Here goes Ashish with a cold review∞ of the iPhone SE. See what he has to say about the device after having used it for quite a while.
This model is in the news – for helping Apple stem a major slump in sales. (check the Forbes report here) And as you go through this smartphone review, you won’t be surprised why it’s doing so well.
Apple surprised many with the release of the iPhone SE. Because who wants to see a device with the same old design with just upgraded internals. However, some of the Apple fans pleaded Apple to build this device and this device is for them. The iPhone SE is basically the iPhone 5S with an upgraded hardware, internally. The Touch ID has also improved and the device uses the chipset which has been used in the iPhone 6S. Here is our account on the iPhone SE after using it for a while.
Design: (9/10)
There is nothing much to speak about the design of the device because it is the same we have seen two years ago from the company. The iPhone 5S was released back in 2013 and pleased many with its mono-block design. However, the one major difference is the addition of Rose Gold color which looks pretty decent.
It is worth saying that the iPhone SE is one of the best in the market to use single handed; you can reach each and every corner easily without any hassle which is pretty decent considering the year we are in which is already messed up with 5.5-inch to 6-inch devices. And, it can easily fit in your pockets too. There is no difference in button placement, the power button is on top and the volume buttons are on the right side. The left side has the alert slider.
Display: (8/10)
The iPhone SE boasts of a 4-inch display which isn’t HD either. But, it gets the job done almost all the time. Text appears crisp and viewing angles are close to perfect – Apple’s displays are always best in the business.
Software and Apps: (9/10)
Apple’s native operating system – iOS has seen a major overhaul with the introduction of iPhone 5S and iOS 7. Since then, it is the same interface with some minor additions and tweaks. The iPhone SE ships with iOS 9.2 and all the features of iPhone 6S such as Live Photos, Retina Flash and some other are present over here.
Performance: (10/10):
The device ships with the Apple A9 chip which was previously used in the company’s flagship devices such as iPhone 6S and 6S Plus. With this, the performance of the device is stunning and we never ever faced a single lag. And, the most important part is: it features 2GB of RAM to handle system operations.
One major drawback of the device is that it doesn’t come with the company’s 3D Touch feature which was introduced with 6S and 6S Plus. While the chip has the capability to support 3D Touch, Apple apparently removed that for some reasons.
Camera: (9/10)
Another feature which is close to that of Apple 6S and 6S Plus. The camera on the iPhone SE is same as the 6S and 6S Plus. As we all know that, Apple was the best in terms of camera production and related stuff. The same continues with the iPhone SE. Images captured in low light comes out with good amount of details and color accuracy. And the low-light images aren’t bad either. With the Retina Flash, the device captures some good photos in low-light.
The camera application is the same with all the iOS devices and has a minimalistic UI. The Live Photos option can be enabled in the camera app itself and for the live photos, the 3D Touch works fine.
Battery life: (10/10)
In simple words, iPhone SE has the best battery life in any smartphone till date. The SE excels iPhone 6S in terms of battery performance. In our video loop tests, the device ran for about 14 hours of continuous video playback, which is incredible. The screen on time isn’t bad either with this device you can easily get for about 7 hours of screen-on time. For an average user, the device can easily last for about two days, which is absolutely insane.
Conclusion: 9/10
After all the debate, the iPhone SE (Special Edition) is finally released to the market with a price tag of Rs. 39,999 for the base 16GB model. We believe that the device completely justifies the price. The SE is for people who are looking for a smartphone with a smaller display and flagship-level features at a decent price. However, if you can spend 4,000 bucks more, you can easily choose the iPhone 6S (16GB model ) as it supports 3D-Touch but it has relatively lower battery life than the iPhone SE.
∞ No, a cold review doesn’t mean a bad review. It merely means that the review is of a product not quite hot – in this case a review of the iPhone SE which was launched quite a while back.
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