This is not a telephone for young people. iPhone SE (2020) - review

I spent a week with the iPhone SE (2020) and it was such a pleasant journey back in time. Feeling that this is a phone from the previous era, but ... it does not have to be a disadvantage.

Tim Cook is a recycling master. The iPhone SE from 2020 is a boring smartphone, and its premiere was just a formality. We have long been expecting another Apple phone combining the design of an already dimmed product line with top components . We've been waiting for this device for four years.

The hybrid that in the housing of the iPhone 8 closes components straight from the iPhone 11, I wore in my pocket for the last week. The smartphone surprised me in many respects, but there are things that in my eyes disqualify this phone. However, I realize that ... I'm not in the target group.

iPhone SE (2020) is not a smartphone for young people

By young I mean young here with spirit, not necessarily with age. Consumers who are up to date with the trends on the mobile market will not be satisfied with the phone. I also do not recommend buying this phone to satisfied Android smartphone users from the last two or three years.

Once someone tasted and liked work on a huge screen, iPhone SE (2020) will simply disappoint him in the world. It's not just about the habit, because the change from iPhone X or newer to equipment without Face ID, which in addition can not be used for gestures, is a step back in terms of usability.

Who should buy a new Apple phone then?

This device is primarily targeted at existing customers of the company who use iPhones without a face scanner, do not plan to spend more than 2.2 thousand. PLN on the phone, and they do not want to give up iOS. This is a cheap (for Apple) smartphone that will be supported the next few years.

I don't doubt that the iPhone SE (2020) will sell phenomenally due to its price - and maybe even better than it deserves. For many people, this will be the first iPhone they can afford and lots of people will buy. However, I am not convinced whether they really should.

The iPhone SE from 2020 is in many ways simply outdated.

The frames around the screen are huge - it's a terrible waste of space. The display itself is quite a good LCD, which has True Tone support. The density of pixels in it is the same as in the iPhone 11 - the 4.7-inch panel has 1334 by 750 pixels, which translates to 326 ppi.

Technology and ppi value, however, are basically the only thing that connects the screen of the iPhone SE from 2020 with the display of the iPhone 11. Łukasz Kotkowski, comparing these models, drew attention to the fact that the panel of this year's iPhone has clearly worse angles vision (especially at low brightness) and reproduces colors less well.

In addition, the iPhone SE (2020) has no pressure-sensitive layer.

It turns out that Apple did not follow the line of least resistance and did not use in iPhone SE from 2020 the same display as in iPhone 8. In the new model - as in the iPhone XR and in all Apple phones from last year - no has pressure support technology detection.

This is not surprising, since the screen without this function is a saving for the manufacturer, and even in the top 3D Touch devices (pressure response) it replaced the solution called Haptic Touch (reaction to holding the finger for a longer time), but Apple's decision raises consternation . It's about software.

It turned out that for some reason you can't use Haptic Touch in the Notification Center.

Which is strange - only there. The latest phone in the company's offer from Cupertino is the only one that can not call the quick actions menu by holding the notification for a long time and you need to slide your finger to the side. On other screens, however, Haptic Touch works as one would expect.

It is also unknown what the reason for this is, but the birds are chirping that apparently this is not a bug, only a feature and there is no reason to expect a change as part of the update. It is a pity that the transition from 3D Touch to Haptic Touch did not have a positive impact on the time of work on one charge.

Getting rid of 3D Touch may have allowed a larger battery to be placed in the phone, but this did not happen.

A week is a bit too short to fully assess the cell installed in the phone, but now I see that there is nothing to count on a miracle. The cell in the iPhone SE (2020) has almost the same capacity as in the iPhone 8. It is a meager 1821 mAh, and physics can not be fooled .

On the other hand, synthetic tests show that although thanks to the Apple A13 Bionic system, the new phone works on a single charge slightly longer than the iPhone 8, iPhone SE does not even have an approach to the iPhone XR. The battery is not the only element that reminds that we are dealing with a powdered old man.

The design of the new Apple phone remembers at the end of 2014.

