Is the SE or iPhone 6 better?

Nwork Tchnology GSM / CDMA / HSPA / EVDO / LTE GSM / CDMA / HSPA / EVDO / LTE 2G bans GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 - A1662, A1723 GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 - A1549 (GSM), A1549 (CDMA), A1586 CDMA 800 / 1900 - A1662, A1723 CDMA 800 / 1700 / 1900 / 2100 - A1549 (CDMA), A1586 3G bans HSDPA 800 / 850 / 900 / 1700(AWS) / 1900 / 2100 - A1662, A1723 HSDPA 850 / 900 / 1700 / 1900 / 2100 - A1549 (GSM), A1549 (CDMA), A1586 CDMA2000 1xEV-DO - A1662, A1723 CDMA2000 1xEV-DO - A1549 (CDMA), A1586 TD‑SCDMA - A1723 TD-SCDMA - A1586 4G bans 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 8, 12, 13, 17, 18, 19, 20, 25, 26, 29 - A1662 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 13, 17, 18, 19, 20, 25, 26, 28, 29 - A1549 GSM, A1549 CDMA 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 12, 17, 18, 19, 20, 25, 26, 28, 38, 39, 40, 41 - A1723 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 13, 17, 18, 19, 20, 25, 26, 28, 29, 38, 39, 40, 41 - A1586 Sp HSPA, LTE-A Ca4 150/50 Mbps HSPA 42.2/5.76 Mbps, LTE-A Ca4 150/50 Mbps, EV-DO Rv.A 3.1 Mbps Appl n Aprl 2020 unvl h Phon SE, a nw low-cos Phon ha marrs h sgn of h Phon 8 wh h supr fas A13 chp n h Phon 11, all for a supr low $399 prc ag.


If you hav an olr Phon, lk an Phon 6s, Phon 7, or an vn arlr Phon, you may b wonrng whhr 's worh h upgra o a nwr vc. In a nushll, h answr s ys, bu w'll walk hrough h rasons why n h gu blow.

Ky Phon SE Faurs

    Sam sgn as Phon 8Glass boy4.7-nch splayA13 ChpSngl-lns 12-mgapxl camraTouch IDWrlss chargngFas chargng

Faur Comparsons an Upgras

Sam (non Plus) Sz an Dsgn

Th nw 2020 Phon SE s ncal o h sgn ha Appl us for Phons rlas n 2014, 2015, 2016, an 2017, so hos upgrang o h SE from h Phon 6, 6s, 7, or 8 can xpc a vc ha's h xac sam sz, wgh, shap, an sgn.

Th 2020 Phon SE faurs a 4.7-nch LCD splay, hck op an boom bzls, an a Touch ID Hom buon wh fasr Touch ID rsponsvnss han was avalabl n many of h orgnal Phons wh Touch ID.

In olr Phons, h Touch ID Hom buon was an acual buon, bu as of h Phon 7, Appl has bn usng a buonlss buon. Th buon fls lk 's prssng own hanks o hapc fback, bu 's acually sol. I won' fl oo ffrn from h buon on h Phon 6 an 6s, bu wll hav lss sqush.


Thos upgrang from a "Plus" vc lk h Phon 6s Plus wll no b abl o g a vc n h sam largr 5.5-nch sz, as hr s no "Plus" vrson of h Phon SE a hs m.

Colors hav shf, wh h Phon SE avalabl n wh, black, an (PRODUCT)RED, bu black an wh ar smlar o h wll-known slvr an spac gray colors. Thr s on major, noabl ffrnc n h sgn of h Phon SE compar o olr phons - h Phon SE faurs a glass fron an back wh an alumnum ban sanwchng h wo pcs oghr, whl h Phon 6s an ohr smlar Phons (wh h xcpon of h Phon 8) ha an alumnum boy.


Alumnum s much mor urabl han glass, so hos upgrang o an Phon SE from an olr phon shoul b awar ha h nw Phon s mor fragl an can asly shar f ropp whou a cas ono a har surfac.

For hos comng from an orgnal 2016 Phon SE, h nw Phon SE s a goo al largr, bu s, unforunaly, Appl's smalls phon. Th 4-nch form facor has bn rr, an 's unlkly ha Appl wll rvv .

No Haphon Jack

If you'r plannng o upgra o h Phon SE from an Phon 6 or 6s, hn you n o know ha hr s no haphon jack on h Phon SE. Appl rmov h haphon jack from h Phon wh h Phon 7, an subsqun Phons hav no nclu a haphon jack.

