light, the smartphone does an excellent job of maintaining a minimal noise level, although customers prefer the Galaxy S7. SE is also able to shoot video in 4K resolution, which looks smooth and evenly exposed, even when tracking moving objects. This option is of course good to have, but with 16 GB of memory - and many will agree with this - users probably will not want to shoot a video of this high quality.

There are two other things that are worth mentioning. Firstly, the iPhone SE supports shooting "live photos", moving images that add a little bit of feeling and context to pictures. Since there is no 3D Touch, the program will launch a long press on the Live Photo button. Secondly, Selfies do not turn out as good as at 6s. Apple did not bother to improve the 1.2-megapixel front camera at the top of the device, although the 5-megapixel sensor in the 6s does not take much more space. As a result, the photos are noisier. Although they are suitable for Instagram, but are devoid of liveliness, which is capable of a matrix with a higher resolution. At least the SE is equipped with a Retina flash, which uses the phone's screen to provide extra brightness.

Performance

SE is more powerful than it may seem by its old-fashioned appearance. The combination of a modern chipset from Apple A9 with 2 GB of RAM is enough to make the device work without effort, from scrolling home screens and switching between applications before running graphically intensive games. When the company released the budget 4-inch phone the previous time (it was a second-rate iPhone 5c), it seemed out of date from the very beginning. But the ability to squeeze the filling of its flagship mobile phone into a small 399-dollar iPhone is impressive. For the first time in many years, it became possible to become the owner of a 4-inch model without sacrificing performance for the sake of size.

Below are the results of testing the phone. Its performance more or less corresponds to the speed of the most expensive Apple models.

Table of test results for iPhone SE vs 6, 6s, 6s +.

Battery life

When Apple refused to disclose data on the battery capacity in the SE, some users got excited. But it was not worth worrying. You can be calm, since the phone can withstand the whole day, and then some more time. After charging at nine in the morning after 11 hours of operation, 30-40% of the charge still remains. According to the owners, the device can remain uncharged for more than 24 hours, which they are very pleased.

The video test, which consisted in the continuous playback of high-definition video with Wi-Fi on and a screen brightness set to 50 percent, showed 13 hours and 40 minutes of iPhone SE operation. Differences with the claimed manufacturer's 50-percent increase in battery life is obvious, but the model is still the best figure of all iPhones. It's amazing that in such a miniature case there is so much energy.

Price and quality

In the iPhone SE, differences from other top models are noticeable when evaluating a combination of cost and power - the 16GB model is the cheapest new phone that Apple has ever released. Therefore, it occupies a special place in the line of mobile devices of the company. There are no reasons to buy 5s, so the question is whether the potential owners of the smartphone should purchase SE or 6s. It would be possible to include here and iPhone 6, but 6s costs only $ 100 more. As already mentioned, 6s shares the power of the SE, but has a large 4.7-inch screen. This is quite convenient, but the battery life is reduced.

If someone has a desire to spend about $ 400 on a smartphone and there is no attachment to Apple, then you can consider the option from LG and Google Nexus 5X. It also provides good performance at a reasonable price, but its plastic case does not stand up to any comparison with the first-class looks of the iPhone SE. What kind of phone is it, it becomes clear when you get acquainted with the huge power of the Snapdragon 808 chipset, which will work in Google Android N, which supports multi-screen multitasking.

Conclusion

The biggest disadvantage of the iPhone SE is its size, and it's obvious. But if it were not for the fact that they are easy to manage with one hand, it would be impossible to understand why Apple went to its production. The smaller size, of course, is perfectly felt in the hand and in the pocket during the walk. The power that the phone has is impressive. Given the performance of the processor that Apple managed to insert into the smaller phone, it's surprising that it does not overheat or shorten the battery life. Although not with the best performance in the industry, but this is an iPhone with a good battery life that many will like. SE is not as good at holding a charge as other iPhones, when viewing media files, but, compared to 5S, this is a step forward. The camera is powerful and clear, and many will be surprised by the changes in the quality of the images.

The phone's design is outdated. It's impossible to find another explanation for the fact that Apple did not create a smaller version of the iPhone 6s, except for saving reasons. Also, users do not like the outdated technology of the screen. In addition to small changes, this is the old display of the iPhone 5 2012 almost four years ago. And the image in the phone plays an important role. The owner of the phone should not compare the screen with the Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge, for example. He will be very upset.

One can confidently say about the iPhone SE that it is a smartphone that does not suit people who welcomed the appearance of more spacious screens, even despite the strange bulges created in the pockets. If you look at SE as a new Apple product, everything makes sense. The phone is relatively cheap, which will be tempting for people who want, finally, to get rid of their old "clamshell" phone. Its small size will suit those who stopped upgrading iPhones when they became too big. But most importantly - it is powerful. Fans of Apple should wait for the sales of the seventh model in September, as this device was not intended for them. If you want to get a first-class smartphone that does not empty your pockets or hurt your hand, then the iPhone SE deserves a place in the list of applicants.