The latest iPhone SE 2022 is a smartphone that combines new muscles in a classic familiar design that we all used and fell in love with at some point during Apple’s iPhone release cycles. While the SE retains its 4.7 inches display with bezels which might seem outdated to some, the inside is what makes this phone so compelling for those who are looking for a budget iPhone.
In a nutshell, starting at AED 1849, the new iPhone SE packs all the lates perks, including 5G connectivity, improved camera system using the A15 Bionic processor that’s in the iPhone 13 series, which in turn promises more batter life.
DESIGN & DISPLAY
The 2022 iPhone SE looks identical to it predecessor, with a 4.7 inches advanced LCD display at a resolution of 1334 x 750 pixels, and a pixel density ratio of 326 pixels per inch, 60Hz refresh rate, with bezels surrounding the screen from top and bottom. The SE’s screen has True Tone technology to adjust the color temperature of the screen depending on the lighting conditions.
Display features:
- Retina HD display
- 4.7-inch (diagonal) widescreen LCD Multi‑Touch display with IPS technology
- 1334-by-750-pixel resolution at 326 ppi
- 1400:1 contrast ratio (typical)
- True Tone display
- Wide color display (P3)
- Haptic Touch
- 625 nits max brightness (typical)
- Fingerprint-resistant oleophobic coating
- Display Zoom
- Reachability
The iPhone SE also has the toughest glass on the front and back – same material used on the iPhone 13 models.
The sides are made from aluminum and the back is glass and supports wireless charging ( no MagSafe). On the bottom front, you’ll still find the beloved Touch ID button instead of Face ID. Overall, like with any Apple designed product, the phone feel premium. The new iPhone SE 2022 is IP67 water resistant, and can survive being submerged in 1 meter of water, up to 30 minutes.
The iPhone SE is available in starlight, Midnight, and PRODUCT(RED).
PERFORMANCE, FEATURES & BATTERY
Thanks to the A15 Bionic chip, performance on the new iPhone SE is just amazing and super fluid. Apps are launched instantly, and multitasking is a breeze. Games run smoothly with no lag at all.
Apple has also introduced 5G to the iPhone SE this year, while promising to deliver up to 2 hours of longer battery life than the previous iPhone SE, thanks to a larger battery and efficiency of the A15 Bionic chip.
We’ve tested the battery, and got just around 11 hours of screen-on time with you standard web surfing, emails, messaging and social media apps running, all while on 5G. The iPhone SE can also charge pretty quickly through a 20W Apple charger.
CAMERA
The single 12-megapixel rear camera on the new iPhone SE uses the sensor and lens from the last iPhone SE, but coupled with the new processor and increased RAM, delivers much better results with good color balancing and details. One thing it misses, is Apple’s nigh mode, photos taken in the dark are a bit grainy.
The usage of the A15 Bionic chip also brings new features to this year’s model like Smart HDR 4 for handling tricky lighting situations, Deep Fusion for better details and textures and Photographic Styles for more creativity. Overall the result are great to an extent that at certain scenarios, in good lighting conditions, it can match the iPhone 13 Pro photos.
Other camera features which are ported to the new iPhone SE are:
Main Camera
- 12MP Wide camera
- ƒ/1.8 aperture
- Digital zoom up to 5x
- Portrait mode with advanced bokeh and Depth Control
- Portrait Lighting with six effects (Natural, Studio, Contour, Stage, Stage Mono, High-Key Mono)
- Optical image stabilization
- Six‑element lens
- LED True Tone flash with Slow Sync
- Panorama (up to 63MP)
- Sapphire crystal lens cover
- Autofocus with Focus Pixels
- Wide color capture for photos and Live Photos
- Deep Fusion
- Smart HDR 4 for photos
- Photographic Styles
- Advanced red-eye correction
- Auto image stabilization
- Burst mode
- Photo geotagging
- Image formats captured: HEIF and JPEG
Front Camera
- 7MP camera
- ƒ/2.2 aperture
- Portrait mode with advanced bokeh and Depth Control
- Portrait Lighting with six effects (Natural, Studio, Contour, Stage, Stage Mono, High-Key Mono)
- Deep Fusion
- Smart HDR 4 for photos
- Photographic Styles
- 1080p HD video recording at 25 fps or 30 fps
- Time‑lapse video with stabilization
- Night mode Time‑lapse
- Retina Flash
- QuickTake video
- Wide color capture for photos and Live Photos
- Auto HDR for photos
- Auto image stabilization
- Burst mode
- Cinematic video stabilization (1080p and 720p)
Video Recording
- 4K video recording at 24 fps, 25 fps, 30 fps, or 60 fps
- 1080p HD video recording at 25 fps, 30 fps, or 60 fps
- 720p HD video recording at 30 fps
- Extended dynamic range for video up to 30 fps
- Optical image stabilization for video
- Digital zoom up to 3x
- LED True Tone flash
- QuickTake video
- Slo‑mo video support for 1080p at 120 fps or 240 fps
- Time‑lapse video with stabilization
- Night mode Time‑lapse
- Cinematic video stabilization (4K, 1080p, and 720p)
- Continuous autofocus video
- Take 8MP still photos while recording 4K video
- Playback zoom
- Video formats recorded: HEVC and H.264
- Stereo recording
Here are some samples we shot using the new iPhone SE 2022.
VERDICT
In our opinion, The iPhone SE 2022 is one of the best mid rangers with flagship specs (which only Apple can deliver) at the moment. For anyone who loves Apple’s classic design, and is looking for a small smartphone, light, premium feeling and packs powerful specs at the same time, this is the go-to choice for great value starting at 1,849 AED.
