If you need to get essentially the most bang to your buck on an iPhone, you’ve got a wholesome variety of choices. Apple sells no fewer than three iPhones for lower than $700 (not together with refurbished fashions), and deciding between them could be tough. But as somebody who’s used all three cellphone extensively, I’ve damaged it down for you that will help you resolve how one can spend your cash correctly.
Let’s begin with how a lot of your cash you’re going to want to spend. We normally speak about value on the finish of those comparisons, however since worth will straight dictate the decision-making course of right here, it’s best to know what they value up-front.
- iPhone SE: $399
- iPhone XR: $599
- iPhone 11: $699
Each of those telephones begins at 64GB of base storage, which will probably be a lot for most individuals. If you need extra, you may improve to 128GB for $50 extra or 256GB (iPhone XR and 11 solely) for $150. Now that we all know what you might want to spend, let’s dive into the variations.
Design: Modern vs traditional
You don’t must be a rocket scientist to see the distinction between these three telephones. The iPhone SE has a house button and the iPhone XR and iPhone 11 don’t. But after all, the design variations are deeper than that.
The iPhone SE makes use of Apple’s outdated bezel-heavy design whereas the XR and 11 embrace the newer notch.
The iPhone SE adheres to the iPhone design Apple launched with the iPhone 6: it has an enormous bezel and plenty of lifeless house across the display. Despite that, nevertheless, it’s a great deal smaller than the iPhone XR and 11.
- iPhone SE: 138.4 x 67.3 x 7.3mm
- iPhone XR: 150.9 x 75.7 x 8.3mm
- iPhone 11: 150.9 x 75.7 x 8.3mm
As you may plainly see, the iPhone XR and 11 are similar in measurement and form. They’re not large telephones by any stretch, however the iPhone SE feels extremely small by comparability, even with gargantuan bezels. It’s additionally noticeably lighter, at 148 grams versus 194 grams for the iPhone 11 and XR.
Around the again, they’re very related too, with a digital camera within the left nook, a centered Apple brand, and a glass physique. And there’s no scarcity of colour choices with these telephones both:
- iPhone SE: Black, white, crimson
- iPhone XR: Black, white, crimson, blue, yellow, coral
- iPhone 11: Black, white, crimson, inexperienced, yellow, purple
This is basically subjective, however I wouldn’t advocate selecting certainly one of these telephones simply since you like a selected colour. For one, you’re most likely going to place it in a case anyway however extra importantly, the entire colours look good, even those you wouldn’t suppose you’d like.
Display: All concerning the corners
While the iPhone 11 and XR may look dramatically completely different than the SE, they really have extraordinarily related shows. All three are LCDs, they usually all have similar 326ppi, making all of them Retina shows. The remainder of the specs are the identical as properly.
- Widescreen LCD Multi‑Touch show with IPS know-how
- 1400:1 distinction ratio
- True Tone show
- Wide colour show (P3)
- 625 nits max brightness
The greatest distinction is the scale. The iPhone SE’s display is simply 4.7 inches, one of many smallest you should buy wherever, whereas the XR and 11 sport 6.1-inch screens. Also, Apple makes use of “Liquid” know-how within the iPhone 11 and XR to match the corners of the display to the corners of the cellphone to provide them an immersive impact. The iPhone 11 and XR each have a notch instead of a bezel for the digital camera.
Michael Simon/IDGOf course, none of those shows can maintain a candle to the iPhone 11 Pro’s OLED, however Apple’s LCDs are nonetheless surprisingly good in 2020. If you examine them facet by facet to an OLED show, you’ll undoubtedly see the distinction, however on their very own, your eyes will probably be a lot pleased with any of those shows.
Performance: Speed and specs to spare
The iPhone SE may look outdated, nevertheless it truly has the quickest processor Apple makes, no less than for now. Both the iPhone SE and the iPhone 11 are powered by Apple’s A13 processor, which presents blazingly quick speeds. The XR, then again, makes use of final yr’s A12 processor, which could be very succesful however barely slower. Hard-core customers may discover a distinction, however they need to go for one of many professional fashions anyway.
Apple doesn’t promote the quantity of RAM inside its telephones as a result of it actually doesn’t matter. In easy phrases, Apple supplies the naked minimal that the system must run at its finest for years to return, and on this case, which means the SE and XR have 3GB whereas the iPhone 11 has 4GB. But these numbers shouldn’t issue into your determination. All of those telephones are a lot quick and greater than able to doing something you’ll need to do.
Elsewhere, you get barely higher water-resistance on the iPhone 11. Apple says the 11 is rated IP68, which means you may dunk it in two meters for as much as 30 minutes (6.5 ft), whereas the SE and XR are IP67 rated, which solely ensures it received’t fry in a single meter of water. Also, the iPhone XR is the one cellphone right here that doesn’t help Wi-Fi 6 or gigabit-class LTE. And in the event you’re searching for Dolby Atmos help, you’ll solely discover it on the iPhone 11, in addition to a U1 extremely wideband chip for indoor positioning to reinforce AirDrop and different location-based options, together with Apple’s rumored Air Tags.
Cameras: Smart and succesful
Whether you’re taking selfies or slofies, the entrance digital camera ought to issue into your shopping for determination. All three telephones provide completely different capabilities of their entrance cameras, with the iPhone 11 standing out among the many others:
- iPhone SE: 7MP FaceTime HD digital camera, 1080p HD video (30 fps)
- iPhone XR: 7MP TrueDepth digital camera, 1080p HD video (60 fps)
- iPhone 11: 12MP TrueDepth digital camera, 4K video (60 fps)
That’s a giant leap from the iPhone XR to the iPhone 11. Not solely do you get the next high quality digital camera for FaceTime calls and selfies, you can also report 4K video. And because the iPhone XR and 11 have TrueDepth cameras, you can even create Memoji and Animoji, neither of which is obtainable on the iPhone SE. You can also’t create slofies—Apple’s identify for slow-motion selfie movies—on any cellphone apart from the iPhone 11.
