iPhone SE (2020) Review

Raw speed is excellent, sustained GPU stability is uneven

Under peak-load benchmarks the SE (2020) posts strong numbers because it uses the A13 Bionic — 3DMark Wild Life median score for the device is 6,872 and Wild Life Unlimited median is 7,422, confirming the chip’s high single‑device performance in public test submissions. EveryMac notes the SE shares the same A13 Bionic as the iPhone 11, which explains its burst speed parity with higher‑tier models.

Sustained GPU stability is a limitation you can measure in public data: Wild Life stability on submitted tests sits around 68%, and Wild Life Unlimited stability around 61%, indicating frame‑rate drops during long, GPU‑heavy sessions (3DMark users also report lower scores when devices are hot or have background apps). The graphics test 1 median reached 41 FPS in some submissions, but stability percentages mean peak FPS is not necessarily sustained.

Classic iPhone 8 chassis — small, solid, familiar

The SE (2020) reuses the iPhone 8 body: a glass sandwich with rounded corners, a physical Home button for Touch ID, a mute switch, a Lightning port and a slight rear camera bump. PCMag highlights that it fits iPhone 8 cases, and dimensions/weight reported are approximately 5.45 × 2.65 × 0.29 inches and 5.22 ounces, which keeps one‑handed use very manageable compared with larger phones.

That conservative design has tradeoffs: large bezels around the 4.7" display and no headphone jack are carried over from the older chassis. The construction and materials are described as high quality by reviewers, but the industrial design will look dated to buyers who expect edge‑to‑edge OLED screens.

Small 4.7" LCD with solid touch controls, not an OLED experience

The SE uses a 4.7‑inch 1,334 × 750‑pixel LCD. PCMag notes the panel looks good for the price and the phone is the smallest high‑quality handset on the market, but it’s not as bold as contemporary OLED displays — blacks, contrast and screen punch are notably different from OLED phones.

Physical controls include a Home button with Touch ID (fingerprint authentication), a mute switch and standard iPhone tactile layout. The small display and substantial bezels make the usable screen area feel compact compared with modern full‑screen designs.

A capable single 12MP camera but no multi‑lens flexibility

The SE (2020) has a single 12MP rear camera. Rene Ritchie characterizes Apple’s implementation as the company’s best single camera system yet, and Apple marketed the SE’s imaging as capable of Portrait mode and Smart HDR leveraging the A13’s image signal processing.

That said, there’s no telephoto or ultra‑wide optical lens on the SE, so users who want optical zoom, a wider field of view, or multi‑lens computational flexibility will find the hardware limiting despite strong processing.

Battery life varies in public benchmarks; brightness affects runtimes

UL’s benchmark aggregation notes battery life results are the median of public test submissions and are highly sensitive to screen brightness; the benchmarking guidance recommends calibrating to 200 cd/m² but cannot enforce it. As a result, reported runtimes for the SE (2020) vary widely in public submissions.

Separately, the measured GPU stability figures (Wild Life stability ~68% and Unlimited ~61%) imply thermal or background‑activity impacts during sustained heavy workloads, which can affect both performance and battery behavior under extended gaming or processor‑intensive use.

Pros & Cons

• ✅ A13 Bionic processor (same chip as iPhone 11) — strong peak benchmark scores (3DMark Wild Life medians: 6,872 and 7,422)
• ✅ Very compact footprint: 4.7" display, roughly 5.45 × 2.65 × 0.29 inches and 5.22 ounces for easy one‑handed use
• ✅ Proven iPhone 8 glass‑sandwich build that fits existing iPhone 8 cases
• ✅ Touch ID Home button for reliable fingerprint unlocking and physical controls (mute switch, Lightning port)
• ✅ Storage options of 64, 128 and 256 GB (reported in benchmark/spec aggregates)

• ❌ Small 4.7" 1,334×750 LCD with large bezels — not an OLED experience and less immersive than modern full‑screen phones
• ❌ Single 12MP rear camera — no telephoto or ultra‑wide lenses for optical zoom or wider framing
• ❌ Measured sustained GPU stability is modest (Wild Life stability ~68%, Unlimited ~61%), indicating frame‑rate/thermal variability in long GPU loads
• ❌ Battery life results in public benchmarks are highly variable and sensitive to screen brightness

How It Compares to the Competition

• iPhone 11 — Shares the same A13 Bionic processor but offers a larger display and multi‑lens camera system for users who prioritize screen real estate and camera versatility.
• Google Pixel 4 — Similar-era flagship with a more modern full‑screen design and focus on computational photography, but larger and heavier than the SE.
• Samsung Galaxy S10e — Compact competitor with an edge‑to‑edge display and multi‑lens camera options; trades Touch ID home button for a more contemporary screen layout.

Who Should Buy This & Who Should Skip It

Buy it if: Buy the iPhone SE (2020) if you want a truly compact iPhone with modern A13 Bionic peak performance, a physical Home button and Touch ID, and a solid single‑camera system in a familiar iPhone 8 chassis.

Skip it if: Skip the SE if you prioritize a large OLED screen, multi‑lens camera flexibility (telephoto/ultra‑wide), or the most consistent sustained GPU performance and battery behavior during extended gaming sessions.