Battery Life - Matching the iPhone 8

In terms of battery life, the iPhone SE is said to perform similarly to the iPhone 8. Apple here employs a much newer and more efficient SoC in the form of the A13, while retaining the same battery capacity and display panel as the older phone. In essence, what we’re testing here is merely Apple’s calibration of the iPhone SE’s A13 chip in terms of its performance vs energy usage. Naturally of course, the new SE will have a more efficient cellular and WiFi chip as well which will contribute to the efficiency of the device.

Web Browsing Battery Life 2016 (WiFi)

In our web browsing test that we were able to run overnight, the iPhone SE confirms Apple’s claims of it matching the iPhone 8, and we’re essentially getting near identical results at 10.7h vs 10.4h, only a few minutes apart difference between the two devices.

We had noted in our iPhone 11 review that Apple’s battery life marketing claims oddly matched the results in our web test, and this again is the case for the new iPhone SE.

Whilst the iPhone SE isn’t able to match the longevity of the iPhone 11’s, it’s still a reasonably good result considering the battery capacity and size of the phone.

Display Measurement Video Recording
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  • 137ben - Saturday, April 25, 2020 - link

    You don't get spyware with a Purism Librem 5 phone. Although, there are other drawbacks compared to iOS or Android.
  • Oxford Guy - Sunday, April 26, 2020 - link

    You get spyware with everything. Open source software may, in rare cases, be free of intentional spyware but the hardware will be compromised as well as the networks.
  • Deicidium369 - Sunday, April 26, 2020 - link

    but those drawbacks are it's a steaming pile of ...
  • 808Hilo - Sunday, April 26, 2020 - link

    Correct and its from Apple.
  • yeeeeman - Saturday, April 25, 2020 - link

    This makes most iphone phones look bad, because Android has a lot of very good midrange phones in this price segment.
    Take Xiaomi Redmi K30 pro. 450$. SD865. 6GB of RAM, 128GB of storage. 5G. OLED display, bezel less. 64MP main camera. In display fingerprint sensor. This iphone is a joke compared to that. Still this iphone is starting to look like a decent proposition from apple compared to the rest of the lineup.
  • Fulljack - Sunday, April 26, 2020 - link

    that's no mid-range, that's budget flagship.
  • Deicidium369 - Sunday, April 26, 2020 - link

    not with that peasant resolution
  • flyingpants265 - Sunday, May 10, 2020 - link

    That's what makes it budget..
  • cha0z_ - Wednesday, July 29, 2020 - link

    Dimensions 163.3 x 75.4 x 8.9 mm (6.43 x 2.97 x 0.35 in)
    Weight 218 g (7.69 oz)

    Nothing more to say, some people want smaller phones. Got a friend of mine who is like that, he switched from HIGH END RECENT android and it's his first ios device, could not be happier with his decision to switch. Not just because ios and the superior apps + running smoother + more features + exclusives, size was a big factor. My point is - each one have it's personal taste and on the smaller phone segment there is no equal to that new iphone se, especially if one is after more premium experience.

    Also the SE will be fully supported for 6 years with day one major/minor/beta as the most expensive current iphone. How about that Xiomi? I have a second hand iphone 6s from 2015 running rn ios 14 beta 3 - fast, smooth, can use it as daily without any complains. Also ios 14 added the few last missing things from android (app drawer, widgets on your home page, caller notification instead taking the whole screen, picture in picture for videos, to name a few).
  • heffeque - Friday, April 24, 2020 - link

    Personally I'm impressed on how big the phone is in comparison to the screen size. It's almost as big as an iPhone XS! ...yet the screen is a whole inch smaller!
    The battery is also tiny and not up to par with phones from this day and age.
    I don't really see what you see that's so impressive, other than CPU performance.
    A very lacking phone for almost $400.

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