Apple iPhone X vs SE (2020)
46
out of 100
VS
49
out of 100
Here we compared two smartphones: the 5.8-inch Apple iPhone X (with Apple A11 Bionic) that was released on September 12, 2017, against the Apple iPhone SE (2020), which is powered by Apple A13 Bionic and came out 2 years and 7 months after. 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
Key differences
Reasons to consider the Apple iPhone X
- Has a 1.1 inches larger screen size
- Comes with 895 mAh larger battery capacity: 2716 vs 1821 mAh
- Thinner bezels – 15.8% more screen real estate
- The rear camera has a 2x optical zoom
- 40% higher pixel density (458 vs 326 PPI)
- OLED display (versus competitor's IPS LCD)
Reasons to consider the Apple iPhone SE (2020)
- 60% better performance in AnTuTu Benchmark (1033K versus 644K)
- Fingerprint scanner
- Uses a faster type of memory: LPDDR4X
- Compatible with Wi-Fi 6 wireless networks
- Delivers 10% higher peak brightness (664 against 606 nits)
- The phone is 2 years and 7 months newer
- More energy-efficient CPU – Apple A13 Bionic
- 56% faster in single-core GeekBench 6 test: 1680 and 1075 points
- Weighs 26 grams less
- Ready for eSIM technology
Review
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
Select your primary usage scenario to get a more accurate NanoReview Score
Value for money (Beta)
Tests and specifications
Comparison table of technical specifications and testsDisplay
| Type | OLED | IPS LCD |
| Size | 5.8 inches | 4.7 inches |
| Resolution | 1125 x 2436 pixels | 750 x 1334 pixels |
| Aspect ratio | 19.5:9 | 16:9 |
| PPI | 458 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 | Yes, Dolby Vision |
| Screen protection | Tempered glass | Tempered glass |
| Screen-to-body ratio | 81.1% | 65.3% |
| Display features | - DCI-P3 | - DCI-P3 |
| RGB color space | 99.3% | 99.9% |
| PWM | 240 Hz | Not detected |
| Response time | 2.2 ms | 29 ms |
| Contrast | ∞ Infinity | 2457:1 |
Screen space comparison
iPhone X
5.8″ (19.5:9 ratio) = 12.8 in2
iPhone SE (2020)
4.7″ (16:9 ratio) = 9.4 in2
~35% more screen space
Peak brightness test (auto)
Design and build
| Height | 143.6 mm (5.65 inches) | 138.4 mm (5.45 inches) |
| Width | 70.9 mm (2.79 inches) | 67.3 mm (2.65 inches) |
| Thickness | 7.7 mm (0.3 inches) | 7.3 mm (0.29 inches) |
| Weight | 174 g (6.14 oz) | 148 g (5.22 oz) |
| Waterproof | IP67 | IP67 |
| Rear material | Glass | Glass |
| Frame material | Metal | Metal |
| Colors | Silver, Gray | White, Black, Red |
| Fingerprint scanner | No | Yes, in-button |
Screen-to-body ratio
Performance
| Chipset | Apple A11 Bionic | Apple A13 Bionic |
| Max clock | 2390 MHz | 2650 MHz |
| CPU cores | 6 (2 + 4) | 6 (2 + 4) |
| Architecture | - 4 cores at 1.42 GHz: Mistral - 2 cores at 2.39 GHz: Monsoon |
- 4 cores at 1.6 GHz: Thunder - 2 cores at 2.65 GHz: Lightning |
| Manufacturing | TSMC | TSMC |
| Lithography process | 10 nanometers | 7 nanometers |
| Neural processor (NPU) | Apple Neural Engine | Apple Neural Engine |
| Graphics | Apple GPU | Apple A13 Bionic GPU |
| GPU shading units | 192 | 256 |
| GPU clock | 1066 MHz | 1230 MHz |
| FLOPS | ~409.3 GFLOPS | ~629.8 GFLOPS |
Benchmarks
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
Compute Score (GPU)
| Compute Score (GPU) | - | 13772 |
| Single-core score | 1075 | 1680 |
| Multi-core score | 2393 | 3671 |
AnTuTu Benchmark 11
| CPU | 271922 | 292054 |
| GPU | 127700 | 222419 |
| Memory | 110696 | 149701 |
| UX | 133989 | 369183 |
| Total score | 644307 | 1033357 |
| 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 | 59% | 65% |
| Graphics test | 5 FPS | 10 FPS |
| Graphics score | 892 | 1768 |
Recent User Tests
Apple iPhone X
| Date | Benchmark | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 📘 2026-06-03 (alwayssonqz) | Geekbench 6 GPU | 5436 |
| 📘 2026-06-03 (alwayssonqz) | Geekbench 6 CPU | 1075 / 2393 |
| 📘 2026-01-08 -> Tangerine | Geekbench 6 CPU | 1105 / 2629 |
