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Still, it would be cooler if the second-generation iPhone SE were released in the body of the first. You give
What is it?
The second generation iPhone SE is a smartphone with4.7-inch edge-to-edge display, Apple A13 Bionic processor, single main camera and a fingerprint scanner on the front panel. Supports fast charging, wireless charging, is protected from dust and water, and does not have a headphone jack.
What makes him interesting?
The fact that this is the most affordable new iPhone,equipped with the same processor as the flagship iPhone 11 Pro. And the most compact of the new iPhones. And quite controversial. Because for $ 400,550 you can buy an Android smartphone with more impressive features. But you cannot buy another new iPhone. But you can buy an old iPhone, namely the iPhone 8, from which the new product looks no different. Here is a story.
By the way, what is the real difference between the iPhone 8 iPhone SE 2020?
- CPU. The “eight” contains the A11 chip, which is one and a half to two times inferior in performance to the A13.
- The camera, more precisely, portrait mode, new “lighting” schemes and stabilization when shooting video.
- Support for e-SIM, that is, in fact, dual-SIM.
- Stock of wireless speed for the future: Gigabit LTE and Wi-Fi 6.
What is in the box?
The smartphone itself, a charger, a charging cable and a wired headset with a Lightning connector. Beautiful pieces of paper and a paper clip to remove the SIM card tray.
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Adapter from Lightning to 3.5 mm for headphones inThe kit has disappeared, it seems since the eighth model (before that it was there). The charger is only 5-watt, although the device itself supports fast charging from more powerful adapters. Perhaps in this way the manufacturer emphasizes the budget nature of the iPhone SE, although it looks like saving money on matches. But Apple fans are no strangers. If you want 18-watt charging included, there's an iPhone 11 Pro for you.
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What does it look like?
Exactly like the iPhone 8 or 7. Well, almost.The location of the apple logo on the back panel allows you to immediately distinguish the new product; here it is placed in the center, and not closer to the camera, as before. And if you don’t take into account the case materials and the presence of a headphone jack, it’s easy to confuse the 2020 iPhone SE with the iPhone 6/6s. From the front - exactly. By the way, did you know that the iPhone 6 (including the “plus” version) is in third place on the list of the best-selling phones of all time, second only to the Nokia 1100/1110 push-button devices? The next “apple” in this ranking is in 16th place, and this is the iPhone 8 (86 million of them were sold versus 222 million of “sixes”). So it goes.
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Well, for now we are looking at another device in a very similar case. On the right side there is a power button and a SIM card tray with a hole for opening with a paperclip.
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On the left are two volume buttons and the legendary silent mode toggle switch.
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The top end is empty, and at the bottom there is a Lightning connector surrounded by the usual speaker and microphone holes.
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Good old frames at the top and bottom of the screenallow you to do without “bangs”, cutouts or holes. But there is no arsenal of cameras and sensors for facial recognition, as well as the recognition function itself. Front camera, speaker, light sensor, everything is like in the good old iPhones. In the black version, as in my photo, these elements merge with the color of the body.
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The frame at the bottom of the device is sufficient forplacement of a large round “home” button with an integrated fingerprint scanner. This button, like in the iPhone 8, is not physical, but touch-sensitive. Pressing it is simulated by a customizable vibration response.
The camera is single and equipped with an LED flash. Structurally identical to other models in this case.
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The camera lens protrudes above the plane of the rear panel.
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The back panel is covered with glossy glass, the sidesThe edges are aluminum with a matte surface. The glossy glass easily collects dust and fingerprints. The iPhone SE 2 comes in black and white color options, as well as a special Product Red version.
How good is the screen?
Just as much as its predecessor.screen in the iPhone 8. The same 4.7 inches, IPS with a resolution of 1334 by 750 pixels, which corresponds to a pixel density of 326 ppi (this is the same as the iPhone 11, but less than 458 ppi for the iPhone 11 Pro). Nominal brightness 625 nits, contrast ratio 1400:1. In general, exactly the same screen as in the G8. There is a Haptic Touch vibration effect, but they didn’t dig up 3D touch; starting from the 11th generation of iPhones, it doesn’t exist and, apparently, won’t exist.
