iPhone 1: October 23 2020
The 6.1-inch iPhone 12 had exactly the same features, camera specs, and processing capabilities as the 12 mini, except that it was estimated to have a 17-hour video playback compared to the iPhone 12 mini’s 15 hours. This mid-range model also included the dual-lens camera, which was good enough for everyday users. However, Apple did include some impressive upgrades to their higher-end iPhone 12 Pro and Pro Max phones for those who chose their iPhones for their camera capabilities,
iPhone Generations To Come
Apple has released a total of 34 iPhones over the years, including the latest iPhone 13 line and the iPhone SE . We’ve given you a complete look at each iPhone evolution, starting when Steve Jobs unveiled the original iPhone in 2007. As you can see, the iPhone has gone through a lot of changes, from a 16 GB web browser to a 1 TB all-in-one camera, workspace, and entertainment center.
In the early days, Apple released one iPhone per year. That gradually changed as the releases of new models got closer and closer together from 2010 to 2013. With the September rollout, though, Apple released both the iPhone 5s and the iPhone 5c, ushering in an era of two iPhone releases per year. 2017, 2018, and 2019 each saw the release of three more iPhone models, and then in 2020 the tech giant shocked the world. Not only did it release the iPhone SE in April, the company also rolled out the four iPhones in the 12-series lineup in its delayed fall announcement. At its September 2021 event, Apple revealed the four new phones that comprise the iPhone 13 lineup, the latest phones available from Apple until the release of the iPhone SE in March 2022. Currently, there are rumors circling around that Apple will introduce us to the iPhone 14 in September 2022.
iPhone Xr: October 26 2018
The iPhone XR was also announced at the September 2018 event, but wasn’t available right away. Because it was the cheaper of the new models, quite a few people decided to wait for the XR to be available. These iPhones were smaller than the XS and XS Max . The display was not as crisp as the XS and XS Max, but with the Liquid Retina HD display, the difference wasn’t too noticeable. This model also had a front-facing camera and came in way more colors than the XS or XS Max.
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iPhone 13 Pro Max: September 24 2021
The iPhone 13 Pro Max offers everything the Pro does, but bigger. Its screen is the same size as the iPhone 12 Pro Max: 6.7 inches diagonally. It, like the rest of the iPhone 13 line, is a bit heavier and thicker than its predecessor, despite sharing the same dimensions otherwise. In addition to getting a chip upgrade to the A15, the iPhone 13 Pro Max also gets an additional GPU, for a total of five. It, too, offers a 1 TB storage capacity option, and Apple says the battery is able to support up to 28 hours of non-stop video playback. With the heftiest price tag of any iPhone, the iPhone Pro Max is the ultimate top-of-the-line model available.
You Should Not Buy This If
You want Face ID and a larger display
As much as some people love the Home button, the iPhone SE has a very dated design. Plus, I often find Face ID to be faster and more convenient to use overall. Another benefit of having Face ID is the fact that your display is larger, because there are no more bezels for a Home button, giving you an edge-to-edge display.
You want the best cameras on an iPhone
If you primarily use your iPhone for photos, the iPhone SE is lacking, despite the improvements Apple made. You only get a single 12MP Wide lens here, and it’s basically the same hardware from the iPhone 8. While A15 gets you Deep Fusion, Smart HDR 4, and Photographic Styles, you won’t have LiDAR for Night mode, nor will you get an Ultra Wide and Telephoto lens. If you just want the Ultra Wide, it’s best to get the iPhone 13, and if you need a Telephoto for optical zoom, then go for the iPhone 13 Pro. And don’t forget about the measly 7MP FaceTime HD selfie camera even the iPhone 11 has a 12MP TrueDepth camera, which would give your images more detail.
You want an OLED display
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Is There A Better Alternative
The market for affordable iPhones outside of the new SE is just not there. If you want a small iPhone, the 12 and 13 Minis will fit that bill nicely, and if you want a cheaper iPhone, youll have to roll the dice on the secondhand market. This is quite simply the only truly affordable new phone sold by Apple .
If youre willing to sever your ties with the ecosystem and go Android, there are actually a few alternatives. Theres the with 5G support and excellent image processing. Or theres the Galaxy A32 with its own 5G suppor, plus a few Galaxy-level additions and a better display. But all of this will come with the same inherent quirks of the patchwork Android support market, and they most certainly wont come with that Apple polish.
Camera: iPhone Se Has Some Hidden Extras
The iPhone SE and iPhone 8 both have a 12-megapixel rear camera and a 7-megapixel front-facing shooter, with the same apertures on each . On the surface, it looks as if there’s no difference between the two phones’ cameras, but Apple added some useful camera upgrades under the hood. These include:
- Portrait Mode and Depth Control for taking and adjusting bokeh photos
- Smart HDR, to improve highlights and shadows
- Red-eye correction
- Quicktake, which lets you quickly record video without tapping out of Photo mode
- Video improvements: Extended dynamic range for 30fps 3x digital zoom cinematic video stabilization for 4K video and stereo recording
- Front-facing camera: Portrait mode and cinematic video stabilization up to 1080p
Altogether, iPhone SE captures better quality photos and video than the iPhone 8, and at times takes photos equally comparable to the iPhone 11. For more on camera quality, be sure to read CNET’s iPhone SE review.
