Home > Smartphone comparison > iPhone SE (2020) vs iPhone 8 – which one to choose?

Apple iPhone SE (2020) vs iPhone 8

49 out of 100
Apple iPhone SE (2020)
VS
40 out of 100
Apple iPhone 8
Apple iPhone SE (2020)
Apple iPhone 8

Here we compared two smartphones: the 4.7-inch Apple iPhone SE (2020) (with Apple A13 Bionic) that was released on April 15, 2020, against the Apple iPhone 8, which is powered by Apple A11 Bionic and came out 2 years and 7 months before. On this page, you will find tests, full specs, strengths, and weaknesses of each of the devices.

Select the amount of RAM to evaluate performance and value for money more precisely
Memory
  1. Differences
  2. Review
  3. Specs
  4. Benchmarks
  5. Battery life
  6. Camera
  7. Comments (1)

Key differences

An overview of the main advantages of each smartphone
Reasons to consider the Apple iPhone SE (2020)
  • 2x better performance in AnTuTu Benchmark (1033K versus 520K)
  • Better camera quality (According to DxOMark rating)
  • Uses a faster type of memory: LPDDR4X
  • Compatible with Wi-Fi 6 wireless networks
  • Has 50% more RAM: 3GB versus 2GB
  • The phone is 2 years and 7 months newer
  • More energy-efficient CPU – Apple A13 Bionic
  • 54% faster in single-core GeekBench 6 test: 1680 and 1093 points
  • Ready for eSIM technology

Review

Evaluation of Apple iPhone SE (2020) and iPhone 8 crucial features
Display
Screen quality, color accuracy, brightness
Camera
Photo and video recording quality
Performance
CPU and memory performance (apps, system)
Gaming
Capabilities for playing modern games
Battery
Battery life, charging type and speed
Connectivity
Networks, ports, data transmission
NanoReview Score
Final comparison evaluation
Select your primary usage scenario to get a more accurate NanoReview Score
📱 Primary usage:

Value for money (Beta)

Should I update?
No 46% Yes
Maybe, but mainly if you specifically want better performance.
This is a situational upgrade. It makes the most sense if better performance matters to you.
Main improvements: performance, gaming, and connectivity.

Tests and specifications

Comparison table of technical specifications and tests
Phone:
iPhone SE (2020)
vs
iPhone 8

Display

Type IPS LCD IPS LCD
Size 4.7 inches 4.7 inches
Resolution 750 x 1334 pixels 750 x 1334 pixels
Aspect ratio 16:9 16:9
PPI 326 ppi 326 ppi
Refresh rate 60 Hz 60 Hz
Adaptive refresh rate No No
Max rated brightness 625 nits 625 nits
HDR support Yes, Dolby Vision No
Screen protection Tempered glass Tempered glass
Screen-to-body ratio 65.3% 65.3%
Display features - DCI-P3 -
Display tests
RGB color space 99.9% 99.9%
PWM Not detected Not detected
Response time 29 ms 22 ms
Contrast 2457:1 1373:1
Peak brightness test (auto)
iPhone SE (2020) +3%
664 nits
iPhone 8
644 nits
Sources: NotebookCheck [3], [4]

Design and build

Height 138.4 mm (5.45 inches) 138.4 mm (5.45 inches)
Width 67.3 mm (2.65 inches) 67.3 mm (2.65 inches)
Thickness 7.3 mm (0.29 inches) 7.3 mm (0.29 inches)
Weight 148 g (5.22 oz) 148 g (5.22 oz)
Waterproof IP67 IP67
Rear material Glass Glass
Frame material Metal Metal
Colors White, Black, Red Silver, Gold, Gray
Fingerprint scanner Yes, in-button Yes, in-button
Screen-to-body ratio