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Good screen overall. But small, by modern standards, and wasteful of the body size (and this body is not much smaller than the iPhone 11 Pro, by the way).
What about performance, autonomy?
Here is the most interesting part.The most affordable model was equipped with the same processor that is equipped with the most expensive one. No one except Apple allows themselves to do this. But no one except Apple optimizes the operating system to such an extent that the smartphone runs smoothly enough on old hardware. Especially on a new one. In theory, CPU performance should increase by 2.4 times, and GPU performance by as much as four times. This is me comparing the new product with its closest ancestor - the iPhone 8 with a chip from the generation before last. In practice, this is not particularly noticeable to the naked eye. Any new iPhone subjectively works quickly. And it heats up moderately if you heat it up with difficult tasks.
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The A13 processor, which I first encountered inThe iPhone 11 Pro was then more impressive with its impact on autonomy. Maybe he will show himself here too? Unfortunately no. With the same battery capacity (modest 1821 mAh), the G8 and SE 2 show approximately the same results: “12 hours of Internet use.” And this despite the less power-hungry processor. It's kind of a shame. On the other hand, you can normally use a smartphone all day long, and if you use it a little, it will last for a second day. But with active work, it is not difficult to drain the battery by lunchtime, especially if you start such work from about six in the morning. In any case, the new SE will last longer than your old V8 with a tired battery. And it will be quite at the level of the average competitor on Android with twice the battery capacity. By the way, even the slow included 5-watt charging gives a completely dead device a 28% charge in 30 minutes, 81% in an hour and 100% in just under two hours. So there is energy efficiency, just not much progress is noticeable.
Wireless charging is also supported.Among other disadvantages of the glass back of a smartphone (not just this one, but any one in general) is the tendency for some charging stations with a smooth coating to slide off. Of course, the station itself is not included in the kit.
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The smartphone will be available in versions with 64b 128 and 256 GB of memory, a slot for its expansion, as always, is not provided.
If to this place you are sad from not veryimpressive iPhone SE 2 options, then listen. I mean, listen to his sound! The built-in speakers sound very good, and they (that is, the main and conversational) play in pairs and create a good stereo. These iPhones stand out favorably in the dull android world of monodynamics.
Oh, and even the most inexpensive new iPhone is not deprived of dust and moisture protection. Like the G8, it can be submerged to a depth of one meter for up to 30 minutes. But it's not necessary.
In terms of communications, there is a modern set oflevel of older models. This is the newfangled Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax), Bluetooth 5.0, gigabit LTE, which is useless in our latitudes, and the already practically applicable e-SIM in addition to a regular nanoSIM card. There is NFC that works with Apple Pay. The security of this entire enterprise is ensured by a classic fingerprint scanner: there is no facial recognition, as in frameless iPhones.
What's up with the firmware and interface?
Like what, it's an iPhone! IOS 13 is preinstalled here, and since this is a new model, updates will be released for quite some time. There are no fundamental differences from the already repeatedly seen by us iOS, except that the lack of a cutout for the front camera dictates minimal differences in the design of the interface. Like good old times.
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What about the camera?
The second generation iPhone SE is equipped with the samecamera, like the iPhone 8. Single, with a moderately wide angle lens and a 12-megapixel sensor. Aperture f/1.8, optical stabilization. The only new features are the software features that appeared with the platform update: different options for “portrait lighting” and improved “smart” HDR algorithms. The front camera is 7 megapixel and uses the display as a flash. It records video in resolutions up to Full HD, supports stabilization, but cannot shoot slo-mo.
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Yes, there is only one main camera module, butThe shooting quality is better than that of other “many-eyed” smartphones. In the absence of several focal lengths, electronics have to pay the price for zoom capabilities.
