Earlier this week Apple introduced the iPhone SE (2022) – the third era mannequin within the collection that spans 7 years. Now we have already talked at size in regards to the unique iPhone SE from 2016, however in reality the brand new mannequin isn’t actually a sequel to that one. No, each the second and third SE fashions are based mostly on the design of the cellphone that we are going to discuss right now.
And that’s the Apple iPhone 6, which (paradoxically) is older than the unique SE – the 6-series arrived in 2014. After all, the SE itself was based mostly on the iPhone 5 from 2012, a game-changing cellphone in its day. If you happen to have a look at the iPhone 5 and the iPhone SE (2016) aspect by aspect, you’ll barely be capable of discover any variations.
iPhone 6 on the left and iPhone SE (2022) on the fitting
The identical goes for the iPhone 6 and the iPhone SE (2022). It has the identical rounded silhouette and nearly the precise dimensions – the variations are lower than a millimeter. The cellphone nonetheless has a 4.7” show, nonetheless with 750 x 1,334 px decision (and 326 ppi pixel density to make it a Retina Show, one thing the 4 launched).
The chunky bezels above the under the show stay, the underside one in all which holds the only remaining Contact ID fingerprint reader on iPhone. iPads have entrance or side-mounted readers too, however Apple’s telephones have lengthy since moved on to Face ID. For the reason that iPhone X (from 2017), in truth, a hated however influential design choice. One which Apple could by no means undo as analysts predict the corporate will flip the notch right into a punch gap after which push the Face ID module underneath the show. An underneath show fingerprint reader doesn’t sound possible.
Fingerprint readers do have their makes use of. For instance, you’ll be able to’t confuse one by carrying a masks and that’s one thing that Face ID has been battling. Additionally, when you’re nimble sufficient, you’ll be able to put your thumb on the FP reader whereas pulling the cellphone out of your pocket and it is going to be unlocked by the point it’s in entrance of your eyes. This works particularly effectively when it’s a bodily reader that you may really feel by contact relatively than one thing hiding underneath the glass show.
To be honest, some issues have modified because the iPhone 6. Actually the change occurred on the iPhone 8 – did you discover the antenna traces on the again of the 6? These are there as a result of the iPhone 6 had an aluminum again, which blocks alerts. More moderen Cellphone fashions (since the 8 and X era) have glass backs, which simplifies antenna placement.
Different issues have modified too, the SE telephones now have IP67 scores for mud and water resistance (they’ll final for half an hour underneath 1m of water). The brand new SE additionally gained a Ceramic Protect glass for the entrance, which is extra sturdy than typical glass (extra sturdy than even Gorilla Glass, when you imagine Apple’s advertising). The iPhone 6 had “Ion-strengthened glass” as an alternative.
The iPhone 6 didn’t arrive alone – in truth, 2014 was the primary time Apple provided two totally different sizes. The iPhone 6 Plus had a bigger 5.5” show and a bigger battery (2,915 mAh vs. 1,810 mAh) and that was nearly the one distinction.
There was a single digital camera on the again (it was the iPhone 7 Plus that added the second digital camera), however the 6 Plus was the primary iPhone to supply Optical Picture Stabilization (OIS). That was its one digital camera benefit over the vanilla 6. Nonetheless, each the 6 and the 6 Plus may shoot 1080p video at 60 fps, whereas the 5s from the yr earlier than may solely do 30 fps. Part detection autofocus was one other improve over the 5s, which solely had distinction detection AF.
Some might need hoped for a second digital camera on the iPhone SE (2022), however Apple actually didn’t stray too removed from the iPhone 6 design. The brand new SE has a significantly better digital camera, in fact. It has a better decision sensor (12MP vs. 8MP), a brighter aperture (f/1.8 vs. f/2.2) and OIS, to not point out an Apple A15 chipset that has a lot, far more quantity crunching energy to throw at picture processing.
Additionally, the selfie digital camera was bumped as much as Apple’s outdated 7MP unit. That’s higher than the 1.2MP cam that the 6 had, which actually was solely adequate for FaceTime video calls. Newer iPhones (because the 11 collection) have 12 MP entrance cameras with wider lenses. However even the newest fashions don’t have Middle Stage, Apple’s intelligent system that makes use of the wide-angle lens to at all times preserve you within the heart of the body at the same time as you progress round.
Having talked about the Apple A15, we should always notice one other main change – the SE mannequin now presents 5G connectivity. 4G was a comparatively contemporary function for Apple when the 6 got here out, it was launched with the iPhone 5 in 2012. As we talked about earlier than, metallic and antennas don’t play effectively with one another, one thing that Apple came upon the laborious means with the 4 and the entire “antennagate” scandal. The correct design was discovered earlier than the iPhone 6 got here out, although.
The iPhone 6 collection launched NFC to Apple’s line-up. It was nonetheless fairly locked down in comparison with the performance provided by Androids – devoted solely to Apple Pay.
The iPhone 6 era had its personal “gate” scandal. The way in which that the all-aluminum physique was designed created weak spots across the buttons, which made the telephones simpler to bend when you sit on them or apply drive on them in one other means. A associated difficulty was that the contact display screen may turn out to be disconnected kind the motherboard. There have been different issues too, ones associated to the flash storage and the irritating “Error 53” that plagued the Contact ID fingerprint reader.
Going again to the chipset for a second, the Apple A8 was the corporate’s second chipset with a 64-bit CPU (the A7 contained in the iPhone 5s was the primary). Nonetheless, even these chips can’t run the newest iOS (assist for them ended with iOS 12). Newer fashions (e.g. iPhone 6s, the unique SE) do at present run the newest iOS 15.
Earlier than we wrap up, just a few audio-related issues we needed to notice. The iPhone 6 had a 3.5mm headphone jack, one thing that the iPhone 7 collection took away two years later. Nonetheless, it additionally solely had a single speaker, whereas newer fashions (SE included) have stereo audio system.
It wasn’t excellent, however the iPhone 6 collection reached a record-breaking 10 million gross sales over the weekend after launch. Per week later the quantity rose to 13 million models. And this was earlier than the collection reached some main markets (e.g. China).
It’s secure to say that superficially the design of the iPhone SE (2022) is almost equivalent to that of the iPhone 6, which will likely be eight years outdated quickly. Appears might be deceiving, rather a lot has modified since 2014’s best iPhone. Most significantly, the failings of the unique design have been fastened and plenty of enhancements have been applied. Trying old school just isn’t one thing that may be fastened with out shifting ahead just a few years to the iPhone X derived designs.
PS. we brushed previous the iPhone 6 Plus too shortly. We wish to spend extra time on the historical past of iPhone sizes in one other installment. Right here we’ll simply point out that the iPhone 6 Plus lineage ends with the iPhone 8 Plus from 2017.
