iPhone SE (1st gen) review: The 2016 SE — iPhone 6s power in the beloved 4-inch body.
The original small-and-cheap iPhone.
The first iPhone SE squeezed iPhone 6s internals into the classic 4-inch frame for $399. A cult favourite, it is now a vintage device.
01Display
44/10044/100 is one of the weaker display results among mid-range phones of 2016 — 23 points under the average. Check the rows below before buying for this.
02Camera
52/10052/100 is one of the weaker camera results among mid-range phones of 2016 — 8 points under the average. Check the rows below before buying for this.
03Performance
44/10044/100 is one of the weaker performance results among mid-range phones of 2016 — 12 points under the average. Check the rows below before buying for this.
04Battery
44/10044/100 is one of the weaker battery results among mid-range phones of 2016 — 23 points under the average. Check the rows below before buying for this.
05Build
64/10064/100 trails the 68-point cohort average for mid-range phones of 2016.
06Value
56/10056/100 trails the 61-point cohort average for mid-range phones of 2016.
- iPhone 6s-class A9 power in a tiny 4-inch body.
- 12 MP camera with 4K video at a $399 price.
- Genuinely pocketable; light at 113 g.
- Long iOS support — reached iOS 15.
- Tiny low-res 4-inch display.
- 16 GB base; small battery.
- No 5G, no fast charging.
- Discontinued — replaced by the SE 2.
How this review is built: every section score, spec row and comparison on this page comes from SpecEagle's tracked catalogue — scores weight measured specs against the 47-phone cohort of mid-range devices released around the same time. We don't publish invented lab anecdotes. Spot an error? .