Before Buying iPhones SE 2020 & SE 2022: Full Comparison & Review

Apple is most known for being a luxury and exclusive tech brand. As such, Apple iPhones are not available for everyone to buy due to their prices and buyers’ budget limitations. However, Apple has made a few attempts in the past to make iPhones more budget-friendly with various models like the iPhone XR, iPhone 12 mini, and iPhone 13 mini. Nonetheless, all of these models were always tied to other flagship lines which meant they came with notable premium features and not super affordable price tags.

Apple was successful with its budget phone attempt with two models, the iPhone SE 2020 and the iPhone SE 2022. Both of these models definitely come at much more affordable prices than other iPhones and, while not having the latest iPhone design, they do check the boxes for all the specs and features that matter.

In this post, we’re comparing the 2020 and 2022 models of the iPhone SE to find out which one is better for you to buy. Keep reading to find out all you need to know about those two iPhones and more about how to get affordable Apple iPhones in the UK!

iPhone SE 2020 Specs & Review

Before the release of this iPhone, many speculations thought that it was going to be named the iPhone 9. However, Apple decided to name it iPhone SE 2020 as a through back to the original iPhone SE where the SE stands for Special Edition.

The iPhone SE 2020 had several special things about it. It came in the traditional shell with the bezels and home button and looked as sleek and thin as the iPhone 8 while having the Apple A13 Bionic chip, which is the same processor chip as the iPhone 11 flagships. The SE of 2020 also came with an all-glass body and the support of a sturdy aluminium frame just like the iPhone 8 and the 8 Plus. The glass back allowed Apple to equip the affordable iPhone with a Qi wireless charging feature at 7.5W.

As you can see, even with a so-called budget phone, Apple does not let us forget that it is, after all, an iPhone! Even when it comes to software, the iPhone SE 2020 comes with iOS 13 installed, but it is still receiving software updates from Apple allowing it to run the latest iOS 16.

So, which specs did Apple cut back on to lower the price of the iPhone SE 2020?

Well, the two main aspects that are noticeable right away are the screen and the camera. The iPhone SE 2020 doesn’t have an OLED display, but rather the more traditional Retina IPS LCD. Since the SE 2020 has the classic design of entry levels iPhone 6, 7, & 8, the screen size is 4.7-inch and the resolution is 750 x 1334 pixels.

As for the cameras, the SE 2020 has a single 12MP lens on the back and a single 7MP selfie lens. The main camera films 4K videos at up to 60 frames per second and the selfie camera films Full HD videos at 30 frames per second.

While the numbers may not seem much, Apple truly made every effort to elevate the SE 2020 with compensating for the lack of an OLED display with a Retina display and allowing the single lens camera to film videos at a quality good enough to create professional videos.

iPhone SE 2022 Specs & Review

• Upgrade to iOS 16
• A15 Bionic chip
• 4GB RAM
• 2018 mAh battery
• Wireless charging
• Film 4K videos

At first glance, the iPhone SE 2022 is similar to the SE 2020. Both iPhones have the same design, cameras, and display. However, there are several important upgrades within the components of the iPhone SE 2022 that make it absolutely worthwhile.

First and foremost, the SE 2022 supports 5G networks, which is a feature that is not available in SE 2020. With such an advanced feature comes the need for several core aspects of the iPhone which, in the SE 2022, we can see in the chipset, CPU, RAM, and battery capacity.

Apple equipped the iPhone SE 2022 with its latest A15 Bionic chipset and changed the Lightning/Thunder cores of the SE 2020 with an Avalanche/Blizzard combination for the CPU to ensure high speed and more powerful performance. To support all of this, the SE 2022 has 4GB RAM and a much larger battery capacity than the SE 2020 at 2018 mAh.

SE 2020 or SE 2022: Which iPhone SE is Better to Buy?

While looking identical on the outside, there are essential differences between the SE 2020 and SE 2022 iPhones. Not only will you get to use 5G networks with the SE 2022 but all reviews confirm that this device is the fastest smartphone in its price range!

So, whether to choose the SE of 2020 or that of 2022 depends essential on whether you want 5G in your iPhone or not. Our recommendation is that getting 5G and a fast iPhone at this price is a chance that cannot be missed!

Of course, there is a notable difference in the prices of the SE 2020 and SE 2022 as the latter will cost you a little more than £400 while the first will cost only £280. This price difference is not minor by any measure. And, while the price of the iPhone SE 2022 is affordable compared to other iPhones, this price is considered quite expensive by many smartphone users.

Luckily, you can cut back on the costs and even pay instalments for refurbished iPhones on this website. If you go for a refurbished iPhone SE 2020 or a refurbished SE 2022, make sure that your handset will come in pristine condition to benefit from the discount without compromising the condition of the phone or the quality of its performance.