iPhone SE 2022 review: Gateway to something wonderful [read now]

Apple's March event refreshed important product lineups, leaving fans excited. The iPhone SE 2022 was a welcoming upgrade, one that was long in the waiting. There hasn't been a consistency in bringing the SE-series, a tradition Apple follows religiously with other devices. Nevertheless, 2022 became the year Apple thought it was necessary to launch an upgrade to the 2020 edition and the original 2016 iPhone SE generations.

iPhone SE third-generation brings in a lot of upgrades, mostly concealed behind that classic design, complete with a TouchID (how we missed it!). Apple, with its new iPhone, offers a gateway for non-iOS users inside its walled garden of the elite and premium ecosystem. It takes courage to go back to a design after ditching it to take a new course. But Apple does it with subtlety. Here's our review of the iPhone SE (2022).

Design

There's so much to talk about design, yet there's so little. Those familiar with the good-old iPhone 8 or older iPhones' design, complete with Touch ID, need no introduction to what iPhone SE looks and feels like. Apple has improved the design of the iPhone SE 2022 in non-visual ways. The design of new-gen iPhones has evolved so much in the last years that the iPhone SE 2022 design feels vintage. But Apple has a purpose here and it's evident that it doesn't wish to overstep on the flagship range's territory.

iPhone SE 2022 is extremely light and thin, yet feels too premium. Apple went with the glass sandwich design, with a metal frame in between. The rear and front glass panels are sturdy and manage to keep minor scratches at bay. The most evident part of the design is the TouchID and the large bezels, especially above and below the display. We wish Apple had somehow reduced the forehead and chin bezels, at least to give a sense of a modern phone, but it is what it is.

The TouchID sensor is a welcoming inclusion. Even though we had to retrain our muscle memory to use the TouchID instead of the FaceID, it was well worth it after 2-3 days of usage. The TouchID button has a touch and press function, which works accordingly. Touch is for fingerprint scanning and pressing the button is for home. Since Apple hasn't forayed into the under-display fingerprint sensor, we had no higher expectations than this.

On the back, there's an Apple logo and a tiny camera ring without a module, which looks odd at first glance, but you get used to it. The rest of the phone's design is standard. The Lightning port along with the speakers are at the bottom, the volume controls and ringer switch on the left and the power button alongside the SIM card tray on the right. Even the curved chassis is not in line with the latest iPhone design, so Apple has done everything to exclude this particular model's visual factor from modernisation.

Display

iPhone SE 2022's display is a 4.7-inch LCD panel with 1334x750 pixel resolution and 625 nits of brightness. This is definitely a modest setup. Since we switched from an iPhone 13 Pro to the iPhone SE 2022, the difference was evidently clear, be it in terms of display output or the sheer size of the content. Initially, there was a struggle with using the smaller buttons, but it gets easier with time. As for anyone coming from any other budget phone, the screen real-estate will be something you need to adjust to but the display clarity won't be much of a big deal.

The display itself renders a good quality picture and can be used without issues for day-to-day tasks, social media browsing and such, but not so much for multimedia consumption and high-graphics games if you have an eye for pixels. Simply due to the bezels above and below the display, it already feels aged. With the intention to use the iPhone SE 2022 as a primary device for the next 2-3 years, you'll feel it's outdated.

Camera

Apple has offered a single 12MP Wide Camera with f/1.8 aperture and 4K video recording capability. The expectations weren't high with regards to the camera, but the sensor is a capable one, so there were no disappointments. It's not the USP of the phone but mainly gets the job done. Be it capturing a pet in portrait mode or scanning documents, the iPhone SE's camera will be up for the tasks.

But if you manage to look away from the hardware and see the end results, you'll be more impressed. There's Smart HDR to bump up the clarity of some photos in challenging light conditions. We loved how fast the camera snapped photos and portraits with such accuracy. Sadly, there's no Night Mode, but the results in low-light areas are still captured with a good amount of details, colours and contrast. You can still enjoy Apple's various filters in the camera, which add more context to the images. 

On the front, there's a 7MP f/2.2 FaceTime camera, which worked as intended. Selfies were quite alright, but the front camera has a portrait mode that works with little error. We mainly used the front cam for FaceTime and there were absolutely no issues.

Check out some samples below:

It is safe to say that the iPhone SE 2022 is the best single-camera phone in the market.

