The iPhone SE (2020) Review: A Reinvigorated Classic
by Andrei Frumusanu on April 24, 2020 6:30 AM EST- Posted in
- Mobile
- Apple
- Smartphones
- iPhone SE
- Apple A13
- iPhone SE 2020
System Performance
Performance-wise, the inclusion of the new A13 chip should essentially blow the iPhone 8 out of the water given it’s two generations newer than the A11. For more details about the A13, please read our in-depth coverage of the chip in our review of the iPhone 11 series.
In the steady-state Javascript web benchmarks, the iPhone SE unsurprisingly matches the newer iPhone 11. In JetStream, the phone even gets a boost here, which might be due to the newer iOS version. I haven’t had the chance to re-test the older iPhones, but I’m certain the scores will level out across the A13 generation devices.
On WebXPRT 3, the iPhone SE did score quite a bit worse than the iPhone 11 phones. This test is more interactive in its workloads and more impacted by DVFS responsiveness, rather than just being a continuous stead-state load. It’s very much possible that Apple has tuned down the DVFS of the chip in order to remain at the more power efficient frequency states for more workloads. I haven’t had the time to update Xcode to run our workload ramp test yet – but it’s something that can be easily verified in a follow-up update on the topic.
Update April 29th:
I was also able to verify the CPU frequencies of the A13 in the iPhone SE, and the phone tracks identical peak frequencies as on the iPhone 11. This means that we're seeing 2.66GHz peak clocks on the Lightning cores when a single core is on, and up to around 2.59GHz when both cores are enabled. The Thunder cores clock in at up to 1.73GHz as well, just as on the iPhone 11’s.
The DVFS of the two phones is also identical – with the same ramp-up times between the SE and the iPhone 11. In general, any performance differences between the new SE and the flagship phones should simply be due to thermal characteristics of the smaller phone, possibly throttling things faster when under more strenuous workloads.
Overall Performance
Whilst I haven’t had too much time on the SE, the first impressions of the device are very much that this is just an as good experience as the iPhone 11 series. Much like on the iPhone 11 series, I actually feel that the raw performance of the hardware is actually hampered by the software, for example animations could be much shorter or even disabled in order to improve the user’s experience of speed and responsiveness. In either case, the iPhone SE’s performance is fantastic, and that’s due to the A13 chipset’s raw power.
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mandirabl - Tuesday, April 28, 2020 - link
Privacy, but you did know that, didn't you? Well: https://www.androidpolice.com/2020/04/28/iphone-se...Pitape - Saturday, April 25, 2020 - link
I would be interested about audio and stereo speaker quality.Deicidium369 - Sunday, April 26, 2020 - link
for what? a McIntosh audio system? Certainly not on a cell phone.Here's the verdict - McIntosh great - cell phone HORRIBLE
GL1zdA - Saturday, April 25, 2020 - link
Received mine yesterday. I was upgrading from a 2016 SE, which I liked very much, but I was using a 32 GB version for the last year and always needed more space. It will take some time before I get used to the new size. My hands are fairly large, but operating the phone with just one hand is a bit more difficult, especially if I have to hit something in the top left corner. I also preferred the old home button, this new one feels awkward, I never know "when" it will register the "press".Deicidium369 - Sunday, April 26, 2020 - link
<pats the good little iSheep on the head>Featherinmycap - Monday, April 27, 2020 - link
Why are you commenting on an article about iPhones and patronizing users for their choice of operating system? Go iSheep yourself somewhere else. Its annoying to be on a tech site with a lot of very thoughtful commenters and then you come trolling along. You post all over the place repeatedly with nary an original thought to share.trparky - Friday, May 1, 2020 - link
He's a rabid android fan, he can't help himself.Korguz - Sunday, May 3, 2020 - link
and a rabid intel fan as well.they guy cant get his own personal facts straight, let alone anything else. reply to him with sources that refute his claims, and he either runs away, and doesnt reply, or he just resorts to name calliing and insults.
trparky - Friday, May 1, 2020 - link
Go away.Death666Angel - Saturday, April 25, 2020 - link
To the people here commenting that they like the size: I bought my mother-in-law the Galaxy A40 on sale for 150€ back in January. She likes that phone a lot. It has a nice 1080p Samsung screen, good-enough SoC, 4GB RAM, 64GB storage, good battery life, headphone jack. It is 6mm taller and 2mm wider than the iPhone SE (2020). Is it that much of a difference to you? Or is it just that you actually want a cheaper and smaller iOS device? It really felt tiny to me, coming from 5.7" 16:9 and 6.5" 19:9 phones.And another thing: the iPhone SE (2020) is ca. 138x67 mm² and the LG G2 was ca. 138x70 mm², but had a 5.2" 1080p display. In 2013. I liked that phone a lot.