Performance

Chipset specifications of Apple iPhone SE (2020) and Apple iPhone 8
SoC
Chipset Apple A13 Bionic Apple A11 Bionic
Max clock 2650 MHz 2100 MHz
CPU cores 6 (2 + 4) 6 (2 + 4)
Architecture - 4 cores at 1.6 GHz: Thunder
- 2 cores at 2.65 GHz: Lightning		 - 4 cores at 1.42 GHz: Mistral
- 2 cores at 2.39 GHz: Monsoon
Manufacturing TSMC TSMC
Lithography process 7 nanometers 10 nanometers
Neural processor (NPU) Apple Neural Engine Apple Neural Engine
GPU
Graphics Apple A13 Bionic GPU Apple GPU
GPU shading units 256 192
GPU clock 1230 MHz 1066 MHz
FLOPS ~629.8 GFLOPS ~409.3 GFLOPS

Benchmarks

Benchmark comparison of Apple iPhone SE (2020) and Apple iPhone 8
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
iPhone SE (2020) +54%
1680
iPhone 8
1093
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
iPhone SE (2020) +101%
3671
iPhone 8
1828
Compute Score (GPU)
iPhone SE (2020) +145%
13772
iPhone 8
5630
Compute Score (GPU) 13772 5630
Single-core score 1680 1093
Multi-core score 3671 1828
Sources: Geekbench [3], [4]
AnTuTu Benchmark 11
iPhone SE (2020) +99%
1033357
iPhone 8
520567
CPU 292054 249127
GPU 222419 -
Memory 149701 102335
UX 369183 169105
Total score 1033357 520567
Samples Less than 3 Less than 3
3DMark Solar Bay
Stability 67% -
Graphics test 9 FPS -
Section 1 12 FPS -
Section 2 9 FPS -
Section 3 6 FPS -
Graphics score 2275 -
3DMark Wild Life Extreme
Stability 65% -
Graphics test 10 FPS -
Graphics score 1768 -
Sources: 3DMark [5], [6]
Submit your benchmark results

Recent User Tests

The latest benchmark tests that have been submitted by users
Apple iPhone SE (2020)
DateBenchmarkResult
📘 2026-05-02 (runrey)Geekbench 6 CPU833 / 1454
📘 2023-11-13 (Guest #1)Geekbench 6 GPU13772
📘 2023-11-13 (Guest #2)Geekbench 6 CPU1738 / 3119
📘 2023-10-05 (Antonio)Geekbench 6 CPU1680 / 3671
Add View all (4)
Apple iPhone 8
DateBenchmarkResult
📘 2026-05-13 (TestGame)Geekbench 6 GPU5630
📘 2026-05-13 (TestGame)Geekbench 6 CPU1093 / 1828
Add View all (2)

Memory

RAM
RAM size 3 GB 2 GB
Memory type LPDDR4X LPDDR4
Channels 2 2
Storage
Storage size 64 GB 64 GB
Storage type NVMe NVMe
Memory card No No

Software

Operating system iOS 13 (Can be upgraded to iOS 26.5) iOS 11 (Can be upgraded to iOS 16.5)
OS size 8.4 GB 6 GB

Battery

Capacity 1821 mAh 1821 mAh
Max charge power 18 W 15 W
Battery type Li-Ion Li-Ion
Replaceable No No
Wireless charging Yes, Qi (7.5 W) Yes, Qi (7.5 W)
Reverse charging No No
Fast charging Yes (55% in 60 min) Yes (50% in 30 min)
Full charging time 2:32 hr 1:15 hr
Battery life tests
Web browsing 06:52 hr 06:14 hr
Watching video 10:09 hr 09:59 hr
Gaming 03:33 hr 03:40 hr
Standby 79 hr 81 hr
General battery life
iPhone SE (2020) +2%
16:40 hr
iPhone 8
16:16 hr
Add your battery life