Performance

This is where the magic happens. The biggest selling point of the iPhone SE 2022 is that it is powered by the same chipset as the flagship iPhone 13 Pro. In fact, the benchmark scores of both iPhone SE and iPhone 13 Pro were identical. In terms of sheer performance, we did not notice any downgrade having immediately switched from iPhone 13 Pro.

The iPhone SE 2022 surely has the capability to outperform rival flagships twice its price. Be it games or surfing social media and the web, the iPhone SE 2022 is more than capable of handling all daily tasks without breaking a sweat.

The iPhone SE 2022 is undoubtedly the best-performing smartphone in its price range. It is customary for brands to use a downgraded chip in budget phones, but Apple refused to do that, giving it an edge over many rivals. So if performance, a lag-free user experience and a clean interface are what you truly need, don't look beyond iPhone SE 2022.

On top of that raw performance, the iPhone SE 2022 naturally gets the goodness of iOS 15.4. It's the same as any iPhone you pick from the lot, with only a few changes. For instance, the Control Panel is accessed by swiping up from down unlike in the iPhone 13, where you swipe down from the top-right. We found Apple restored the battery percentage indicator switch, which is not available in the iPhone 13 series or other notch phones. There's also Live Text feature, which can scan text from the camera's viewfinder to be easily used in notes, emails, etc.

The TouchID button's haptic intensity can be adjusted as per your liking and using the biometric sensor means you don't have to lower your face mask. The vibrator motor is powerful enough to alert you of any calls and notifications. But the phone being so light, we often forgot it was in the pocket or not.

If you can ignore the negativity you'll face with regards to the outdated design, the performance and the software of the iPhone SE 2022 are reasons enough to keep this phone for years to come.

Battery

The moment we held the iPhone SE 2022 in hand, we knew there's was no way to cram a bigger battery. But it's a good thing that Apple has expertise in battery management. With an average screen time of 4-5 hours on a daily basis, we only had to charge the phone once. This was with moderate use of browsing social media, web, calls, WhatsApp messages, clicking photos and videos and sifting through some documents. When we indulged in binge-watching or playing games, the battery would drain faster. On most days, a day's battery life could be managed.

The charging speed is something you cannot boast of in the iPhone SE 2022. It supports 20W wired charging, which is moderate at best. Apple has even decided against including the USB-C charging brick in the box, having people spend extra on that or use what you already have, that is if you have one. It would have made more sense to include the USB-C brick with the iPhone SE 2022 given its target audience.

iPhone SE 2022 takes nearly two hours to fully charge after having the battery drained. Charging it halfway would only mean you'll need to carry a power bank with you or plug the phone again later. Those who charge the phone overnight won't face such issues.

The iPhone SE supports Qi-wireless charging, but it is tiring slow. There's no MagSafe, so any chance of investing in that slick battery pack for an extended battery is out of the window. The iPhone SE 2022 users (those who can afford it) would have found it extremely useful to attach a MagSafe battery pack.

Verdict

In simple words, you buy the iPhone SE 2022 for its performance and software. There's no better alternative. The ageing design still feels premium and the camera is capable of capturing some nice shots under good lighting. The iPhone feels so light and sleek, it is already spoiling our habit. You've got to love the TouchID, for it works perfectly. It supports 5G, has IP67 certification, dual SIM (with e-SIM) support and wireless charging.

Most importantly, the iPhone SE 2022 is your most affordable ticket into the iOS arena, which has some of its own goodies, such as iCloud, FaceTime, Apple TV Plus, Apple Music, iMessage, iOS 15 and more. For these things alone, the iPhone SE's starting price of Rs 43,900 is worth it. But our recommendation would be to skip the base model and go either for the 128GB at Rs 48,900 or 256GB for Rs 58,900. The iPhone SE 2022 comes in three shades, all of them are equally appealing but our pick is the Midnight shade, which looks black but is actually a really dark shade of indigo hue.

The iPhone SE 2022 doesn't get any of the modern features, like the display for instance, is one without a notch surrounded by a thick forehead and chin and an LCD panel. There's also no FaceID, so you rely only on the TouchID for unlocking with ease. The classic design might not be everyone's cup of tea, for which Apple has other iPhones. Consider the iPhone 12 mini or the iPhone 13/12, based on your budget. But the classic design did grow on us after extended use. It preaches humility and curbs pride!

All said, the iPhone SE 2022 makes a compelling argument in the sub-Rs 50K price segment, despite the fierce competition in the arena.