Tha mans f you hav wr haphons ha us h 3.5mm haphon jack, you'll n an aapr ha ls hm connc o h Lghnng por on h Phon or you'll n o ranson o a Bluooh-bas soluon lk h ArPos.

Hapc Touch Insa of 3D Touch

If you'r upgrang from an Phon 6s, 7, or 8, you mgh b us o h 3D Touch faur ha ls you accss hn mnus an ohr faurs whn prssng a fngr own on h Phon's splay.

Th Phon SE osn' hav 3D Touch, bu os hav somhng smlar - Hapc Touch. Hapc Touch sn' qu h sam hng bcaus hr's no prssur snsvy, bu acs n h sam way an can accomplsh h sam asks.

Mor War Rssanc

Th frs Phon ha was avrs as bng war rssan was h Phon 7, so f you hav an Phon 6 or 6s, war rssanc s a major bonus faur ha you'll g whn you upgra bcaus you won' n o worry abou usng h Phon n h ran, accnally roppng n a pul, an ohr accnal lqu xposur.


Th Phon SE has an IP67 war an us rssanc rang, whch mans s mprvous o us an can whsan bng unk n war up o on mr p for 30 mnus. Warproofng sn' always prmann an Appl os no covr war amag wh s warrany, so 's sll bs o kp away from lqus. If hr s accnal xposur, hough, h Phon SE wll mos lkly com ou unscah.

Wrlss Chargng

A glass boy mgh soun lk a owns whn coms o urably, bu os nabl a faur ha olr Phons n' hav - wrlss chargng. Wrlss chargng allows h Phon SE o b charg usng any Q-bas wrlss chargr, whch s hany bcaus hr ar ons of hs chargrs on h mark now.

Wrlss chargng mans an Phon can b s own on a Q-bas wrlss chargr o na chargng, wh no n o hassl wh h Lghnng por an a cabl. Wrlss chargng maxs ou a 7.5W so 's no h bs soluon f you n powr quck, bu 's prfc for rckl chargng urng h ay or chargng h Phon on a ngh san a ngh.

Fasr Chargng

Whn you'r n a hurry an hav an Phon ha's clos o a, a faur lk h Phon SE's fas chargng can com n hany. Th Phon SE can charg o 50 prcn whn 30 mnus usng a USB-C o Lghnng cabl an an 18W+ powr aapr.

You mgh alray hav a USB-C powr aapr on han f you hav a rcn Mac or Pa (any Mac or Pa powr aapr ha's USB-C can charg your Phon wh h rgh cabl), bu ohrws hs componns n o b purchas sparaly bcaus h Phon SE shps wh a 5W powr aapr an a sanar USB-A o Lghnng cabl.

Luckly, USB-C cabls an appropra 18W chargrs can b pck up pry chaply on Amazon.

Top of h Ln Procssor an Sp

If you hav an Phon 6, 6s, or 7, 's probably sarng o fl slow, spcally f you'v upgra o OS 12 or OS 13, whch hav faurs sgn for mor morn Phons.

Th Phon SE, wh h sam A13 Bonc chp ha's n h Phon 11 an 11 Pro, s much, much fasr han h chps us n Appl's olr Phons bcaus chp chnology has com so far n h las fw yars. Usng an Phon SE afr usng an olr Phon wll b h mos noabl chang bcaus vryhng wll fl smoohr, spr, an mor samlss wh no lag an ohr hccups ha you mgh b us o.


Apps wll opn fasr, gams wll prform br, wbpags wll loa quckr n Safar, you'll b abl o opn up h camra fasr an snap a pcur, an 'll jus gnrally fl quckr rgarlss of wha you'r ong.

Th A13 Bonc chp s h fass smarphon chp ha Appl has rlas. Jus look a bnchmarks comparng h Phon 11 (whch has h sam chp as h SE) wh h Phon 6, 6s, 7, an 8. I's an ncrbl ffrnc ha you wll b abl o fl n ay o ay usag.


Accorng o Appl, h Phon SE's CPU s up o 2.4x fasr han h A9 chp n h Phon 6s, an h GPU s up o 4x fasr. No: If you hav a 2016 Phon SE an ar hnkng of upgrang, h procssor n ha vc s h A9 ha was n h Phon 6s.