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It also provides background blur.And it copes with this successfully, without any auxiliary cameras, although the bokeh turns out to be characteristically smartphone-like. Macro photography is also good, you can focus from a very close distance.
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The above-mentioned Smart HDR captures wellshots with different levels of illumination of individual areas. When there is very little light, an increased shutter speed and sensitivity turned up to maximum come to the rescue (of course, these parameters cannot be adjusted manually, everything is done automatically). The illustration can be seen in two frames taken during the day and at dusk.
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Low-light photography capabilities are more or less on trend. It's not a “night vision device” like some current flagships, but a fairly versatile and simple everyday photography tool.
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Videos are recorded in resolutions up to 4k and up to 60 frames pergive me a sec. Stabilization makes the picture smoother, but with strong shaking it affects the quality of the image in a characteristic way. A visual illustration is a video shot while running.
There is a beautiful slo-mo (240 frames per second).
Timelapses even on hand are good.
In general, the camera, even though it is single-camera, does not disappoint, although it cannot be called flawless.
In the dry residue
Armchair experts (like me) usually meetiPhone SE 2 with bewilderment. They say it’s expensive, uninnovative, and in general Apple is no longer a cake. Indeed, from a rational point of view, in a budget starting from $550 there is a sea of Android smartphones with more memory, larger screens, multiple cameras and many times more capacious batteries. But when a customer chooses an iPhone, they choose an iPhone. And he will compare the hero of this review with his current iPhone (it’s clear that this is not 10 or 11), or with the iPhone 8, which is closest in spirit. Sales of the new product are just beginning, and the “eight” in Ukrainian retail has not yet fallen in price, prices for devices comparable. But in general, the verdict is this: if you need the most affordable compact new iPhone, then you can take the SE 2. It will be supported for a long time by iOS updates, is well built, fast, and takes high-quality pictures. But if the choice of ecosystem is not critical and there is no connection to Apple, then, of course, there are a huge number of more interesting smartphones on the market.
5 reasons to buy the second generation iPhone SE:
- compact body;
- fresh, fast processor;
- good camera;
- dust and moisture protection;
- modern wireless interfaces.
5 reasons not to buy a second generation iPhone SE:
- relatively small display with wide frames;
- single camera without the possibility of real zoom;
- modest autonomy;
- lack of slots for a second physical SIM card and memory card;
- value for money, inferior to many Android smartphones.
Or let's not be so formal, it's an iPhone after all:
2 simple reasons to buy a second generation iPhone SE:
- Are you looking for a replacement for your old iPhone 8 or earlier?
- you need the newest iPhone at the lowest price
2 simple reasons not to buy a second generation iPhone SE:
- you already have an iPhone X or higher (or a budget for such a purchase)
- are you ready to consider Android smartphones
Apple iPhone SE 2nd generation
iPhone 8 with iPhone 11 processor
A modernized version of the aging iPhone 8.In a case that has already become a classic with wide frames around a 4.7-inch display and a round Home button with a built-in fingerprint scanner. Sufficient performance, good camera, compact dimensions. At a price that is still far from dumping.
Buy in Svyaznoy
Buy at M.Video
bargain
Specifications iPhone SE 2 (2020)
Display
IPS, 4.7 inches, 1334×750, 326 ppi
Housing
Aluminum frame, glossy back glass, dimensions 138.4×67.3×7.3 mm, weight: 148 g
CPU
Apple A13 Boinic, 6 cores, up to 2.49 GHz, 4 GPU cores
RAM
3 GB
Flash memory
64, 128 or 256 GB
Camera
Main single, 12 MP, f/1.8, LED flash; front: 7 MP, f/2.2
Wireless technology
Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax) 2.4/5 GHz, Bluetooth 5.0, NFC
GPS
GPS/GNSS
Battery
~1821 mAh, non-removable
operating system
iOS 13
Sim card
1 nanoSIM + eSIM
Thank you
Editorial gg thanks the Citrus online store for kindly providing the smartphone for review