The first mobile device from Cupertino, which had a housing shaped like the new iPhone SE, was finally the iPhone 6, introduced for sale almost 6 years ago. In addition, at that time it was not a very beautiful phone and did not have as much character as the iPhone 5s, and thus the first iPhone SE.

This does not mean, however, that the new iPhone SE looks identical to its progenitor in the form of the iPhone 6 and its numerous successors, i.e. the iPhone 6s, iPhone 7 and iPhone 8. The most striking are the backs from which the inscription iPhone disappeared, and the characteristic the logo with the bitten apple slid down a bit.

However, the entire front remained unchanged.

This means that this tiny, because only 4.7-inch screen has a 16: 9 aspect ratio, not 19.5: 9 known from newer phones from the Cupertino company. There is not a notch here that would obstruct the image from games and videos in full-screen view, but under and above the screen there are stripes on which an airplane could, for example, land.

For this reason, although the iPhone SE (2020) has a 0.8-inch shorter screen diagonal than the iPhone X and its successors, it is only a tiny bit smaller and measures exactly 138.4 x 67.3 x 7.3 mm with a weight of 148 grams. One good news here is that it fits iPhone 8 cases.

Many people will also enjoy the return of the Home button and Touch ID.

I myself do not belong to this group myself, and unlocking the phone with my finger is a huge step back in my opinion. My opinion does not change the fact that Face ID does not work well in the era of coronavirus pandemic - the face scanner in the mask works the same way as a fingerprint reader after putting on a glove.

The fact that you need to keep your finger on the Home button to unlock the iPhone SE (2020) is a bit of a pause with what Apple has done with the interface. I understand that it works by default as it does on iPhone 8, but I can't understand why it can't be enabled in the gesture navigation options introduced on iPhone X.

It is no longer even about the fact that the transition to the desktop in the new iPhone SE occurs only by pressing a button.

I got used to it quickly, but the biggest problem is moving the Control Center to the previous place. I have been developing them for almost three years by pulling the beam in the upper right corner, while in the iPhone SE (2020), to get to it, I move my finger from the bottom edge up.

It would convince me to explain that people who know gestures from new iPhones are not the target group here, if not for tablets. Even in old iPads, the update has changed the navigation method to be consistent with the iPhone X. Its absence in the new iPhone SE is the second irrational decision of Apple after the lack of Haptic Touch for notifications.

It is also a pity that in practice the camera in iPhone SE (2020) falls out badly.

If the smartphone got a photo module from the iPhone XR, the effects could be great thanks to the new processor algorithms. Unfortunately, the phone fits the camera from the iPhone 8 . Although he is called the " one-eyed king ", the pictures he takes are at best tolerable, as demonstrated by our test comparing the iPhone SE (2020), XS and 11 Pro cameras .

I have no complaints about the operation of the iPhone. Suffice it to say that the Apple A13 Bionic processor works like a rocket. It is true that in synthetic tests it is worse than last year's iPhone, probably due to the fact that it has 3 GB of RAM instead of 4 GB, but in practice it can not be accused.

Who should buy the iPhone SE (2020) then?

Certainly, this model should not be chosen by people who already had an iPhone X or newer and were satisfied with it. After a week spent with the iPhone SE (2020) I felt great relief that I returned to my iPhone 11 Pro. I have no doubt that the new Apple phone will be great for people who:

• previously had an iPhone 8 or older;
• necessarily need iOS to be happy;
• they like the Home button and prefer Touch ID to Face ID;
• do not want to spend more than 2.2 thousand on the phone zł.

The buyer should be satisfied if these conditions are met. In addition to the slight inconvenience associated with the lack of Haptic Touch in the Notification Center, the change from iPhone 8 or older to iPhone SE in virtually every other respect will be a step forward compared to its immediate predecessors.

iPhone 8 got fast communication modules with ESIM support, supports fast and wireless charging, and its housing meets the IP67 standard. In addition, thanks to the Apple A13 Bionic system installed in it, it will receive updates probably as long as much better, but costing as much as PLN 1,400 more iPhone 11 .

This is not a telephone for young people. iPhone SE (2020) - review