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iPhone Se : Competition
The biggest competition for the iPhone SE is Apple’s own iPhone 13, specifically the iPhone 13 mini. One reason people may consider the iPhone SE is because of the size, and the iPhone 13 mini is the smallest offering from Apple at the moment, though it’s a little more expensive, as it starts at $699. It also doesn’t have the Home button so it has Face ID for biometrics and a larger display with 5.4-inches instead of 4.7-inches. The iPhone 13 mini also has the Super Retina XDR OLED display instead of LCD, the Ultra-Wide camera, Night mode capabilities, and the higher megapixel TrueDepth front camera.
Another competitor for the iPhone SE is the . It’s a budget Pixel phone that’s about the same price range as the iPhone SE with the $449 cost, but it has an even more advanced dual-camera system with an Ultra Wide and Wide angle lens, 8MP front camera, as well as a larger display. It has a significantly larger battery, starts at 128GB with 6GB of RAM , and it runs the latest version of Android 12. If you want more bang for your buck and don’t mind being on the Android side of things, then the Pixel 5a is a good choice. But keep in mind that you only have one storage capacity size, a slightly slower processor , and no wireless charging capabilities.
iPhone Se Has Been Officially Discontinued
With the launch of the iPhone SE , Apple secretly bumped off the new mid-range iPhone’s popular predecessor, the iPhone SE , relegating it to the records of history… almost.
As can be seen on Apple’s website , clicking on ‘iPhone SE’ no longer leads you to the 2020 model, but to iPhone SE pre-orders – in fact, the phone has been completely dropped from the fruit brand’s online store.
The only hint it ever existed is in accessory listings, where ‘iPhone SE ‘ is listed in the Compatibility section for certain products.
That’s not exactly a surprise, as Apple is prone to canning older iPhones when new ones are announced, though we’d argue that the older iPhone SE should have been kept around as a 4G counterpart to the new 5G model, since connectivity is one of the only changes between them.
However, if you were keen to buy the iPhone SE and haven’t been tempted by the newer model, there are actually ways to still buy it.
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How Long Will It Last
Determining the longevity of a device like the iPhone SE is pretty tough because right out of the box the phone feels dated from a hardware perspective. The battery is pretty small, so as it degrades over time and loses its capacity, it stands to reason that in a couple of years time the SE will feel pretty dire on the battery front.
But theres also software to consider here. Apple is pretty generous in the devices it supports with the latest iOS. Take iOS 15 for instance, which offers support all the way back to the iPhone 6S and even the original generation of the iPhone SE. So it stands to reason that youll get six or seven years of support on the software front especially considering the A15 Bionic is the chip at play.
A More Affordable iPhone
Compared to the iPhone 6, the SE was a more affordable option and had everything but the iPhone 6’s 3D touch. It was basically a cheaper version of the iPhone, which people really loved but quickly forgot about. Later in the year, the success of the iPhone 7 overshadowed the minuscule changes the SE made to the affordable phones industry.
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How To Buy The iPhone Se
Although Apple no longer stocks the two-year-old iPhone SE, and likely also switched its factories over to making the new one, it’s still certainly easy to buy the handset from retailers.
That’s because third-party shops still have their inventory of iPhone SE models to sell off, and depending on how big their stocks are, we could see the handset remain readily available for months to come.
Even once new handsets have been sold off, there will likely be a burgeoning second-hand market for the devices, which is something we’ve seen for other iPhones in the past. ‘Renewed’ or ‘refreshed’ iPhones remain popular, especially from retailers with great services that ensure your second-hand handset feels like a new one.
So don’t worry – you haven’t missed your chance to buy an iPhone SE . In fact, you can see all the best prices on them right here:
iPhone Se : Price And Availability
The iPhone SE is available directly from Apple in-store or online, as well as most major retailers like Amazon, Best Buy, Walmart, Target, and more, including your preferred cellular provider. However, if you are looking to purchase the iPhone SE unlocked, your best bet is direct from Apple, as most other retailers sell it carrier-locked.
There are three colors for the iPhone SE: Midnight, Starlight, and PRODUCT. You have three capacities to choose from as well: 64GB, 128GB, and 256GB, and the price is $429, $479, and $579, respectively.
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iPhone Se : Reasons To Skip
Where’s the Night mode?
You probably know that the existing iPhone SE lacked a Night mode, since we couldn’t stop complaining about the omission. At the time, it kind of made sense Night mode was a relatively new feature when the iPhone SE came out, and leaving it off that phone let Apple distinguish between its flagships and its less expensive option.
