Home > Smartphone comparison > iPhone SE (2022) vs iPhone 8 – which one to choose?

Apple iPhone SE (2022) vs iPhone 8

55 out of 100
Apple iPhone SE (2022)
VS
40 out of 100
Apple iPhone 8
Apple iPhone SE (2022)
Apple iPhone 8

Here we compared two smartphones: the 4.7-inch Apple iPhone SE (2022) (with Apple A15 Bionic) that was released on March 8, 2022, against the Apple iPhone 8, which is powered by Apple A11 Bionic and came out 4 years and 6 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 (2)

Key differences

An overview of the main advantages of each smartphone
Reasons to consider the Apple iPhone SE (2022)
  • 2.6x better performance in AnTuTu Benchmark (1346K versus 520K)
  • Better camera quality (According to DxOMark rating)
  • Shows 9% longer battery life (17:41 vs 16:16 hours)
  • More energy-efficient CPU – Apple A15 Bionic
  • Has 2x more RAM: 4GB versus 2GB
  • Uses a faster type of memory: LPDDR4X
  • Compatible with Wi-Fi 6 wireless networks
  • The phone is 4 years and 6 months newer
  • 2.2x faster in single-core GeekBench 6 test: 2404 and 1093 points
  • Ready for eSIM technology

Review

Evaluation of Apple iPhone SE (2022) 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 76% Yes
Yes, we think most users will notice the upgrade.
Updating from Apple iPhone 8 to Apple iPhone SE (2022) makes sense and should feel noticeably better in daily use.
Main improvements: performance, gaming, and connectivity.

Tests and specifications

Comparison table of technical specifications and tests
Phone:
iPhone SE (2022)
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
Response time 38 ms 22 ms
Contrast 1655:1 1373:1
Peak brightness test (auto)
iPhone SE (2022) +1%
649 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 144 g (5.08 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 (2022) and Apple iPhone 8
SoC
Chipset Apple A15 Bionic Apple A11 Bionic
Max clock 3223 MHz 2100 MHz
CPU cores 6 (2 + 4) 6 (2 + 4)
Architecture - 4 cores at 2.02 GHz: Blizzard
- 2 cores at 3.23 GHz: Avalanche		 - 4 cores at 1.42 GHz: Mistral
- 2 cores at 2.39 GHz: Monsoon
Manufacturing TSMC TSMC
Lithography process 5 nanometers 10 nanometers
Neural processor (NPU) Apple Neural Engine Apple Neural Engine
GPU
Graphics Apple GPU Apple GPU
GPU shading units 640 192
GPU clock 1338 MHz 1066 MHz
FLOPS ~1712.6 GFLOPS ~409.3 GFLOPS

Benchmarks

Benchmark comparison of Apple iPhone SE (2022) and Apple iPhone 8
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
iPhone SE (2022) +120%
2404
iPhone 8
1093
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
iPhone SE (2022) +230%
6040
iPhone 8
1828
Compute Score (GPU)
iPhone SE (2022) +216%
17777
iPhone 8
5630
Compute Score (GPU) 17777 5630
Single-core score 2404 1093
Multi-core score 6040 1828
Sources: Geekbench [3], [4]
AnTuTu Benchmark 11
iPhone SE (2022) +159%
1346035
iPhone 8
520567
CPU 396583 249127
GPU 363070 -
Memory 162337 102335
UX 424045 169105
Total score 1346035 520567
Samples [8 tests] Less than 3
3DMark Solar Bay
Stability 75% -
Graphics test 11 FPS -
Section 1 16 FPS -
Section 2 11 FPS -
Section 3 7 FPS -
Graphics score 2969 -
3DMark Wild Life Extreme
Stability 70% -
Graphics test 14 FPS -
Graphics score 2387 -
Sources: 3DMark [5], [6]
Submit your benchmark results

Recent User Tests

The latest benchmark tests that have been submitted by users
Apple iPhone SE (2022)
DateBenchmarkResult
📘 2026-09-18 (Bionic)AnTuTu 111336740
📘 2026-06-19 (Bionic)AnTuTu 111375075
📘 2026-06-14 (Bionic)Geekbench 6 CPU2404 / 6040
📘 2026-06-14 (Bionic)AnTuTu 111362289
📘 2026-03-13 (Mistral)AnTuTu 111342610
Add View all (12)
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 4 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 15.3 (Can be upgraded to iOS 26.5) iOS 11 (Can be upgraded to iOS 16.5)
OS size 12 GB 6 GB

Battery

Capacity 2018 mAh 1821 mAh
Max charge power 20 W 15 W
Battery type Li-Ion Li-Ion
Replaceable No No
Wireless charging Yes Yes, Qi (7.5 W)
Reverse charging No No
Fast charging Yes (61% in 30 min) Yes (50% in 30 min)
Full charging time 1:18 hr 1:15 hr
Battery life tests
Web browsing 07:07 hr 06:14 hr
Watching video 10:31 hr 09:59 hr
Gaming 03:43 hr 03:40 hr
Standby 87 hr 81 hr
General battery life
iPhone SE (2022) +9%
17:41 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
- Pro 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
Sensor - Apple iSight Camera
Sensor size - 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
Bokeh 50 -
Preview 71 -
Zoom 29 -
Samples Photo samples of Apple iPhone SE (2022) 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
Sensor - BSI CMOS
Pixel size - 1 micron
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

Connectivity

Wi-Fi standard Wi-Fi 6 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax) Wi-Fi 5 (802.11 b/g/n/ac)
Wi-Fi features - Dual Band
- Wi-Fi MiMO
- Wi-Fi Direct
- Wi-Fi Hotspot
- Wi-Fi Display		 - Dual Band
- Wi-Fi Hotspot
Bluetooth version 5 5
Bluetooth features LE LE, A2DP
USB type - No
USB version 2 2
USB features - Charging
- USB-Storage mode
- OTG		 - Charging
- USB-Storage mode
GPS GPS, GLONASS, Beidou, Galileo, QZSS 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
eSIM support* Yes No
Hybrid slot No No
LTE Cat* - 16
5G support Yes No

Sound

Speakers Stereo Stereo
Headphone audio jack No No
FM radio No No
Dolby Atmos Yes Yes
Speakers test
Max loudness
iPhone SE (2022) +7%
85.9 dB
iPhone 8
80.1 dB

Other

Category Mid-range Flagship
Announced March 2022 September 2017
Release date March 2022 September 2017
Launch price (MSRP) $429 $699
Successor - Apple iPhone 16e -
SAR (head) - 1.35 W/kg
SAR (body) - 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 Not included -
*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 (2022) is definitely a better buy.

Cast your vote

So, which phone would you choose?
346 (77.4%)
101 (22.6%)
Total votes: 447

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User opinions

You can share your opinion or ask a question in the comments below
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Avatar
Chris October 13, 2022 at 05:48 AM
I just got this phone last week (SE). I had an 8 and was fine with it. But bf needed a new phone and it was bogo so I got it. Ever since I can’t be on Amazon for any extended period of time cuz it loses the internet connection!! Even tho I’m on my couch not moving!! Anything that I’m doing, I get kicked out of!! I have to turn my phone off for 5 minutes every time I try and do something!! I was much happier with AT&T and my 8 phone than I am with TMobile and my SE!!
0 Reply
Avatar
DJA March 10, 2022 at 06:55 AM
I like my iPhone 8 and the button feature that is missing in the newer models, but it is old and losing support and cracked up a bit. Happy to see they are coming out with an updated improved similar model at an affordable price.
+10 Reply
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