Improv Camra wh Porra Mo

Appl's olr Phons (wh h xcpon of h Phon 7 Plus an 8 Plus) all ha sngl-lns rar camras, an h sam s ru of h 2020 Phon SE. I's qupp wh a 12-mgapxl w-angl camra ha sn' qu as goo as h w-angl camra n h Phon 11, bu 's clos.


Though hr's sll a sngl-lns camra, Appl s usng mprov snsor chnology n s morn Phons, whch mans you'r gong o s br phoos from h Phon SE han you s from h Phon 6s an ohr olr Phons. Th camra n h SE s br han h camra n h Phon 8, an sms o b smlar o h camra n h Phon XR.

Popl comng o h 2020 Phon SE from an olr Phon can xpc brgh, vv phoos wh ru-o-lf colors an Smar HDR suppor, whch mans much br al n h aras of h phoos ha ar brgh an ark. I's no as goo as h flagshp Phons a low lgh phoography (hr's no Ngh Mo), bu 's a noabl mprovmn ovr olr vcs.

Tha sa, f phoography s wha you'r gong for, you mgh wan o ak a look a h Phon 11 as has wo-lns sup wh an ulra w-angl lns, bu for vry ay us, h SE works gra. I's a fanasc smarphon camra a s prc pon.

Th A13 chp n h Phon SE ls prform som compuaonal phoography rcks, nablng mulpl faurs ha wr absn from olr Phons. Th aformnon Smar HDR s powr by h A13, an also as Porra Mo for crang porra mags of popl wh arfully blurr backgrouns an Porra Lghng for ajusng h lghng n hos phoos.


As for vo, h Phon SE offrs a lo for h askng prc. I's abl o shoo 4K vo a 60fps, h sam as Appl's flagshp Phons, wh opcal mag sablzaon an som ohr usful faurs lk QuckTak vo for capurng a quck vo by holng own h shur buon whl n phoo mo.

Whn coms o h fron-facng camra, hr ar fn mprovmns ovr h 1.2-mgapxl camra n h Phon 6, h 5-mgapxl camra n h Phon 6s, an h 7-mgapxl camra n h Phon 7. Th Phon SE also uss a 7-mgapxl camra bu wh h A13 chp, can o Porra Mo an h mag qualy s much mprov hanks o Appl's sofwar algorhms.

Mor Sorag Spac

Appl has ncras h bas amoun of sorag ha nry-lvl mols g n s rcn Phons, an h Phon SE s avalabl wh 64, 128, or 256GB of sorag spac. If you plan o ak a lo of phoos, may b worh payng an xra $50 for h 128GB mol, spcally f you'r plannng o kp h Phon SE for svral yars o com.

Whn orgnally rlas, h Phon 6 an 6s wr lm o 16, 64, an 128GB sorag opons, whl h Phon 7 was avalabl wh 32, 128, or 256GB of sorag. If you op for an Phon wh a lowr sorag r lk 16GB, h upgra o a mnmum of 64GB wll b a hug rlf bcaus you won' n o manag phoo sorag an app nsallaons as closly.

Goo Bary Lf

Th Phon SE offrs abou h sam bary lf as h Phon 8, lasng for up o 13 hours whn wachng vo on vc, 8 hours whn sramng vo, an 40 hours whn lsnng o musc.

I's no as goo as h bary n h Phon 11 an 11 Pro, whch lass much, much longr, bu 's gong o b a sol mprovmn for mos popl comng from olr Phons wh bars ha hav gra ovr m.

Fasr WF an LTE

Th Phon SE suppors Ggab LTE an works on mor han 25 LTE bans, whch s a major mprovmn ovr h Phon 6 o h Phon 8. Ggab LTE mans fasr uploa an ownloa sps on a cllular conncon, whl mor LTE ban suppor mans ha f you ravl, your Phon s mor lkly o b abl o work n anohr counry.

Th Phon SE also suppors WF 6 an Bluooh 5.0, h mos morn Bluooh an WF spcfcaons. WF 6 s fasr han h WF 5 proocol ha has bn aroun for many, many yars now, an whl 's no us vrywhr y, 's fnly a faur you wan on a phon ha you'r gong o b usng for svral yars o com.

Th Phon SE offrs up o 3.2x fasr cllular sps han h Phon 6s, an up o 38 prcn fasr WF sps, bu ral-worl sps wll vary as hs sascs ar bas on horcal maxmums.

