Apple iPhone SE 2020 (2020)

First Apple Product to have failed – Purchased as replacement for first gen iPhone SE. First Apple product to have failed me. All other Apple products flawless, some after many years of regular use. Main camera randomly causes freeze, selfie cam not affected. Sometimes created error code. Locks to dark mode, even if light mode selected. Rest works as per normal. All good after… Read more

restart, for a while. Apple wanted to run diagnostics but did not comment on error code. Went to local authorised Apple dealer who ran diagnostics and advised there are no apparent issues. Could not explain the faults described and shown on video (taken on fully functional very old Samsung device...). Other observations: Good basic phone, camera ok except in low light, where images at times are not great. Was aware of that pre purchase. Battery after 2 + years very poor in day to day use. During diagnostics/assessment I was advised battery still better than 80%. I would not buy this phone again, not even with discount. Am I more disappointed by the product or by the response?

A few little issues – I bought this iPhone almost as soon as it came out, it's been good but lately I have noticed little issues, with the weather app not letting me add towns and cities that I once put on my phone when I first got it, my screen is becoming unresponsive to touch which is super annoying when you start to watch a video with sound and then you touch the… Read more

screen to mute it and it won't let me, it takes more than 4 or 5 tries and then I have to double click the home button to stop watching the video all together because it just won't mute, when I make a phone call and you get an automated voice saying press number 1 for customer service and I'm touching number 1 on my touch screen and it's not responding and then by the time I have finished touching number 1 it's taken so long the recorded message says, sorry you haven't made a selection yet and occasionally the screen is starting to freeze and even double touch the home the button to start swiping the open pages shut is giving me grief by not responding, plus the software updates, oh my lord they are coming faster than I would like and they also are starting to be larger updates eating into my monthly data allowance which is not unlimited, so where do you draw the line at how many GB's an iPhone will use to update software, I used to love the Apple products but with each and every new software update getting larger and larger I am not so sure it's my fave now. I have had it since July 2020, I would have liked to have gotten 2+ years out of it but its about 18 months old now, I'm probably needing to upgrade sooner rather than later with these little issues appearing out of the blue and 18 months out of an Apple iPhone is not my idea of a good phone.

Good price and smaller size. Potential to improve some features – As mentioned by others here, there are some issues with this otherwise great 'little' phone, but overall I'm happy with my purchase and until a better affordable option is available I'm happy this is the best phone for me currently. Pros: - Price - an obvious benefit is that this phone is considerably cheaper than other new iPhone models! - Size… Read more

- I reluctantly upgraded from my iPhone SE (2016) due to poor battery life but didn't want a larger phone, so the newer iPhone SE (2020) was the best option for me, being only a little larger than I was used to, and still fitting in pockets and wallets comfortably. It is also still small enough to easily use with one hand. - Water resistance - considering this has been in other phones for a long time now (and often with a higher rating than this phone offers), it's reassuring to know my phone has at least some level of protection. - Bluetooth - pairs seamlessly with our Wonderboom, wireless headphones, Mazda 3 and Mazda CX-30. - Home button - call me old school, I love that they included this button again

Cons: (ie. mostly basic features that haven't kept pace with other new phones on the market) - Battery life - not really any better than previous phones I've had. It can handle light to moderate usage throughout the day, but will generally need charging once I get home if I want to use it in the evening, and is often in Low Power Mode (which does work quite well) for the last hour or two before I get home. FYI my general usage looks like this: streaming music for an hour or two, checking calendars and emails a few times, sending messages, making a few calls, reading online news, and watching Netflix during lunch. So if you have to do a lot of online work or use it constantly for social media, it probably won't make it through the day. - Camera - having just the one lens and a digital zoom, it doesn't live up to the image/night/zoom quality of recent dual-lens models. It takes a reasonable standard photo, and is definitely an upgrade from my old iPhone SE, but when I've tried zooming in on something the image quality doesn't compare to those taken with other modern phones. - No headphone jack and also no headphone jack adapter or wireless earphones provided so if these are important to you, factor in that expense when selecting your phone. - No power adapter provided - while it comes with a cable, it is a USB-C to lightning cable, which won't work with any other device or charger we own. So either needed to purchase a USB-C power adapter or have a useless cable sitting around (both options negating Apple's supposed aim to reduce waste). - Back Tap feature - while a cool idea, I tried it for a several weeks and found that it rarely worked when I tried to use it, yet it frequently 'worked' when I placed my phone down on a table :P

All in all, it is still the phone I would purchase if I had to make the choice again anytime soon, the savings and size outweigh the downsides for me.

