Apple iPhone SE (2022) Review – The Apple iPhone SE 2022 (also known as the iPhone SE 3 or the third generation Phone SE) is a smartphone designed and developed by Apple Inc. It is succeeding the second-generation iPhone SE from 2020, also looks like it. However, the 2020 model was identical to the 2017 iPhone 8. This refreshed version was released on March 2022 and is now available for purchase globally.
Among the few modifications, the major upgrade is the new chipset accompanied by the 5G connectivity. It is true that this iPhone is present in an affordable range but to find out if it is a worthy buy or if it is improved from its predecessor. Let’s start with a detailed review of the Apple iPhone SE 2022.
Table of Contents
Apple iPhone SE (2022) Review
Highlights
- For the display, iPhone SE 2022 exhibits a 4.7 inches Retina IPS LCD screen.
- This iPhone SE is powered by Apple A15 Bionic, providing an enhanced user performance.
- The iPhone SE 2022 runs on iOS 15.4, which is upgradable to iOS 15.4.1.
- In the camera section, there is a 12 MP camera at the back and a 7 MP camera at the front.
- This iPhone SE arrives with a Li-Ion 2018 mAh battery, having a 20W fast charging support and 7.5W Qi wireless charging.
Design and Display
As far as design is concerned, not a lot has changed from the iPhone 8 design or the SE 2020 model. The device is 7.3 mm thick and weighs 144 grams thus it is compact & comfortable in the hand. In addition, the smartphone is IP67-rated for dust and water resistance (it can last up to 30 minutes when submerged in clean water up to a meter depth).
Coming back to the look, the glass front might give a retro feel because of the huge bezels at the top and bottom and a physical home key. The home key also serves as the fingerprint reader, which is highly responsive & rapid. Besides, the glass back meets the front through the rounded corners and curved edges. Both the glass panels are highly prone to smudges, but thanks to the oleophobic coating, which makes these smudges less visible & easy to wipe. Moreover, The handset is offered in Black, White, and Red color.
The iPhone SE 2022 features a 4.7-inches Retina IPS LCD screen with a 60Hz refresh rate. Though a fast refresh rate and OLED panel are missing, still the display performs pretty well. Delivering decent viewing angles with color accuracy and excellent contrast. All things considered, the design and display may not please some users, whereas others may find it manageable.
Memory and Internal
As always, Apple makes no compromises on the performance of SE 2022 as it gets the new 5nm Apple A15 Bionic chip, which is among the fastest smartphone chipsets. Also, it is really powerful alongside improved photos and battery life. As a result, multi-tasking, heavy gaming, and all other heavy tasks are super-fluid with no slowdown. The smartphone thermal management is improved, that is why the phone does not feel hot even during prolonged usage.
Users attain three storage options at different prices. The base variant brings 4GB RAM 64GB internal storage, which may be insufficient for many buyers, so they may go for 4GB 128GB or 4GB 256GB.
This year’s iPhone SE is layered with iOS 15.4, upgradable to iOS 15.4.1. Users get updated UI elements, improved FaceTime, notification management, Safari, Wallets & Maps. It is believed that Apple will at least provide five years of support for SE 2022. On the whole, the hardware and software section of the device will not disappoint the customers in any way.
Camera
The iPhone SE (2022) equips one camera on each side, like the SE 2020 model and iPhone 8. A single 12 MP rear and 7 MP front camera. Although the camera specs may seem underwhelming, the image quality is pleasant. The rear camera delivers detailed images with proper contrast and a wide dynamic range.
Moreover, the Portraits shots are equally convincing as the subject separation, and blur is on-spot. The same goes for the low-light photography, it is because of OIS and HDR that the night photos are detailed even in the absence of night mode. Other than this, the third-generation SE’s selfies are highly impressive, having the correct amount of sharpness, lively colors, and low noise.
For the videos, the primary camera can record 4k videos up to 60fps and 1080p@120fps from the selfie lens. All the videos are optically stabilized and support HDR. Hence even after missing out on the latest features like a telephoto lens, ultra-wide and night mode, iPhone SE proves to be a good camera phone.
Battery and Others
iPhone SE (2022) is powered by Li-Ion 2018 mAh battery and has a 20W fast charging support and 7.5W Qi wireless charging. Yet, just like recent iPhone models, the iPhone SE (2022) doesn’t include a charger in the box, So you will need to buy your charger separately.
The endurance rating of 62 hours is rather lower as compared to other smartphones. The battery may not last a whole day however, the 20W charger can fuel 50% in 30 minutes. Apart from these, you get WLAN, Bluetooth, GPS, NFC, lightning USB, etc. Stereo speakers lend great audio quality with perfect loudness. Now coming to the pricing, the Apple iPhone SE 2022 is tagged at $577 (Rs 43,900 in India) approx.
Apple iPhone SE (2022) Pros and Cons
Apple iPhone SE (2022) Specifications Detail
Down below you can see the full specifications of the Apple iPhone SE (2022) smartphone.
| Specifications | Apple iPhone SE (2022) |
| Network | 2G, 3G, 4G, 5G |
| Announced | March 2022 |
| SIM | Nano-SIM |
| Dimensions | 5.45 x 2.65 x 0.29 inches |
| Weight | 144 g |
| Size | 4.7 inches |
| Display | Retina IPS LCD 625 nits brightness 16:9 ratio ~326 PPI density |
| Protection | IP67 dust/water resistant Ion-strengthened glass oleophobic coating Wide color gamut True-tone |
| Resolution | 750 x 1334 pixels |
| OS | iOS 15.4, upgradable to iOS 15.4.1 |
| Chipset | 5nm – Apple A15 Bionic |
| CPU | Hexa-core 2x 3.22 GHz Avalanche 4x 1.82 GHz Blizzard |
| GPU | Apple GPU (4-core graphics) |
| Card slot | No |
| RAM | 4GB |
| Internal | 64GB, 128GB, 256GB NVMe |
| Camera | 12 MP (wide), PDAF, OIS Quad-LED dual-tone flash, HDR, panorama Max – 4K@24/30/60fps, HDR, OIS, stereo sound rec. |
| Selfie | 7 MP HDR Max – 1080p@30/120fps, gyro-EIS |
| Loudspeaker | Yes (stereo speakers) |
| 3.5mm jack | No |
| WLAN | Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/6, dual-band, hotspot |
| Bluetooth | 5.0, A2DP, LE |
| GPS | Yes, with A-GPS, GLONASS, GALILEO, BDS, QZSS |
| NFC | Yes |
| Infrared port | No |
| Radio | No |
| USB | Lightning, USB 2.0 |
| Sensors | Front-mounted fingerprint, accelerometer, proximity, gyro, compass, barometer |
| Battery | Li-Ion 2018 mAh Fast charging 20W Qi wireless charging 7.5W |
| Colors | Black, White, Red |
| Expected Price | $429 (Rs 43,900 in India) approx. |
Conclusion
The Apple iPhone SE 2022 is not a modern-looking smartphone, but it has the build quality, camera & performance of Apple, which we have enjoyed over the years. Despite the small size, it packs all the essential features. Still, a handful of people, who thinks more about utility will prefer this phone. Or the ones who want an iPhone on a budget.
Well, if you have a much higher budget and want the latest features, must go for iPhone 13 or iPhone 13 Pro max. But if you are old school & want something at a lower cost, you shall consider iPhone 13 mini. The 13 mini is indeed in a considerably higher price segment, but it has much better looks & features than SE (2022).