| 📘 2024-08-21 (I desperately need a new phone) | Geekbench 6 CPU | 858 / 1167 |
Apple iPhone SE (2020)
| Date | Benchmark | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 📘 2026-05-02 (runrey) | Geekbench 6 CPU | 833 / 1454 |
| 📘 2023-11-13 (Guest #1) | Geekbench 6 GPU | 13772 |
| 📘 2023-11-13 (Guest #2) | Geekbench 6 CPU | 1738 / 3119 |
| 📘 2023-10-05 (Antonio) | Geekbench 6 CPU | 1680 / 3671 |
Memory
| RAM size | 3 GB | 3 GB |
| Memory type | LPDDR4 | LPDDR4X |
| Channels | 2 | 2 |
| Storage size | 64 GB | 64 GB |
| Storage type | NVMe | NVMe |
| Memory card | No | No |
Software
| Operating system | iOS 11.1 (Can be upgraded to iOS 16.5) | iOS 13 (Can be upgraded to iOS 26.5) |
| OS size | 5.3 GB | 8.4 GB |
Battery
| Capacity | 2716 mAh | 1821 mAh |
| Max charge power | 18 W | 18 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 (50% in 30 min) | Yes (55% in 60 min) |
| Full charging time | 2:00 hr | 2:32 hr |
| Web browsing | 05:31 hr | 06:52 hr |
| Watching video | 09:07 hr | 10:09 hr |
| Gaming | 03:35 hr | 03:33 hr |
| Standby | 93 hr | 79 hr |
General battery life
Main camera
| Matrix | 12 megapixels | 12 megapixels |
| Image resolution | 4032 x 3024 | 4032 x 3024 |
| Zoom | Optical, 2x | 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 240FPS | Up to 60FPS |
| Slow motion | 240 FPS (1080p) | 240 FPS (1080p) |
| Lenses | 1) Standard: 12 MP 2) Telephoto: 12 MP |
1) Standard: 12 MP |
| Camera features | - Bokeh mode - Pro mode - RAW support |
- Bokeh mode |
| Image resolution | 12 MP | 12 MP |
| Aperture | f/1.8 | f/1.8 |
| Focal length | 28 mm | 28 mm |
| Sensor | Apple iSight Duo 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 (Dual Pixel) | Phase autofocus |
| Stabilization | Optical | Optical |
| Image resolution | 12 MP | - |
| Aperture | f/2.4 | - |
| Focal length | 52 mm | - |
| Sensor size | 1/3.4" (≈ 0.29 inch) | - |
| Pixel size | 1 micron | - |
| Stabilization | Optical | - |
DxOMark main camera tests
Photo quality
Video quality
Generic main camera score
| Samples | Photo samples of Apple iPhone X from DxOMark | Photo samples of Apple iPhone SE (2020) from DxOMark |
Selfie camera
| Megapixels | 7 megapixels | 7 megapixels |
| Image resolution | 3472 x 2063 | 3088 x 2320 |
| Aperture | f/2.2 | f/2.2 |
| Focal length | 32 mm | 32 mm |
| Sensor | BSI CMOS | CMOS |
| Pixel size | - | 1 micron |
| Autofocus | Phase autofocus | Phase autofocus |
| 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 | 88 | 103 |
| Video | 92 | 122 |
Connectivity
| Wi-Fi standard | Wi-Fi 5 (802.11 b/g/n/ac) | Wi-Fi 6 (802.11 b/g/n/ac/ax) |
| Wi-Fi features | - Dual Band - Wi-Fi Direct - Wi-Fi Hotspot |
- Dual Band - Wi-Fi Hotspot - Wi-Fi Display |
| Bluetooth version | 5 | 5 |
| Bluetooth features | LE, A2DP | LE, A2DP |
| USB type | No | No |
| USB version | 2 | 2 |
| USB features | - Charging - USB-Storage mode |
- Charging - USB-Storage mode - OTG |
| GPS | GPS, GLONASS, Beidou | GPS, GLONASS, Beidou, Galileo |
| NFC* | Yes | Yes |
| Infrared port | No | No |
| Number of SIM* | 1 | 1 |
| Type of SIM card | Nano | Nano |
| Multi SIM mode | - | Standby |
| eSIM support* | No | Yes |
| 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
Other
| Category | Flagship | Mid-range |
| Announced | September 2017 | April 2020 |
| Release date | November 2017 | April 2020 |
| Launch price (MSRP) | $999 | $399 |
| Successor | - Apple iPhone 17 Pro Max | - Apple iPhone 16e |
| SAR (head) | 0.87 W/kg | 0.98 W/kg |
| SAR (body) | 0.97 W/kg | 0.99 W/kg |
| Sensors | - Barometer - Proximity sensor - Gyroscope - Accelerometer - Ambient light sensor - Compass - Face recognition sensor |
- 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
If the performance, gaming, and connectivity are more important to you, then choose the Apple iPhone SE (2020). But if the display and design are more of a priority – go for the Apple iPhone X.
Cast your vote
Total votes: 1809