The iPhone SE Review
by Brandon Chester on May 16, 2016 8:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Smartphones
- Apple
- Mobile
- iPhone
- iPhone SE
Battery Life
Our battery life tests have also been upgraded for 2016. Our web browsing test was previously shown in the first part of the Galaxy S7 review, and since that time it has been tweaked to the point that we're happy with the workload it puts on devices. We've also migrated to GFXBench's Manhattan test for examining battery life with a heavy GPU workload.
In our WiFi web browsing test the iPhone SE does quite well. When Apple originally advertised that the SE has better web browsing battery life than the 6s and 6s Plus I saw some confusion from many people, but it's actually not a surprising outcome. The SE is using a much smaller and lower resolution LCD display than the other iPhones, which significantly reduces the total platform power. The boost in battery capacity from the iPhone 5s helps as well. Apple advertises that the SE can last two hours longer on WiFi than the 6s, and in our test it almost meets that target.
Due to a recent move, I'm still trying to find a place with sufficient signal strength that I can use for LTE battery life testing. Until such a time, I'm unable to post LTE battery life results for the SE. In general you can expect LTE battery life to be a couple hours shorter than on WiFi, and Apple advertises that the SE can last three hours longer on LTE than the 6s, so if they get anywhere close to that then LTE battery life should be quite good.
The 4-inch iPhones have never lasted long in GFXBench's battery test. With the new Manhattan test the GPU is doing a lot more work than it was with T-Rex HD, and there aren't any periods of idle. The iPhone SE achieves the lowest battery lifetime of just 1.46 hours. However, the on screen frame rate during the test is hitting Vsync, which is actually concerning because we moved to Manhattan to avoid the problem of devices hitting that cap and then idling in the middle of the test. As I've said in the past, you need to consider both performance and battery life in this test. The iPhone SE is obviously an improvement over the 5s even though it dies half an hour earlier, because by the end of the test the iPhone SE is giving you 6x the performance of the 5s due to the A7 SoC's greater degree of thermal throttling.
Charge Time
Like the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus, the iPhone SE ships with Apple's 5W charging block. While this can be quite problematic on a large phone like the iPhone 6s Plus, on a small phone it won't pose as much of an issue as the phone's battery capacity is much lower. Ideally we'd like to see a time to charge that is under three hours, and coming in under two hours is even better.
The iPhone SE charges quite quickly. We've seen improvements to charge time on the iPhone since the era of the iPhone 5s, and with the SE having a smaller battery than the iPhone 6s it makes sense that the charge time would be shorter. I do wonder how long it would take to get to full charge if Apple bundled a 10-15W charger with the phone, although with the current time being under two hours you also need to consider if the potential reduction in battery longevity from quicker charging is worth it.
Facebook
Twitter
RSS
138 Comments
View All Comments
lucianmarin - Wednesday, May 18, 2016 - link
I had the SE for 6 days. It bricked after taking a photo. I was lucky the retailer accepted my return.Don’t buy this device. It’s the worst iPhone ever. The buttons on the sides make noises when you touch the screen, same for the camera lenses. I will use my iPhone 4S until it brakes… Steve Jobs is really dead. Apple as we knew it is dead.
darwiniandude - Wednesday, May 18, 2016 - link
What?Apple has the best warranty support in the industry, bar none. How are you lucky they accepted your return? Apple offers 14 day no questions asked money back. With a faulty device, you could have the whole thing replaced on the spot via mail in or Apple Store anywhere on the globe. I've handled a bunch of these so far, no issues with buttons or noises, the camera lens is fixed. Something was clearly not right with your device.
Apple has very high physical build quality, fit and finish and the SE is no exception. Read any reviews.
Your 4S is commendable for still being able to run the current software, but it is thick, heavy, unbelievably slow compared to modern devices. Horrible camera. The ancient and fragile dock non reversible dock connector. Keep using it by all means, but the 5s was over twice as fast as the 4s. The SE is more than twice as fast again. Absolutely no comparison. And compare the camera.
Sorry, I just don't get this comment. You obviously got a rare dud.
osxandwindows - Wednesday, May 18, 2016 - link
Dude, you had a faulty device.Some people don't think sometimes.
Spunjji - Thursday, May 19, 2016 - link
"I still find myself asking whether the 6s is truly worth that $250 premium."It's good to see Apple finally releasing a device with a vaguely realistic price point. No way the 6s is worth that much more!
yhselp - Thursday, May 19, 2016 - link
It's the phone I've been waiting for except it doesn't have 3D Touch, and it doesn't have fast Touch ID. I am willing to pay the $250 premium for those two features alone. I hate it that Apple decided to go the budget route with their very late, and only, new small iPhone. It feels like a second-class citizen, an afterthought aimed at earning a quick buck in an overlooked market. I want a premium, feature-rich small iPhone, not this. They just can't kill two birds with one stone that way.There's no need for an iPhone 6 mini design, but they could surely tweak the screen size. They could make it just a tad bigger, while keeping the footprint largely unchanged. It could be a little shorter, and a little wider. Why does a small phone need to sport such a wide aspect ratio? Why should any phone that is not strictly made for media consumption? It's unpractical. The tablet market reflects this nicely and offers wonderful aspect ratios. Apple don't even put 16:9 screens in their premium laptops. The 16:9 choice for smartphones has always baffled me.
The real issue with the 4-inch screen size is that iOS 9 just isn't designed with that size in mind. Many native apps feel cramped, where that wasn't the case before. The fact that Apple launched a new 4-inch iPhone and did nothing to amend this in iOS speaks volumes about their commitment, or lack thereof, to the 4-inch form factor.
All things that should have been addressed in the article - things that I'm pretty certain Anand himself would have payed attention to. These Android points throughout the whole article coupled with the facts-of-life, borderline spiritual 'getting used to life and the joys of breathing sunshine' part about the 4-inch form factor, and the reviewer's touching coming of age story about phone screen sized feels a tiny bit subjective, and largely unnecessary. To review a product one needs to be intimately familiar with the platform going back years. That goes for any platform. I wouldn't like to read an Android review by a person that has mostly used iPhones throughout the years. I wouldn't like to read a phablet review by someone that doesn't like the form factor either. The fact that the reviewer thinks that the single hand usability is the primary, if not only, benefit of a smaller screen phone is enough proof that they aren't the right person to review such a device.
Anyway, I can't begin to express how much I hope that Apple would truly decide to pay attention to and innovate in the small form factor platform and produce a new, revolutionary small iPhone. I'm not going to say it, but you-know-who might have done you-know-what differently.
tom5 - Thursday, May 19, 2016 - link
Where's the HTC 10 review Part 2?Meteor2 - Thursday, May 19, 2016 - link
Tbh by the time the 2016 reviews are published here, people will have read all they want elsewhere so the articles won't get many views, and Anandtech won't get much ad revenue :(.beck2050 - Friday, May 20, 2016 - link
Weak screen is deal breaker. Much better options in that price range.jkhoward - Friday, May 20, 2016 - link
Anyone want to trade? I have a 6S Plus and I am looking to get this phone... Won't charge anymore, just want the trade... Currently on T-Mobile.DiegoLinden - Sunday, May 22, 2016 - link
Nice review, i still using a Iphone 4 that is 3.5' inch , i dont really like android system and they big screen, but was thinking about get a ~4.7inch(because my i4 is rly slow after the last update available) and now i think i go to this iphone xDthanks!