Whaaaat – This iPhone has been the best iPhone yet. So I have had this iPhone since November 2023. This has never glitched, and upgraded to the latest iOS 17.4. I definitely recommend this iPhone to any parent, guardian or grandparent for a first phone or a simple phone. It is easy and fun to learn to use and use! Show details

Excellent basic phone – I’ve mostly had iPhones, I like the format and find they’re easy to use. It has plenty of storage, plenty of apps available, and all the functions I need. The camera and editing functions are easy to follow, I use my iPhone for everything. There are no security issues or problems I’ve encountered. This one is 3 years old and more than adequate for my needs Show details

Faults emerged after 12 months – After just twelve months problems emerged with this phone & worsened over the next 18 mths to the extent that I was tempted to throw it in the bin. The speakers went first & all I could hear was so faint that I couldn’t hear directions on route finder. Also, when reading articles the pages would scroll down rapidly or stop and return to the… Read more

beginning. I took a punt on getting a cheap iPhone & it has been the most disappointing mobile I have ever owned.

Apple iPhone SE 2020: Battery Issue – I brought the iPhone SE 2020 on the Launch day 24 April 20. I was amazed to replace my iPhone 6 that stopped software updates with a similar size phone that has some new features specifically the home button and will update Software. During the first year of use I have noticed that the Battery is draining quickly even with limited use of sms and… Read more

light talk checking some features like facebook, messenger etc.

I searched and found that in one year I have almost used up 148 cycles of the battery life. The usual battery life runs for up to 500 cycles. Hence it seems that within three years I will need to replace the battery at a costs of about $79.00.

I wonder why apple is not investing more on improving the battery life of its products, or is that a business strategy. There was a deliberate battery manipulation to slow down iPhone6 by Apple to force customers to buy new iPhone which was identified in US-regulators and Apple was compelled to replace the batteries but in Australia, Apple replace the battery of iPhone6 at a reduced costs of $45 instead the full price.

I wonder if there will be an investigation by regulators of any country to find out if the iPhone SE battery issue is also similar to iPhone 6 or any other hidden business strategy?

Hasn't misfired in two years – I mainly wanted this, my first iphone, because modern phones have gotten too large to put in the front pocket of my jeans, but this one fit ok. I did notice that the battery discharges quicker than what I was used to from Samsungs, but apart from that it pretty much does what I want from it. Show reply

Great iPhone if you like smaller less complicated handsets – I recently purchased the iPhone SE after doing a lot of research on which iPhones had the best Cameras. We were leaving on a road trip in our new Campervan and although I was happy with my iPhone 6, I wanted a better quality camera. Obviously price was a big plus with the iPhone SE being about half the cost of the 11 and 12 (and being next… Read more

comparable for camera quality), however it was the size of the phone and simplicity that finally decided me to buy the SE. I have had iPhones for years but confess to not utilising the features much apart from Maps, Google Chrome, Instagram, Facebook, Outlook for emails and SMS and of course the Camera being the big plus on the list. The battery life is not as good as I had hoped, however I have been using it a lot for checking Camp sites, Email etc. and so this may be normal. All other features like durability, use of Apps and display are pretty similar to the iPhone 6 but it obviously has newer technology and is faster and better for what I need. Other peoples reviews really helped me to make the decision to get this one and I am happy that it is perfect for what I needed.

My thoughts on the iPhone SE 2nd Gen – The 2nd Gen iPhone SE was released in April last year, which is not the typical launch time for Apple I have been using the phone for a couple of months now and so far I am loving Apple's idea but some things need fixing in the future. I will list three pros and 3 cons. Pros: I love that it has the A13 Bionic chipset which we also see in the… Read more

iPhone 11 range. This is a small phone with great power.

The home button is essential to many apple users such as those who have upgraded from the iPhone 6/7/8 to this phone. great to see it back and would love to see it again if apple makes an SE 3rd Gen.

Arguably better software with IOS 14. With the introduction of widgets and smart stack you can personalise your home screen which is something Android users have been able to do for a while but I would say Apple has done it better and also the app library is an extra.

Cons: We all know that Apple struggles to make battery life better but it is essential to everybody and also the reason why so many people use Android systems instead. This is the next thing we want to see in our next-gen iPhones. please lay off your other ideas for the moment Apple and take battery life into consideration.

I have mixed reactions about this single-camera layout, works mostly fine in and outdoors. But being a photographer myself I find it really annoying, I tried to take photos of the blossom in an orchard and the phone's camera would not focus on the blossom but only on the background which was the tree behind it.

Zoom is another big factor for Apple to improve. We have Android phones with incredible zoom power and clear photography, Apple does have zoom power but the photo gets increasingly blurry the more you zoom in and the zoom is much less than Competitors.

These are my thoughts on the iPhone SE 2nd GEN 2020 model. If you are interested go check out my other tech-related reviews.

