The third-generation iPhone SE (also known as the iPhone SE 3 or the iPhone SE 2022) is a
smartphone
A smartphone is a portable computer device that combines mobile telephone and computing functions into one unit. They are distinguished from feature phones by their stronger hardware capabilities and extensive mobile operating systems, whic ...
designed and developed by
Apple Inc.
Apple Inc. is an American multinational technology company headquartered in Cupertino, California, United States. Apple is the largest technology company by revenue (totaling in 2021) and, as of June 2022, is the world's biggest company b ...
It is part of the
15th generation of the
iPhone, alongside the
iPhone 13 / 13 Mini and
iPhone 13 Pro / 13 Pro Max models. Apple announced the third-generation iPhone SE on March 8, 2022, which succeeded the
second-generation iPhone SE. Pre-orders began on March 11, 2022. The phone was released afterwards on March 18, 2022.
It was released with a starting price of
US$
The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...
429, a $30 increase over its predecessor.
The third-generation iPhone SE has the same dimensions and form factor as the
second-generation iPhone SE. The iPhone SE has a similar design to the
iPhone 8 and similar internal hardware components to the iPhone 13 series, including the
A15 Bionic system-on-chip and
5G connectivity.
History
Rumors of a third-generation iPhone SE stemmed on October 25, 2021.
The third-generation iPhone SE was announced as part of an
Apple Event
Apple events are the message-based interprocess communication mechanism in Mac OS, first making an appearance in System 7 and supported by every version of the classic Mac OS since then and by macOS. Apple events describe "high-level" events such ...
on March 8, 2022.
Design
The iPhone SE features an aluminum frame, paired with a glass front and back. It also shares the same physical sizes and dimensions as the
iPhone 8 and is externally identical, except for a centered Apple logo and the removal of the iPhone branding in the lower midsection.
The iPhone SE is available in three colors: Midnight, Starlight, and a
Product Red edition.
Midnight and Starlight replace Black and White respectively. The Product Red color is darker than on the predecessor. The colorways correspond to those of the
iPhone 13.
Specifications
Hardware
The iPhone SE incorporates the Apple A15 Bionic (5 nm) architecture
system on a chip
A system on a chip or system-on-chip (SoC ; pl. ''SoCs'' ) is an integrated circuit that integrates most or all components of a computer or other electronic system. These components almost always include a central processing unit (CPU), memory ...
(SoC), with an integrated
motion coprocessor and fifth-generation neural engine. It is available in three internal storage configurations: 64 GB, 128 GB, and 256 GB.
It has 4 GB of RAM, an increase over the second-generation model's 3 GB of RAM. The third-generation iPhone SE has the same
IP67
The IP code or ingress protection code indicates how well a device is protected against water and dust. It defined by the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) under the international standard IEC 60529 which classifies and pro ...
rating for dust and water resistance as its predecessor.
The phone lacks the
ultra-wideband features enabled by the
U1 chip found in the iPhone 13 and 13 Pro. Despite the phone's smaller size, which may lead to increased thermal throttling, the SE's A15 SoC runs at the same peak CPU frequencies as the iPhone 13. Like its predecessor, the third-generation iPhone SE does not feature a standard 3.5 mm
stereo headphone jack and keeps a home button.
Display
The iPhone SE 3 features the same HD
Retina display found on its predecessor, using
IPS technology with True Tone and wide color gamut (
Display P3
P3 is an RGB color space. DCI-P3 (Digital Cinema Initiative) is used with digital theatrical motion picture distribution (DCDM). Display P3 is a variant developed by Apple Inc. for wide-gamut displays.
__TOC__
History Development of the stand ...
). The display has a resolution of 1334 × 750 pixels, like the previous iPhones. The pixel density is 326 PPI, the same as on all iPhones with LCDs since the introduction of the Retina display on the
iPhone 4, excluding the Plus models. It can play
HDR10 and
Dolby Vision
Dolby Vision is a set of technologies developed by Dolby Laboratories for high dynamic range (HDR) video. It covers content creation, distribution, and playback. It includes dynamic metadata that are used to adjust and optimize each frame of the ...
content despite not having an HDR-ready display, done by down-converting the HDR content to fit the display while still having some enhancements to
dynamic range
Dynamic range (abbreviated DR, DNR, or DYR) is the ratio between the largest and smallest values that a certain quantity can assume. It is often used in the context of signals, like sound and light. It is measured either as a ratio or as a base-1 ...
, contrast, and wide
color gamut compared to
standard content.
Camera
The iPhone SE has a rear 12 MP camera with a single lens, similar to the single lens camera system of its predecessor, capable of recording 4K video at 24, 25, 30, or 60 fps, 1080p HD video at 25, 30 or 60 fps, or 720p HD video at 30 fps. The camera has an aperture of ƒ/1.8,
autofocus,
optical image stabilization, and a quad-LED True Tone flash. The phone can also take panoramas up to 63 MP, and shoot photos in burst mode. The front camera is 7 MP with an
aperture
In optics, an aperture is a hole or an opening through which light travels. More specifically, the aperture and focal length of an optical system determine the cone angle of a bundle of rays that come to a focus in the image plane.
An opt ...
of f/2.2 and autofocus, capable of shooting 1080p HD video at 25 or 30 fps and slow-motion video at 120 fps.
The third-generation SE adds several camera functions enabled by the A15 Bionic.
Like the 13 and 13 Pro, the rear camera supports Smart HDR 4. The rear camera also supports extended dynamic range video up to 30 fps, stereo recording and cinematic video stabilization. Both the front and rear cameras of the iPhone SE support Portrait mode and Portrait Lighting. The SE's implementation of Portrait mode only natively supports images of humans, as the hardware does not produce depth maps through the use of
focus pixels and instead relies on software-based machine learning. Like the 13 and 13 Pro, Portrait mode has depth control and an advanced
bokeh effect (blurring effect of the
out-of-focus background around the portrait). The third-generation SE supports Deep Fusion and Photographic Styles, but lacks support for some features such as Night Mode and Cinematic mode due to older sensor hardware.
Battery
The third generation of the iPhone SE features a 2,018 mAh battery, up from 1,821 mAh on the predecessor. According to Apple, this enables an offline video playback time of 15 hours, up from 13 hours. This brings it up to par with the older but more expensive
iPhone 12 Mini.
Software
The iPhone SE was originally supplied with
iOS 15.4.
The navigation gestures stay the same as they were on the iPhones before the iPhone X.
References
External links
* – official website
*
{{Apple hardware since 1998
IOS
*
Mobile phones introduced in 2022
Mobile phones with 4K video recording