iPhone SE Review: The ‘ideal' smartphone size with the performance of an iPhone 6s

I've been using the iPhone 5s as my primary phone since the day it was launched (almost 3 years now) and I love it so much that I’ve never thought of switching. Whether it's the mobility of a 4-inch, the abundant room in my pocket, or how adept my hands have become for a 4-inch device, I was rather reluctant to switch.

Well all good thing must come to an end and so must my iPhone 5s. If Apple follows the norm that it has been doing thus far, the company will stop support for the iPhone 5s in about a year or so, though they thankfully launched a substitute for people like me, albeit at a hefty price. The price is so close to the iPhone 6s that I cannot in my right mind, recommend this smartphone, even though it is a nice addition to the Apple brand. The kicker? Despite the price tag, Apple has conveniently left out certain features that made the iPhone 6s a great phone.

The Difference

Even though the iPhone SE is built with the same A9 chip as the iPhone 6s or 6s plus, it doesn't have the same guts owing to which a few key features were omitted: 3D touch, second-generation fingerprint scanner, dual-domain pixels for wide viewing angles, Display Zoom (provides larger icons, buttons and text), the option to move the top half of a screen to the bottom, Optical image stabilization and a 5-megapixel FaceTime camera (1.2-megapixel on iPhone SE). Even though It makes sense for the company to exclude Display Zoom, Reachability and even dual-domain pixels to an extent, I would have been nice if they included 3D touch and optical image stabilization at least

Unboxing

The packaging keeps up with  Apple’s criterion. The company knows how to bring out the child in me, I almost had more  fun unboxing the device than I did using it for the first time. In the box you'll find the usual components -- Apple’s patented pair of in-ear headphones, a user manual, a warranty card and USB charger, along with the iPhone SE.

The Performance

In short I loved it; the heft and feel of the smartphone is perfect for one hand use which is what I'm accustomed to. It doesn't take long to notice the difference in performance between the iPhone SE and its predecessor, the iPhone 5s. Everything from startup to loading apps to the speedy iSight and FaceTime camera gets a significant upgrade. Performance-wise it's what you can expect from an iPhone 6s -- sans the aforementioned features like 3D touch -- thanks to the A9 chip with 64‑bit architecture and an M9 motion coprocessor (the same processor used in an iPhone 6s). Night shift mode -- the company’s new feature that helps users fall asleep -- makes a triumphant return and it works surprisingly well (It’s the little things you do that shows you care, Apple).

The Camera

A noteworthy piece of hardware is the 12-megapixel iSight rear camera with 1.22µ pixels, Live Photo integration and 4K video recording, making it by far the best camera on a 4-inch smartphone. Apple says this smartphone doesn’t have motion optical stabilization, an integral feature that, when coupled with ‘Live Photos’ gave the iPhone 6s a sizable advantage over its competition. This is however, missing from the iPhone se. Even though the device sports a 1.2-megapixel FaceTime camera, the image quality is better than most premium smartphones.

Gaming

The 4-inch screen isn't ideal for gaming or viewing multimedia. For most games, the screen feels a little cramped, I had to move my thumbs around the edges of the screen so that I could see what I was doing. Considering that your thumbs would clog about a third of the screen, you're better off buying an iPhone 6 or above, if you're really into gaming on your smartphone.

Audio

It should come as no surprise that the SE follows the benchmark set by a long lineage of Apple products. It is what the company is known for; the ergonomic headphone design fit comfortably in my ears. I prefer Apple’s patented headphone design compared to the in-ear headphones that comes complimentary with most other smartphones these days. I can listen to music for hours on end with Apple headphones without feeling like I’ve been to a Rock concert.

For those of you hell-bent on upgrading to a 4-inch smartphone, the iPhone SE is a great choice. However, the price in India is far too close to the iPhone 6s (Rs 39,000 to Rs 49,000) for me to recommend the iPhone se. The same smartphone cost about Rs 25,000 in the US when converted. If Apple decide to mimic the US price tag in India it would be a viable choice.