iPhone SE vs. iPhone 11 comparison: Which Apple phone to buy in 2021

Because the sequel to Apple's 2016 sleeper-hit iPhone of an equivalent name, the new iPhone SE starts at $399, £419 or AU$749. thereupon tag , the phone aims to court budget-minded users who might not be ready to splurge on $1,000 handsets just like the iPhone 11 Pro or Galaxy S20.

While that does mean some cuts in hardware (the phone features a smaller 4.7-inch display and one rear camera, for example) the iPhone SE does include some modern fixings, like an equivalent A13 processor because the iPhone 11 phones. Need more specifics? Here's an in-depth walk-through of how these two models differ so you'll learn what precisely the iPhone SE offers at its lower cost . Angela Lang/CNET With a four-year gap between the new iPhone SE and therefore the older one, Apple brought many upgrades. that has wireless charging, better camera specs and water resistance. (Unfortunately, for wired headphone users, the new iPhone SE doesn't have a headphone jack.) If you are looking for a replacement iPhone but want to save lots of the maximum amount money as possible, the iPhone SE is your best bet -- you'll save $300 outright compared to the worth of the iPhone 11 (which costs $699, £729 or AU$1,199). Read our Apple iPhone SE (2020) review. Angela Lang/CNET The iPhone 11 costs $300 quite the iPhone SE. Despite having many of an equivalent internal specs, however, its main advantages are twofold: it's a much bigger screen (6.1 inches versus 4.7, measured diagonally) and it packs better camera specs all around (a second fisheye lens and a far better selfie camera, for starters). If both are big priorities for you, get the iPhone 11. Read our Apple iPhone 11 review. Size and design: iPhone SE is little and compact the foremost obvious difference between the 2 phones is that the iPhone 11 is larger. The iPhone 11 features a 6.1-inch screen while the iPhone SE features a 4.7-inch display. While you get more screen land for your apps and watching videos with the previous , the iPhone SE will draw users for its comfortable portability and compact grip. Both iPhones have LCD displays, but the iPhone 11 features a "Liquid Retina HD display" while the iPhone SE has "Retina HD." These are branding terms that Apple uses to differentiate its display technology; all you've got to understand , though, is that the iPhone 11's screen is sharper, although they both have an equivalent number of pixels-per-inch or pixel density. Some users also will just like the iPhone SE's home button. Now that Apple is discontinuing the iPhone 8, the iPhone SE are going to be the sole iPhone Apple will sell with a physical home button. additionally to being intuitive to use, it also means you do not need to use swipe gestures to return to the house screen or call up recent apps. the house button also will house the device's fingerprint reader for unlocking the phone and authorizing digital payments (what Apple calls Touch ID). The iPhone 11, however, uses facial mapping sensors on the front-facing camera for biometric security (aka Face ID). The devices are both IP certified for water protection. But because the iPhone 11 is rated IP68 compared to the iPhone SE's IP67 rating, it means the iPhone 11 may be a tad more durable against submersion (as in, it's certified to face up to longer or deeper immersion in water). On paper, an IP67 level of certification means the iPhone SE can survive in up to a meter (3.3 feet) of water for about half-hour . Lastly, the iPhone SE only comes in black, white and red. The iPhone 11 comes in those three colors, too, but if you would like more options, you'll also catch on in pastel yellow, green and purple. The new iPhone SE in red. Angela Lang/CNET Camera: iPhone 11 has the whip hand If you are not necessarily a camera computer user , the iPhone SE's single 12-megapixel rear camera should suffice for posting images on Instagram and casual video . But if you care about photography or want more tools at your disposal, the iPhone 11 features a notably better camera setup than the iPhone SE. The iPhone 11, as an example , features a second wide-angle camera. meaning you'll take sweeping landscape photos or creative, more dramatic pictures at close distances. The iPhone 11 also has Apple's low-light camera mode, Night Mode. Night Mode reduces things like digital artifacts, graininess and motion blur to capture and brighten up images taken in dim lighting. As for the front-facing camera, the iPhone 11 doesn't just have a far better selfie camera because it's more megapixels (12 megapixels compared to the iPhone SE's 7 megapixels). It can capture 4K video (compared to the iPhone SE's 1080p video) and record slow-motion video, too. Processor and battery: Both have A13 Bionic As its main budget phone, Apple could have outfitted the iPhone SE with an older processor. But the device is provided with the newest proprietary A13 Bionic chip, an equivalent one that's inside the iPhone 11. once we ran processing performance speeds on 3DMark and Geekbench 5, both phones clocked in similar results, which is additionally to mention that the iPhone SE performed comparably -- and sometimes better than -- the Galaxy S20, Pixel 4 and therefore the OnePlus 8 Pro. Apple's A13 processor. Screenshot by Stephen Shankland/CNET As always, Apple doesn't disclose the iPhone SE's battery capacity. consistent with the run times listed on Apple's site, the iPhone SE's battery is analogous thereto of the iPhone 8, which isn't as long because the iPhone 11. (Unofficial tear-downs from third parties also revealed that the iPhone 11 features a 3,110-mAh battery while the iPhone 8 features a 1,821-mAh battery.) once we ran continuous video playback on Airplane mode, however, both phones lasted the same: about 15 and a half hours, give or take.

 While we've yet to run streaming tests on the iPhone SE, it's promising that the primary set of battery runs are almost like the iPhone 11. iPhone SE (2020) vs. iPhone 11 Apple iPhone SE (2020) iPhone 11 Display size, resolution 4.7-inch Retina HD; 1,334x750 pixels 6.1-inch LCD Liquid Retina; 1,792x828 pixels Pixel density 326ppi 326ppi Dimensions (inches) 5.45 x 2.65 x 0.29 in. 5.94x2.98x0.33 in. Dimensions (millimeters) 138.4 x 67.3 x 7.3mm 150.9x75.7x8.3mm Weight (ounces, grams) 5.22 oz.; 148g 6.84 oz.; 194g Mobile software iOS 13 iOS 13 Camera 12-megapixel 12-megapixel (wide), 12-megapixel (ultrawide) Front-facing camera 7-megapixel 12-megapixel Video capture 4K 4K Processor Apple A13 Bionic Apple A13 Bionic Storage 64GB, 128GB, 256GB 64GB, 128GB, 256GB RAM Not disclosed Not disclosed Expandable storage No No Battery Not disclosed Not disclosed Fingerprint sensor Home button No Connector Lightning Lightning Headphone jack No No Special features waterproof (IP67); dual-SIM capabilities (nano-SIM and e-SIM); wireless charging waterproof (IP68); dual-SIM capabilities (nano-SIM and e-SIM); wireless charging Price off-contract (USD) $399 (64GB), $449 (128GB), $549 (256GB) $699 (64GB), $749 (128GB), $849 (256GB) Price (GBP) £419 (64GB), £469 (128GB), £569 (256GB) £729 (64GB), £779 (128GB), £879 (256GB) Price (AUD) AU$749 (64GB), AU$829 (128GB), AU$999 (256GB) AU$1,199 (64GB), AU$1,279 (128GB), AU$1,449 (256GB) Now playing: Watch this: iPhone SE reminds us what proportion we missed the house button 12:32