With a price that undercuts flagship devices like the iPhone 6s and Galaxy S7 by hundreds of dollars and a smaller size, new tests show that the iPhone SE incredibly packs just as much power as its bigger brother.
That being said, there are many other differences between the phones that could sway you from this cheaper option.
Inside the iPhone SE, Apple’s new 4-inch model, is an A9 chip and 2 GB of RAM. Those components drive the $400 SE and they’re identical to what Apple uses in its $650 iPhone 6s.
AnTuTu tested the unit to see how it’d stack up against other popular phones, finding that SE could perform just as well as the 6s and better than Samsung’s Galaxy S7.
In the AnTuTu benchmark, the phone scored 134,358, very close to the iPhone 6s‘ 132,620.
What Are the Differences?
Clearly the iPhone SE is a better deal if you only care about performance, but there are other factors at play. Its small 4-inch display, low resolution (1.2 MP) front camera, lower screen resolution, and old Touch ID hardware set the phone apart from the more expensive iPhone 6s.
If Touch ID is important to you, keep in mind that it will be slower on the SE than on the 6s, because of old hardware. Also, the SE uses the same front-facing camera as the iPhone 5 used in 2012, which shoots at 1.2MP .
The SE’s 1136 x 640 display has fewer pixels than the 6s‘ 1334 x 750 display, though its smaller form factor means the screen is still pretty sharp.
All these differences matter, but the one that’s bound to be the most important to many is the screen size. The SE’s 4-inch screen seems tiny, at least in comparison to many current Android phones, which may make gaming or reading on it more difficult.
To some, though, a smaller phone is a plus for its increased pocket-ability and ease of one-handed use. So for you small fingered folk, rejoice, you won’t have to worry about performance with the iPhone SE.
Then again, if buying a new 4-inch phone sounds absurd to you, well, you’re not alone:
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