SpecEagle
SpecEagle review · Apple

iPhone SE (2016) review: The original compact iPhone SE — 4-inch, A9 chip, fingerprint.

SpecEagle Editorial·Mar 2016·$399
Overall
62/100
Class rank
#1 of 1
Tier
Mid
Buy?
Look elsewhere
The verdict, up front

The original compact iPhone.

The 2016 SE packed the A9 chip and 4K OIS camera into a 4-inch 113 g body for $399. The template for every budget iPhone since.

01Display

54/100

54/100 — right at the average for mid phones of 2016.

TypeRetina IPS LCD
Size4.0 inches
Resolution1,136 × 640 px

02Camera

68/100

68/100 — right at the average for mid phones of 2016.

Main12 MP, f/2.2, OIS
Selfie1.2 MP
Video4K 30fps

03Performance

66/100

66/100 — right at the average for mid phones of 2016.

ChipsetApple A9 (14 nm)
RAM2 GB
Storage16 / 64 GB

04Battery

48/100

48/100 — right at the average for mid phones of 2016.

Capacity1,624 mAh
Wired5 W Lightning

05Build

76/100

76/100 — right at the average for mid phones of 2016.

06Value

72/100

72/100 — right at the average for mid phones of 2016.

What works
  • Ultra-compact 4-inch / 113 g.
  • A9 chip + 4K OIS.
  • Touch ID + headphone jack.
  • Iconic design.
What doesn't
  • Tiny battery.
  • Mono speaker.
  • Support ended 2022.
  • Small 4-inch screen.

How this review is built: every section score, spec row and comparison on this page comes from SpecEagle's tracked catalogue — scores weight measured specs against the 1-phone cohort of mid devices released around the same time. We don't publish invented lab anecdotes. Spot an error? .