Related Articles
Apple on Monday announced the 4-inch iPhone SE. Despite its smaller size (and price), the iPhone SE boasts nearly all of the features of Apple’s flagship iPhone 6S. It features the same A9 and M9 processors as the iPhone 6S, for example, along with a 12-megapixel rear-facing camera, Live Photos, Touch ID, NFC and Hey Siri.
Screenshot by Josh Miller/CNET
But not all of its features are identical to the iPhone 6S’. Let’s have a look at how the new iPhone SE stacks up against Apple’s flagship iPhone 6S.
Screen size
We’ll begin with the obvious. With the iPhone SE, you give up some screen real estate. The iPhone SE features a 4-inch screen, while the iPhone 6S has a 4.7-inch screen and the iPhone 6S Plus has a 5.5-inch screen.
A smaller screen means fewer pixels, too. The iPhone SE features a 1,136×640-pixel screen resolution, compared with a 1,334×750 resolution of the iPhone 6S and the 1,920×1,080 pixels of the iPhone 6S Plus. The pixels-per-inch figure remains the same between the iPhone SE and 6S, however, at 326ppi. Meanwhile, the iPhone 6S Plus enjoys a slight pixel-density advantage at 401ppi.
Now playing:
Watch this:
Tinier, cheaper, iPhone SE arrives
1:25
Related links
- Meet the 4-inch iPhone SE: Like the iPhone 6S, only smaller and cheaper (hands-on)
- Smaller, cheaper iPad Pro throws in a few new surprises (hands-on)
- All the March 21 Apple event coverage
3D Touch
Perhaps the biggest omission with the iPhone SE is 3D Touch. You won’t be able to use pressure-sensitive gestures to access Peek and Pop previews and shortcut menus as you can on the iPhone 6S and 6S Plus.
128GB capacity
The iPhone SE is available in two different storage capacities: 16GB and 64GB. With the iPhone 6S and 6S Plus models, you can opt for a larger 128GB capacity.
High-res front-facing camera
The iPhone SE features the same 12-megapixel rear-facing camera as the iPhone 6S, but your selfies won’t look as crisp. The iPhone 6S has a 5-megapixel front-facing camera, and the iPhone SE’s front-facing camera offers only 1.2 megapixels.
Here’s what the new iPhone SE looks like (pictures)
+10 more
High contrast ratio
The iPhone SE’s smaller display also offers a lower contrast ratio to that of the iPhone 6S. Apple lists the contrast ratio of the iPhone 6S as 1,400:1 and only 800:1 for the iPhone SE. For its part, the iPhone 6S Plus has a listed contrast ratio of 1,300:1.
Scanning the specs page for the iPhone SE, there are two other absent features that are listed on the specs page for the iPhone 6S and 6S Plus: Dual-domain pixels for wide viewing angles and Barometer. Display Zoom and Reachability are two other features missing from the iPhone SE’s list of specs, but these two features were introduced on the iPhone 6S and 6S Plus to help you navigate their larger displays.
See all of the news from Apple’s March 21 event.
