iPhone SE (2022) review: great performance, well-priced with 5G, but a tired design with a tiny 4.7-inch display, no camera night mode, and 64GB of base storage
Yesterday's iPhone, today — Video by Vjeran Pavic and James Andrews — Everything about the iPhone SE is designed …
Context & Ripple Effects
The 2022 iPhone SE extends a long-running trade-off in Apple’s entry iPhone line: the original was positioned for small-handed or cash-strapped buyers, while the 2020 model paired strong battery life and video with an already dated design and weak low-light photography.
The new review says performance and 5G improve the value proposition, but the same 4.7-inch form factor, constrained base storage, and camera limitations remain central to the buying decision.
First-order effects
- Budget-focused iPhone buyers gain 5G and strong performance at the iPhone SE’s price point, but must accept a small display, 64GB of starting storage, and no night mode.
- Apple preserves an entry-level iPhone option whose hardware compromises are visible even as its internal performance advances.
Second-order effects
- The gap between the SE’s performance credentials and its display, storage, and camera limits makes higher-priced iPhones the natural upgrade path for buyers who prioritize those features.
- The review reinforces that Android rivals competing for price-sensitive buyers can differentiate against the SE on screen size, storage, and low-light imaging rather than raw performance alone.
Third-order effects
- Apple’s SE line is becoming a clearer example of tiered smartphone segmentation: newer connectivity and processing arrive without a corresponding redesign of every user-facing component.
- If that pattern persists, entry-level iPhone competition will hinge on which omissions buyers tolerate, while premium models retain the features that distinguish the broader lineup.
The trend: The iPhone SE illustrates Apple’s use of current performance and connectivity to keep an older, lower-cost hardware design viable in a tiered lineup.