But in the subsequent two years, other cheaper phones have adopted low- and no-light features the Pixel 5a being the chief example. You’d think that Apple would follow suit with the iPhone SE , especially given that the phone has more than enough processing oomph, but Night mode once again didn’t make the final cut.
We’re struggling to think of a reason why there’s no Night mode on the iPhone SE, other than Apple still wants there to be a difference that phone and its other options. If so, Apple has succeeded, though that’s not necessarily a distinction the phone maker is going to want to publicize.
There’s also no mmWave 5G support
When we say the iPhone SE supports 5G, we should add an asterisk to that claim. Yes, you’ll be able to connect to most 5G networks, though not ones that rely on mmWave-based 5G. Apple’s new phone doesn’t have the bands to support that flavor of the networking standard.
The same old design
If you want a perfectly functional phone, there’s nothing wrong with the iPhone SE . But if you want your handset to wow other people, maybe look elsewhere.
iPhone 6 & 6 Plus: September 19 2014
Apple tends to make larger leaps between the original model and the S edition than it does from the S edition to a new model. The iPhone 6’s internal specs were very similar to those of the iPhone 5s. The biggest difference was having a significantly larger screen and offering an even larger size called 6 Plus. The Retina display became HD, and the option to get an iPhone with 128 GB of storage became available. But the amount of memory was the same, and the camera didn’t see a megapixel upgrade. But it didn’t matterApple sold 10 million units in the first week.
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iPhone Se Through The Years: How Apple’s 2016 And 2020 Models Compared
As we wait for the iPhone SE 3 today, let’s take a look at the affordable iPhone’s history.
Today is the day for Apple’s “Peek Performance” event , and fans of the iPhone SE are probably in luck. After two years of waiting, the third-gen iPhone SE is rumored to debut at today’s event, possibly alongside iOS 15.4, as well as some iPad and Mac upgrades. The new iPhone SE will be the successor to the 2020 iPhone SE, which is the follow-up to the first-gen iPhone SE from 2016, and is said to be fitted with Face ID, 5G and Apple’s A15 processor, the same chip in the four iPhone 13 models.
As the new iPhone SE’s launch approaches, you may be wondering what Apple’s previous two iPhone SE models looked like, specs-wise, and whether you consider opting for one of the older versions. We’ll explain the differences between the 2020 and 2016 iPhone SE models, and how they measure up in 2022. If you’re wondering how the 2022 iPhone SE is expected to stack up against the 2020 version, we compared those, too.
Apple no longer sells the original iPhone SE, and the 2020 iPhone SE is only available in 64GB and 128GB storage options. The tech giant removed the 256GB iPhone SE from its online store following Apple’s iPhone 13 event in September. If you have your heart set on the oldest iPhone SE, however, there are refurbished options available. Just note that some rumors predict that iOS 16, Apple’s next major iPhone update, will not support the now 6-year-old iPhone SE .
No More Headphone Jack
Months after the iPhone SE, Apple introduced the iPhone 7. It had a 16GB base option, 32 GB and 256 GB storage, dual camera, and that beautiful jet-black color. This was when Apple removed the headphone jack to replace earbuds with EarPods and a wireless converter. This phone became an instant success even before its release with a huge number of pre-orders.
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No More Home Buttonapple Introduces Face Id
Portrait mode, an extra front-facing camera, an improved display resolution made people fall in love with this phone instantly. However, as Apple removed the phone’s home button, they did get some occasional dirty looks.
A little pricey, but proving itself to be worth the price, this phone had it all. There were several iterations of this basic model. The iPhone XS and XS Max were released on September 21, 2018. These had a Super Retina HD display, awesome looks, and an awesome camera. However, Apple did take the 7 ate 9 jokes quite literally, as there was no iPhone 9, ever. Regardless, the A12 Bionic chip increased these phones’ efficiency and battery life.
The iPhone XR was another version of this model. Released only a month later, October 26, 2018, it was announced with the iPhone X. This phone was smaller than the XS and XS Max but was bigger than the 7 and 8 plus. It wasn’t as ground-breaking or as special as the X or the XS, but a colored, more affordable option, which did succeed, but everyone agreed it wasn’t as good as the X, XS, or the XS Max.
Use Apples Check Your Service And Support Coverage Page
Although Apples official Check Your Service and Support Coverage page is meant for checking out your Apple warranty and purchasing AppleCare coverage, it can also be used to find out exactly when you bought your iPhone.
Youll see a brief summary of your iPhone coverage, including valid purchase date, telephone technical support, and warranty type. Underneath your warranty type youll see a paragraph explaining your protection plan and what it offers. At the end of that, youll find your coverage end date.
Your coverage end date is the exact same day and month as when you purchased your iPhone the year is the only difference. To figure out the year you bought your iPhone, simply deduct 1 year from that date if you have the free Standard Warranty or 2 years if you pay for AppleCare and AppleCare+.
For example, my paid AppleCare Services ends on December 31, 2021. Deduct 2 years from that date and you get December 31, 2019 as my iPhone purchase date.
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