Dual-SIM suppor s also nclu so you can us a sconary SIM whn ravlng whou nng o swap ou h SIM, or you can s up wo phon numbrs on h sam phon - on for work an on for prsonal us.

SIM suppor, also xclusv o nwr Phons, maks asr o swch bwn ffrn carrrs.

Tch Spc Ls

Our ch spc comparson covrs som of h basc faurs of h Phon SE compar o smlar faurs n h Phon 6, 6s, or 7, provng an a-a-glanc ovrvw of wha's mprov. Som spcs, such as bary lf, arn' abl o b compar as olr Phons hav gra bars an ffrncs n bary lf u o sofwar upgras ovr h yars.

Phon SE

    4.7-nch LCD splay1334x750 rsoluon an 326 PPISngl 12-mgapxl rar camraSngl 7-mgapxl fron camraPorra Mo/Lghng, Smar HDRA13 Bonc chp wh Nural EngnTouch IDHapc TouchLghnng conncorNo haphon jackIP67-ra war rssancFas chargng: 50% charg n 30 mnQ-bas wrlss chargng64/128/256GBDual SIM (Nano-SIM an SIM)Ggab-class LTE802.11ax W-F 6Bluooh 5.03GB RAM

Phon 6/6s/7

    4.7-nch LCD splay1334x750 rsoluon an 326 PPISngl 8/12/12-mgapxl rar camra1.2/5/7-mgapxl fron camraNo Porra MoA8/A9/A10 chpTouch ID3D Touch (6s an lar)Lghnng conncorHaphon jack (6 an 6s)
    No war rssanc (6 an 6s)No fas chargngNo wrlss chargng16/64/128GB (256GB Phon 7 only)Sngl SIMLTE Avanc802.11ac W-F 5Bluooh 4.0-4.21/2/2GB RAM

Ohr Consraons

Tra-Ins

If you hav an Phon 6s, 7, or 8 (or hr Plus vrsons) you can ra hm n o Appl whn purchasng a nw SE o g a scoun.


Appl offrs up o $80 for an Phon 6s n goo conon, roppng h $400 prc of h Phon SE o $320. Appl offrs up o $100 for an Phon 6s Plus, $120 for an Phon 7, $150 for an Phon 7 Plus, $170 for an Phon 8, an $250 for an Phon 8 Plus.

Appl vn aks ol smarphons from compans lk LG, HTC, Samsung, Googl, an mor, so Anro usrs swchng ovr o an Phon can g a scoun oo.

Ongong OS Suppor

Appl provs sofwar upas for Phons long afr rlas, an vn h Phon 6s, manufacur an sol n 2015, s connung o g h mos rcn sofwar. Bu Appl os sop offrng nw upas afr approxmaly four yars, so h Phon SE an h Phon 6s ar lkly narng hr suppor n as an probably won' b abl o upgra o OS 14 hs fall.

Th Phon 6 s alray suck on OS 12 an osn' hav OS 13 avalabl, so gng morn sofwar an h las sofwar capabls s anohr rason o upgra from an agng Phon 6, 6s, SE, or 7.

Th A13 chp n h 2020 Phon SE s h sam chp as h Phon 11, whch mans Appl s gong o suppor for yars o com. I wll g a goo four yars of upas, whch s gra nws for hos who lk o hol on o hr Phons for a long m.

Boom Ln

Th 2020 Phon SE s, whou a oub, h bs valu smarphon ha Appl has vr rlas. I kps up wh h morn flagshp vcs whn coms o procssng sp, an whl h sgn s a, 's sll gong o appal o hos who lk smallr Phons an prfr Touch ID o Fac ID.

Phon usrs who hav hl on o hr Phon 6, 6s, 7, 8, or vn an arlr phon for sz prfrnc or cos purposs shoul ak a goo look a h Phon SE bcaus offrs sol harwar a an afforabl prc, an s a sgnfcan upgra ovr olr Phons.

Th Phon SE s h al vc for hos who ar lookng for a goo al an for hos who lk o kp hr Phons for many yars bcaus 's gong o kp gng sofwar upas for yars o com, hanks o fuur proofng wh h las A-srs chp an prks lk WF 6.

Gu Fback

Hav a quson abou h upgrang o h Phon SE from an olr Phon ha w n' covr n hs gu or s an rror or somhng ha w lf ou? Sn us an mal hr.