iPhone SE Reviews: High-End Performance With Budget-Friendly Price

by

First impressions and reviews of the new iPhone SE are now out, with many praising the device's flagship performance at a budget-friendly price.

The second-generation iPhone SE has a similar design as the iPhone 8, including a 4.7-inch display and a Touch ID home button, but it takes a big leap forward in performance. Despite starting at just $399, the device is powered by the latest-and-greatest A13 Bionic chip, the same processor found inside the high-end iPhone 11 Pro.

iphone se 2020 red
The Verge's Dieter Bohn:

If I were buying the iPhone SE, I'd seriously consider spending the extra $50 to upgrade the storage to 128GB, just in case I'd want it three or five years down the road. That timespan is the reason the iPhone SE is a big deal. No other phone that costs less than $500 can claim to be this good, nor last that long.

The iPhone SE is not just a good deal. It's also a really good smartphone.

The new iPhone SE can be pre-ordered on Apple.com in the United States and more than 40 other countries and regions. Pricing starts at $399 for 64GB of storage, with 128GB and 256GB options available for $449 and $549 respectively. The first deliveries to customers and in-store availability at select resellers will begin Friday, April 24.

Reviews

Video Reviews and Unboxings










With the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus now discontinued, the lower end of Apple's smartphone lineup now includes the new iPhone SE and the iPhone XR, released in October 2018. Thinking about upgrading? Read our comparison of the devices.

Tag: Reviews
Related Forum: iPhone

Popular Stories

Aston Martin CarPlay Ultra Screen

Apple's CarPlay Ultra to Expand to These Vehicle Brands Later This Year

Sunday February 1, 2026 10:08 am PST by
Last year, Apple launched CarPlay Ultra, the long-awaited next-generation version of its CarPlay software system for vehicles. Nearly nine months later, CarPlay Ultra is still limited to Aston Martin's latest luxury vehicles, but that should change fairly soon. In May 2025, Apple said many other vehicle brands planned to offer CarPlay Ultra, including Hyundai, Kia, and Genesis. In his Powe...
Read Full Article • 86 comments
Apple Logo Black

Apple Just Made Its Second-Biggest Acquisition Ever After Beats

Thursday January 29, 2026 10:07 am PST by
Apple today confirmed to Reuters that it has acquired Q.ai, an Israeli startup that is working on artificial intelligence technology for audio. Apple paid close to $2 billion for Q.ai, according to sources cited by the Financial Times. That would make this Apple's second-biggest acquisition ever, after it paid $3 billion for the popular headphone and audio brand Beats in 2014. Q.ai has...
Read Full Article • 134 comments
Apple Logo Black

Apple's Next Launch is 'Imminent'

Sunday February 1, 2026 12:31 pm PST by
The calendar has turned to February, and a new report indicates that Apple's next product launch is "imminent," in the form of new MacBook Pro models. "All signs point to an imminent launch of next-generation MacBook Pros that retain the current form factor but deliver faster chips," Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said on Sunday. "I'm told the new models — code-named J714 and J716 — are slated...
Read Full Article
14 inch MacBook Pro Keyboard

Apple Changes How You Order a Mac

Saturday January 31, 2026 10:51 am PST by
Apple recently updated its online store with a new ordering process for Macs, including the MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, iMac, Mac mini, Mac Studio, and Mac Pro. There used to be a handful of standard configurations available for each Mac, but now you must configure a Mac entirely from scratch on a feature-by-feature basis. In other words, ordering a new Mac now works much like ordering an...
Read Full Article • 126 comments
Apple MacBook Pro M4 hero

New MacBook Pros Reportedly Launching Alongside macOS 26.3

Sunday February 1, 2026 5:42 am PST by
Apple is planning to launch new MacBook Pro models with M5 Pro and M5 Max chips alongside macOS 26.3, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. "Apple's faster MacBook Pros are planned for the macOS 26.3 release cycle," wrote Gurman, in his Power On newsletter today. "I'm told the new models — code-named J714 and J716 — are slated for the macOS 26.3 software cycle, which runs from...
Read Full Article • 137 comments

Top Rated Comments

nameischarles Avatar
nameischarles
76 months ago
I really thought my mum would have wanted this as her iPhone 6S is slowly dying and she never really wanted to get rid of it for so long.

I told her I'll upgrade her to the new SE and she told me she didn't want the same boring looking phone again haha she wanted the newer fancy looking iPhone 11 Pro. So I upgraded her to the iPhone 11 Pro today.
Score: 20 Votes (Like | Disagree)
I7guy Avatar
I7guy
76 months ago
Apple might just have hit the nail on the head with the new Iphone SE.
Score: 15 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Justanotherfanboy Avatar
Justanotherfanboy
76 months ago

Think this. Apple tried hard from iPhone 4-8 to keep iPhone look symmetrical especially front. Than Apple let go symmetry concept when introduced iPhone X with top notch and nothing similar at bottom.
So, Apple could have increased the screen towards top side giving more screen in the same iPhone 8 size frame by reducing thick top bezel like most android phones top part of screen. Bottom could not be reduced because of beloved Touch ID. This could have given 2020 SE new identity. Wasn't that difficult.
Think this.
Apple is only able to offer a phone this crazy cheap every 3-4 years or so by reusing EVERY SINGLE part that they possibly can, that’s already been in production for years & they have reached economies of scale with.... processor from the latest 2 phones, casings they’ve been making for many years now, etc.
The reason this phone can be cheaper whilst maintaining a profit margin is because there’s very little r&d to recoup, no new manufacturing techniques to work wrinkles out of, etc.
You're talking about new design, new tech, more r&d, etc...
What isn’t that difficult is seeing why they went their route, not yours.
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
dubar Avatar
dubar
76 months ago
I think I might be able to convince the wife to get rid of her Android. She's only slightly jealous of me being able to control the Apple TV from my phone.

Crosses fingers
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Pearple Avatar
Pearple
76 months ago
I would like to share my detailed comprehensive review of the new iPhone SE with all the folks at Mac rumors.

Here it is:












WAY

















TOO






















BIG!
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
willyx Avatar
willyx
76 months ago

This will be a big hit for a lot of people.

But I can’t help think that they could’ve made a phone with a 4.7” edge-to-edge screen with a smaller footprint than the first iPhone SE. The first iPhone SE measured about 5.4” diagonally, so if you take any bezel space into account you could squeeze a 5 inch screen in there.

Wait a minute, it all makes sense. There’s a 5.4” iPhone that’s rumored in the fall. That’ll be the high end compact version.
For the 100th time. The WHOLE POINT of this device is to reuse an old iPhone case, for which there is already an amortised logistic chain in place, to make it CHEAP by Apple standards. So no, there is no way they would have changed the design for the iPhone SE to accommodate a larger screen or anything else that does not fit the iPhone 8/7/6s/6 chassis.

Enough of these kind of comments, seriously.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Read All Comments