Meh, nothing special – I’ve just upgraded my phone from an iPhone 6 to the SR. I’d read some reviews and thought it would do as I didn’t want to spend a fortune on a phone cause I only use it as a phone basically and emails. I was hesitant about getting a small phone although I do have small hands and I thought that might be a plus, but I’m not finding that as the case.… Read more

Transferring everything over from my 6 was seamless, but I don’t seem to have anything new other than iMovie, clips, keynote and numbers and Apple store which just wants me to sell my phone and upgrade straight away….

The battery seems to be chewing up battery really quickly, I only ever used to charge my phone at night and even then didn’t need to do that everyday, but I have to charge this one twice a day already and one of the selling points of it was apparently, the long battery life is supposedly has, so either this is a dud phone or Apple is lying again.

I’ve only had it for 3 days, so I haven’t used it extensively, but it doesn’t really lend itself to using it, I’m not excited to use it like I was with my 6, so I guess overall I have buyers remorse and there’s not really much I can do about it. I’ve paid a lot of money for a phone that I’m probably not gonna use much and I’m gonna feel resentful about, but that’s on me. I shoulda have probably done more research.

New phone – I owned an iPhone 6. for @ 10 years and finally decided to upgrade my phone Went to an Apple store to buy it. Worst customer service I’ve ever experienced.The customer service person said there 3 phones choose 1 and then said they no longer set up new phones. The phone itself is fantastic and to do new things on it every week. Would recommend iPhone se(2020) as very good phone Show details

Such a great small phone – I used to own the original iPhone SE and was reluctant to upgrade to another iPhone as they all seemed to large and I liked the convenience of being able to be able to fit a phone in my pocket The 2020 SE has a larger screen than the original SE, is much faster, has a better camera and is still pocket sized at a very affordable price. I'm… Read more

really pleased that Apple have released a new generation SE - I hope they continue to make these smaller phones.

Avoid like a plague if you are a law-abiding, responsible motorist who relies on Bluetooth technology – I would not have bought a iPhone SE 2020 but ominously, my iPhone 5S (16MB) had been slowing down with more and more megabytes being consumed by the Apple iPhone operating System than ever. The iPhone 5S System constantly consumed more than half of the available memory so all I had left was a measly 7MB at best. I have a HUGE problem with Apple… Read more

regarding their IPhone 2020 SE website selection which states as follows:

"As part of our efforts to reach our environmental goals, iPhone SE does not include a power adapter or EarPods. Included in the box is a USB C to Lightning cable that supports fast charging and is compatible with USB C power adapters and computer ports."

" We encourage you to reuse your current USB A to Lightning cables, power adapters and headphones, which are compatible with this iPhone. But if you need any new Apple power adapters or headphones, they are available for purchase."

The problem here is that the so-called Apple "environmental goals" does nothing for the environment. This scenario is nothing short of commercial theft and all it does is exploit the consumer, adding to the coffers of the Apple empire. Reasons being, my old iPhone 5S, in perfect condition, would be unsellable or redundant if it has no charger. So instead of "saving" the environment, Apple are adding to our environmental woes. Apple's "environmental goals" is nothing but a scam, playing to the ears of the uninformed or emotionally biased, environmentally conscientious. Even first-time Apple customers are financially compromised by having to buy a battery charger that should be a standard accessory for an already over-priced iPhone. The Apple "Terms and Conditions" are invasive, controlling and draconian - and very off putting to those whose privacy is paramount. Something I did not like one, single bit. The biggest issue I had was pairing iPhone SE 2020 phone with my vehicle (Honda CRV) Bluetooth handsfree kit. Internet searches revealed Bluetooth pairing is a common problem with this particular phone. The caveat - the Apple iPhone SE 2020 series will not work with Bluetooth on many vehicles older than 5 years, and overall, problematic on most vehicles. I contacted Apple from an informed platform and was initially offered a replacement iPhone 12/mini. I was issued a Case Number and instructed to return the iPhone SE 2020 to the dealer to do the exchange. The dealer refused as the Apple directive was flawed. Back to Apple but this time the outcome was somewhat different. The case was escalated to a Advisor-Manager who although apologetic for the supposed "lack of understanding / training" by the Advisor, reneged on the agreement, albeit no fault of mine. A phone that cannot work via Bluetooth on my vehicle/s is a deal breaker for me so the iPhone SE 2020 is to be returned for a full refund. As far as the iPhone SE 2020 goes, the actual size is near-perfect and as big a smart phone need be. If honesty and pragmatism is applied, one really does not need anything bigger than that. It is a well designed, solidly built phone but regrettably, my owner / usage lasted no more than 10 days - 10 days of frustration, time wasted, call wait times, calls, travel and fob-offs. And a despicable display of arrogance and contempt by Apple. Avoid like a plague if you are a law-abiding, responsible motorist who relies on Bluetooth technology.