Apple iPhone SE 2022

At Rs. 102,999, the Apple iPhone SE 2022 is the cheapest way to get a new iPhone with a current-generation chip. The value comes from the inside: the A15 Bionic, 5G, long iOS support and a very good camera for video. What you give up is everything around it.

Main strengths

• A15 Bionic performance with years of headroom
• Home button with Touch ID, which many users still prefer
• Smooth 4K 60fps video and consistent photos
• Compact, light and easy to use with one hand
• Excellent haptics that feel precise

Main compromises

• Small 4.7-inch, 60Hz LCD with thick bezels
• Weak battery life for heavy users
• One rear camera: no ultrawide, no zoom, no night mode
• 64GB base storage, and no charger in the box

Against the iPhone 15 (Rs. 327,499): the iPhone 15 adds a bigger OLED screen, an ultrawide camera, Face ID, USB-C and much better battery life, but it costs more than three times as much.

Verdict: a good buy for people who want iOS, a home button and a phone that stays fast for years, such as parents, students or anyone coming from an iPhone 6s, 7 or 8. If you game, binge videos or use navigation daily, the small screen and battery will frustrate you, and a bigger iPhone is worth the extra money.

Official specs: 4.7-inch Retina IPS LCD, 750 x 1334 pixels (about 326 ppi), 60Hz, rated at 625 nits, with ion-strengthened glass.

Real-world use: text and icons look sharp enough at this small size, and colours are accurate. GSMArena's brightness measurement landed close to the rated figure, with good contrast for an LCD. That is fine indoors, but in strong sunlight the screen is harder to read than the OLED panels on newer iPhones.

The 16:9 shape means standard videos fill the whole screen without black bars, but the screen itself is small for long videos, reading or games. The 60Hz refresh rate makes scrolling look less fluid than on budget Android phones with high refresh rate screens.

Limitations: thick bezels above and below the screen, a resolution only a little above 720p, and no HDR video support listed in our database. The design is the same as the iPhone 8 from 2017, and it looks dated next to edge-to-edge phones.

The iPhone SE 2022 runs the Apple A15 Bionic (5 nm), the same chip family used in the iPhone 13, with a six-core CPU, a 4-core GPU and 4GB RAM.

Everyday use: iOS runs without any hiccups. Apps open quickly, switching between them is smooth, and the extra RAM over the 2020 model helps keep apps loaded in the background. For calls, WhatsApp, social media, banking and browsing, it is far more power than needed.

Why that power matters: the real benefit is longevity. A chip this fast should keep the phone running well through many more iOS updates, long after most phones at this price slow down.

Gaming: the A15 handles demanding games easily, but two things hold it back. The 60Hz screen cannot show the higher frame rates some games offer, and the small 4.7-inch display makes controls cramped. Long gaming sessions also drain the small battery quickly.

5G: it supports sub-6GHz 5G, the common type of 5G. Leaving Smart Data mode on lets the phone switch to 4G when 5G speed is not needed, which saves battery.

Official specs: a single 12 MP f/1.8 rear camera with OIS and PDAF, and a 7 MP f/2.2 selfie camera. Video goes up to 4K at 60fps on the back and 1080p on the front.

Daylight photos: the camera hardware is the same as on the iPhone 8 and SE 2020, but the A15's image processing gets more out of it. Smart HDR 4 balances bright skies and dark areas, so even shots with the sun behind a subject stay usable. Colours are consistent and noise is well controlled. Photographic Styles let you set a warmer, cooler or more contrasty look that is applied as you shoot.

Medium and low light: Deep Fusion improves detail in dim indoor light, but there is no night mode, so very dark scenes fall behind phones that have one.

Background blur: the small sensor gives less natural blur than larger budget phone sensors, but edges look cleaner with less colour fringing.

Video: this is the SE's strongest point. 4K 60fps footage is smooth and stable with OIS, focus is reliable, colours look natural and slow motion turns out well. Few phones near this price record video this good.

Missing: there is no ultrawide lens for groups or landscapes and no optical zoom, so zoomed shots are digital crops. Live Text works offline, letting you copy text straight from photos.

The iPhone SE 2022 has a 2018 mAh battery, slightly larger than the 2020 model's, and the A15 is efficient with light tasks.

Real-world battery life: for messaging, calls, reading and light browsing, it reaches the end of the day if you are careful. Heavier use changes that quickly: a 30-minute drive with navigation on uses about 10% of the battery, games drain it noticeably, and on busy days it can run out by 9 PM. GSMArena rated its overall endurance "rather poor", with standby time well below most current phones.

Charging: it supports 20W wired charging, and Apple quotes 50% in 30 minutes. GSMArena reached 61% in 30 minutes with Apple's 20W adapter. Reports differ on the full charge, from about an hour to a little over an hour and a quarter.

Other points:

• 7.5W Qi wireless charging
• Lightning port, not USB-C
• Only a cable comes in the box, so you need to buy a 20W charger separately for fast charging

Tip: keeping Smart Data mode on helps, because 5G uses more power when it is not needed.

The iPhone SE 2022 launched with iOS 15.4, and our database lists it as upgradable to iOS 26.3.

Updates: Apple does not publish a fixed update period. The A15 chip and Apple's track record suggest it will get updates for several more years, but that is an estimate, not an official promise.

Useful features:

• The home button with Touch ID for unlocking, Apple Pay and app logins, and familiar navigation without gestures
• Live Text, which copies text from photos without an internet connection
• Photographic Styles in the camera
• No third-party bloatware or system ads

AI features: the SE 2022 is not on Apple's list of Apple Intelligence devices, which starts with the iPhone 15 Pro. Features such as Clean Up and Image Playground are not available on it.

Regional notes: it takes one nano-SIM plus an eSIM. Check the PTA status before buying, as an unregistered phone will not work on local networks.