- Launched on April 24, 2020, in full containment, the iPhone SE would probably go unnoticed if it were not the cheapest iPhone on the market.
- Launched from 489 euros (in 64 GB), this smartphone ticks all the boxes on paper: relatively affordable price, speed thanks to the high-end chip from the apple brand, but also the promise of real photo quality , and wireless charging.
- What about the trial? "20 Minutes" has confined itself to this smartphone that many have been waiting for.
It is the cheapest iPhone on the market. And for 489 euros (in 64 GB), this smartphone ticks all the boxes on paper: relatively affordable price, speed thanks to the high-end chip from the apple brand, promise of real photo quality, wireless charging …
What about the trial? "20 Minutes" has confined itself to this smartphone that many have been waiting for.
Time seems to have stopped in 2017
Discovering the brand new iPhone SE, four years after its first edition, is a bit like an archaeologist's work. At a time of giant edge-to-edge screens and smartphones that multiply photo modules like the Oppo Find X2 Pro, the new terminal seems straight out of the past. Compact format (138.4 x 67.3 x 7.3 mm), 4.7 '' screen, Touch ID button to unlock the device ... time seems to have stopped in 2017, year of iPhone 8. Three years is not long. In telephony, it's an eternity.
Large anachronistic black bands
From the outset, we find the world before: the small size that fits perfectly in your hand (and the pocket of our jeans which seems to have grown!); unlocking by fingerprint and not by facial recognition; the only photo module on the back of the camera. Ah, well: the back of the iPhone SE 2020 is now made of glass and allows induction charging. We appreciate.
Another visual difference: the mini-jack plug disappears in favor of Apple's "home" Lighting socket ... which does not provide an adapter. We appreciate less. For its part, the slab of the iPhone SE 2020 offers a limited definition (1334 x 750 pixels), but small screen diagonal requires, it does not interfere with usage. We can nevertheless deplore the large black bands, in particular present at the top and bottom of the image which, for once, really take us back to another era!
The performance of the best iPhone
What the almost vintage design of the iPhone SE 2020 doesn't say outside is that Apple has also - and fortunately - changed things inside. The manufacturer began by integrating into its new smartphone its high-end processor, the A13 Bionic chip (harnessed to 3 GB of RAM). This processor will allow the iPhone SE 2020 to offer services worthy of those of the iPhone 11, the brand's latest smartphones. Navigation, video games, image processing… the newcomer is, as we have seen for hours and hours letting time slip by in full confinement, a smartphone that spits out and that has absolutely nothing to be ashamed of in the face of competition. What the iPhone SE does not say visually is that it is waterproof (IP67 standard). An improvement over its previous generation which was not.
Beautiful photos under exemption
Certificate of derogatory travel in pocket (but where is the box "Test the new iPhone"?), We ventured outside in April to judge its photo quality. And it's not bad, even if the only 12-megapixel module (f / 1.8) seems alone on the back of the smartphone. And if the photos delivered are not exactly up to par with better armed smartphones.
Here, no macro, wide-angle or ultra-wide angle photos, and even less Night Mode. Apple has only just offered Portrait mode (with blurring at the back of the subject) that the manufacturer had been the first to initiate. Let's face it: if our retina is used to much better today (from the point of view of the richness of the details, the image quality in low light or, quite simply, in creative possibilities), the iPhone SE 2020 takes beautiful pictures. Most of its users will probably be satisfied with it.
At the front, the 7 megapixel (f / 2.2) sensor will be a bit tight. Once again, it is the details that suffer from this voluntary technical limitation. Small compensation: selfies can take advantage of Portrait mode, whereas it was impossible with the iPhone 8. In use, these self-portraits are rather successful, even if in terms of hair clipping, smartphones with superior technical qualities make better.
Nevertheless, we had fun making the same selfies with the iPhone SE and with the iPhone 11 Pro (12 megapixels on the front): the details are obviously more present with the iPhone 11 Pro, but the quality of the clipping remains '' an equivalent level with the two smartphones.
Too fair for aperitifs?
Small disappointment on the autonomy of the SE 2020 during the weeks of confinement: with its 1821 mAh battery, the smartphone struggled to pass the course of our virtual evening aperitifs conducted daily in Face Time . A recharge quickly became necessary as soon as the conversation (and our bottle) was completed.
Four years after the previous iteration of its first iPhone SE, this 2020 version of the firm's cheapest smartphone with the apple remains unquestionably a good product. Its already vintage side, its small screen size and its narrow battery may slow down some heat. Apple knows this but also has arguments to seduce a clientele that will not want or that will not be able to spend more, but also to flirt in the Android camp where those who dream of biting the apple could be tempted.
489 euros in 64 GB, 539 euros in 128 GB and 659 euros in 256 GB.
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