Willis Lai/IDGAround the again, all three telephones have the identical 12MP Wide digital camera with OIS, 5x digital zoom, and f/1.8 aperture. However, the iPhone 11 pairs that lens with a 12MP Ultra Wide one for 2x “optical zoom out,” together with brighter True Tone flash.
All three telephones even have portrait mode with Depth Control for adjusting the blur after the image is taken, although it solely works on folks on the SE and XR. They all have Portrait Lighting as properly, however the XR solely has three results (pure, studio, contour), whereas the SE and 11 have six (including stage, stage mono, and high-key mono). The SE and the 11 even have a more moderen Smart HDR system than the XR.
Michael Simon/IDGWhen the lights are turned manner down, the iPhone SE (left) will battle to seize any element whereas the iPhone 11 will illuminate the entire scene.
And there’s yet one more characteristic you’ll solely discover on the iPhone 11: Night mode. All three telephones are capable of take glorious images in regular lighting, however as you may see within the picture about evaluating the SE to the 11, there’s merely no comparability when the lights flip low. The skill to take crystal-clear pictures in unhealthy lighting is the premier characteristic of the iPhone 11, and it’s no shock that Apple didn’t deliver it to the opposite telephones right here, even when they’re technically able to dealing with it.
Battery: Good, higher, finest
The iPhone has at all times had nice however not mind-blowing battery life and the three telephones right here keep on with that motif. Apple doesn’t formally checklist the capacities of its batteries, however we all know from teardown that they’re fairly completely different.
- iPhone SE: 1,821mAh
- iPhone XR: 2,942mAh
- iPhone 11: 3,110mAh
And right here’s how Apple formally stories how lengthy every cellphone lasts:
- iPhone SE: About the identical as iPhone 8 (13 hours of video playback)
- iPhone XR: Up to 1.5 hours longer than iPhone 8 Plus (16 hours of video playback)
- iPhone 11: Up to 1 hour longer than iPhone XR (17 hours of video playback)
If that’s not useful, consider it by way of good, higher, and finest. The iPhone SE’s battery is nice, in that it’ll final you most–if not all–of a day of standard use. The iPhone XR will simply final a full day of normal-to-heavy use. And you received’t have to fret in any respect concerning the battery on the iPhone 11.
IDGWhen it involves charging, all three telephones include the identical underwhelming 5W energy adapter, which can take hours to fill any of them. However, all of them help quick charging with an 18W adapter and a USB-C-to-Lightning cable, Your mileage will fluctuate relying on the facility adapter, nevertheless it’ll be no less than twice as quick because the charger Apple provides. They additionally all help 7.5W wi-fi charging with a third-party Qi charger.
Biometrics: Fingers vs face
Of all of the variations between these three telephones, the most important is the way you unlock, authenticate, and pay for stuff. On the iPhone SE, you employ your fingerprint, and on the XR and 11, you employ your face. Apple says Face ID is much safer than Touch ID (1 in 1,000,000 probability of a false unlock versus 1 in 50,000), however each will do a wonderful job of defending your cellphone from prying eyes and shortly unlocking while you’re utilizing it.
However, they’re not excellent. Face ID has not too long ago been uncovered for struggling to work when the person is sporting a face masks, however Touch ID has its personal points when the person is sporting gloves.
Conclusion: Buy this or purchase that
I’m simply going to say it: There’s no purpose to purchase an iPhone XR. It’s mainly in no man’s land, with a worth that’s concurrently too excessive to draw iPhone SE upgrades and iPhone 11 downgrades. For an additional $100 you may get an iPhone 11, which has a greater processor, battery, and digital camera. Or it can save you $200 and go along with the iPhone SE, which has a greater processor and an analogous digital camera and battery. If the XR was $429 the dialog may be completely different, however because it stands, $499 isn’t price it.
That leaves the $399 iPhone SE and the $699 iPhone 11. Three hundred {dollars} is a giant hole, so you might want to resolve what issues most. I wouldn’t base the choice on Face ID versus Touch ID, since each have their faults, however there are three issues to think about.
Willis Lai/IDGIf you care most about velocity: iPhone SE
Since the iPhone SE and the iPhone 11 share the identical A13 processor, you’re higher off going smaller and cheaper. The iPhone SE is as quick and highly effective because the iPhone 11 at practically half the worth, so the value-to-performance ratio merely can’t be beat.
If you care most about design: iPhone 11
There’s no denying that the iPhone SE has a stale, outdated design. It’s nonetheless one of many nicest button-based telephones ever made, however there’s no evaluating it to the uniform bezels of the iPhone 11.
If you care most concerning the digital camera: iPhone 11
The iPhone SE has an excellent digital camera for the worth, however there’s no evaluating it to the iPhone 11’s twin digital camera. With an ultra-wide lens, higher portrait help, and a implausible evening mode, it’s among the finest cameras you’re going to get in a cellphone interval.
If none of this stuff matter: iPhone SE
If having the most effective doesn’t matter, the iPhone SE is the right cellphone for you. I’d advocate it to any buddy or member of the family who desires a very implausible cellphone with out spending an excessive amount of cash. It may not be the most effective in each class, however even when it’s not, it’s nonetheless very, superb.