Comparison of 4.7" iPhones

Apple have just announced their latest 4.7" iPhone. Confusingly they are calling it the iPhone SE, even though they already had an iPhone SE which was a 4" screen. I'm looking at it as an upgrade to the iPhone 6s 128 GB from September 2015, so the comparison only covers that screen size.

Most of the data in this chart is from Apple's comparison page. CPU and battery specs are from the relevant Wikipedia pages. The historical UK pricing at launch was obtained from the Guardian. DXO Mark and Geekbench scores are from their own sites.

Bold text is used for improvements.

Since the iPhone 8 did not launch with a 128 GB option, the choice would have been the 256 GB option at £849 so the iPhone SE (2nd gen) at 128GB at £469 looks like a good deal.

 iPhone 6siPhone 7iPhone 8iPhone SE (2nd gen)iPhone 12 mini
ColoursSpace Gray Space Gray (v Dark)  
SilverSilverSilver  
GoldGoldGold  
Rose GoldRose Gold   
 Black BlackBlack
   RedRed
   WhiteWhite
    Green
    Blue
Display4.7" IPS LCD4.7" IPS LCD4.7" IPS LCD4.7" IPS LCD5.4" Super Retina XDR
1334x7501334x7501334x7501334x7502340x1080
1400:1 contrast1400:1 contrast1400:1 contrast1400:1 contrast2000000:1 contrast
  True toneTrue toneTrue tone
sRGBWide colour P3Wide colour P3Wide colour P3Wide colour P3
3D Touch3D Touch3D TouchHaptic touchHaptic touch
500 nits brightness625 nits brightness625 nits brightness625 nits brightness625 nits brightness
Size and Weight138.3x67.1x7.1138.3x67.1x7.1138.4x67.3x7.3138.4x67.3x7.3131.5x64.2x7.4
143g138g148g148g133g
Water ProtectionNoIP67 1m 30minIP67 1m 30minIP67 1m 30minIP68 6m 30min
CPUA9A10 FusionA11 Bionic w NeuralA13 Bionic w Neural gen 3A14 Bionic w Neural gen 4
1.85 GHz dual core2.34 GHz quad core (2 lo)2.39 GHz hexa core2.66 GHz hexa core3 GHz hexa core
RAM2 GB LPDDR42 GB LPDDR42GB LPDDR4X3 GB LPDDR4X4GB LPDDR4
Camera12MP Wide camera12MP Wide camera12MP Wide camera12MP Wide camera12MP Wide camera & Ultra Wide
f/2.2f/1.8f/1.8f/1.8f/1.6
No OISOptical image stabilizationOptical image stabilizationOptical image stabilizationOptical image stabilization
5x digital zoom5x digital zoom5x digital zoom5x digital zoom5x digital zoom
True tone flashTrue tone flashTrue tone flash w slow syncTrue tone flash w slow syncTrue tone flash w slow sync
HDRHDRAuto HDRSmart HDRSmart HDR
   Portrait w bokeh & depth controlPortrait w bokeh & depth control
   Portrait lighting w 6 effectsPortrait lighting w 6 effects
Video4K at 30fps4K at 30fps4K at 24, 30, 60 fps4K at 24, 30, 60 fps4K at 24, 30, 60 fps
1080p at 30,60 fps1080p at 30,60 fps1080p at 30,60 fps1080p at 30,60 fps1080p at 30,60 fps
No OIS for videoOIS for videoOIS for videoOIS for videoOIS for video
3x digital zoom3x digital zoom3x digital zoom3x digital zoom3x digital zoom
   Quick take videoQuick take video
Slomo 1080p/120fps, 720p/240fpsSlomo 1080p/120fps, 720p/240fpsSlomo 1080p/120fps or 240fpsSlomo 1080p/120fps or 240fpsSlomo 1080p/120fps or 240fps
Time lapse w stabTime lapse w stabTime lapse w stabTime lapse w stabTime lapse w stab
   Stero recordingStero recording
Front Camera5 MP f/2.27 MP f/2.27 MP f/2.27 MP f/2.212 MP f/2.2
Retina FlashRetina FlashRetina FlashRetina FlashRetina Flash
HDRHDRAuto HDRAuto HDRAuto HDR
   Portrait w bokeh & depth controlPortrait w bokeh & depth control
   Portrait lighting w 6 effectsPortrait lighting w 6 effects
720p at 30fps1080p at 30fps1080p at 30fps1080p at 30fps1080p at 60fps
Cellular and WifiGSM/EDGE/LTE AdvGSM/EDGE/LTE AdvGSM/EDGE/LTE AdvGSM/EDGE/LTE GigGSM/EDGE/LTE Gig/5G
802.11ac WiFi MIMO802.11ac WiFi MIMO802.11ac WiFi MIMO802.11ax WiFi 6 MIMO802.11ax WiFi 6 MIMO
BT 4.2BT 4.2BT 5.0BT 5.0BT 5.0
GPS/GNSSGPS/GNSSGPS/GNSSGPS/GNSSGPS/GNSS
Touch/Face ID2nd gen in Home button2nd gen in Home button2nd gen in Home button2nd gen in Home buttonFace ID
Apple PayApple PayApple PayApple PayApple Pay
BatteryVideo play 11 hrsVideo play 13 hrsVideo play 13 hrsVideo play 13 hrsVideo play 15 hrs
Audio play 50 hrsAudio play 40 hrsAudio play 40 hrsAudio play 40 hrsAudio play 50 hrs
  Wireless chargingWireless chargingWireless charging
  Fast charge 50% in 30m @ 18WFast charge 50% in 30m @ 18WFast charge 50% in 30m @ 20W
1175mAh1960mAh1821mAh1821mAh2227mAh
Earphones3.5mm socketLightningLightningLightningLightning
SensorsGyro/accel/prox/light/baroGyro/accel/prox/light/baroGyro/accel/prox/light/baroGyro/accel/prox/light/baroGyro/accel/prox/light/baro
SIMNanoNanoNanoNano and eSIMNano and eSIM
Charge & SyncLightningLightningLightningLightningLightning. No charger
      
£ Launch @ 16 GB539    
£ Launch @ 32 GB 599   
£ Launch @ 64 GB619 699419699
£ Launch @ 128 GB699699 469749
£ Launch @ 256 GB 799849569849
      
DXOMark Camera828592101122
Geekbench Single core54274292113221598
Geekbench Multi core9911317224227814019

Added confirmed DXOMark, RAM and CPU for SE (2nd).

Added iPhone 12 mini

This article was updated on April 14, 2021