Main camera

Matrix 12 megapixels 12 megapixels
Image resolution 4032 x 3024 4032 x 3024
Zoom Digital Digital
Flash Quad LED Quad LED
Stabilization Optical Optical
8K video recording No No
4K video recording Up to 60FPS Up to 60FPS
1080p video recording Up to 60FPS Up to 60FPS
Slow motion 240 FPS (1080p) 240 FPS (1080p)
Lenses 1) Standard: 12 MP
1) Standard: 12 MP
Camera features - Bokeh mode - Bokeh mode
- Pro mode
- RAW support
Standard lens
Image resolution 12 MP 12 MP
Aperture f/1.8 f/1.8
Focal length 28 mm 28 mm
Sensor Apple iSight Camera Apple iSight Camera
Sensor size 1/3" (≈ 0.33 inch) 1/3" (≈ 0.33 inch)
Pixel size 1.22 micron 1.22 micron
Autofocus Phase autofocus Phase autofocus
Stabilization Optical Optical

DxOMark main camera tests

Photo quality
Video quality
Generic main camera score
Samples Photo samples of Apple iPhone SE (2020) from DxOMark Photo samples of Apple iPhone 8 from DxOMark

Selfie camera

Megapixels 7 megapixels 7 megapixels
Image resolution 3088 x 2320 3088 x 2320
Aperture f/2.2 f/2.2
Focal length 32 mm 32 mm
Sensor CMOS BSI CMOS
Pixel size 1 micron 1 micron
Autofocus Phase autofocus Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel)
Stabilization Digital Digital
Video resolution 1080p (Full HD) at 30 FPS 1080p (Full HD) at 30 FPS
Depth sensor (TOF 3D) No No
DxOMark front camera
Photo 103 -
Video 122 -

Connectivity

Wi-Fi standard Wi-Fi 6 (802.11 b/g/n/ac/ax) Wi-Fi 5 (802.11 b/g/n/ac)
Wi-Fi features - Dual Band
- Wi-Fi Hotspot
- Wi-Fi Display		 - Dual Band
- Wi-Fi Hotspot
Bluetooth version 5 5
Bluetooth features LE, A2DP LE, A2DP
USB type No No
USB version 2 2
USB features - Charging
- USB-Storage mode
- OTG		 - Charging
- USB-Storage mode
GPS GPS, GLONASS, Beidou, Galileo GPS, GLONASS, Beidou, Galileo
NFC* Yes Yes
Infrared port No No
Network
Number of SIM* 1 1
Type of SIM card Nano Nano
Multi SIM mode Standby Standby
eSIM support* Yes No
Hybrid slot No No
LTE Cat* 16 16
5G support No No

Sound

Speakers Stereo Stereo
Headphone audio jack No No
FM radio No No
Dolby Atmos Yes Yes
Speakers test
Max loudness
iPhone SE (2020) +8%
86.4 dB
iPhone 8
80.1 dB

Other

Category Mid-range Flagship
Announced April 2020 September 2017
Release date April 2020 September 2017
Launch price (MSRP) $399 $699
Successor - Apple iPhone 16e -
SAR (head) 0.98 W/kg 1.35 W/kg
SAR (body) 0.99 W/kg 1.36 W/kg
Sensors - Barometer
- Proximity sensor
- Gyroscope
- Accelerometer
- Ambient light sensor
- Compass
- Fingerprint		 - Barometer
- Proximity sensor
- Gyroscope
- Accelerometer
- Ambient light sensor
- Compass
- Fingerprint
Bundled charger Yes, 5 W -
*Disclaimer! NFC, GSM network support, and some other specs can be different depending on the country.

Conclusion

After analyzing all the data, we think that the Apple iPhone SE (2020) is definitely a better buy.

Cast your vote

So, which phone would you choose?
1101 (77.5%)
320 (22.5%)
Total votes: 1421

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User opinions

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Avatar
Tim November 8, 2022 at 02:35 PM
The iPhone 8 is a good deal in late 2022 if you can find a refurbished example for 1/3rd of the price of an iPhone SE2. Take it to the Apple Store, get a new battery put in, and you're good.
+22 Reply
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