Apple iPhone XS vs SE (2020)
Here we compared two smartphones: the 5.8-inch Apple iPhone XS (with Apple A12 Bionic) that was released on September 12, 2018, against the Apple iPhone SE (2020), which is powered by Apple A13 Bionic and came out 19 months after. On this page, you will find tests, full specs, strengths, and weaknesses of each of the devices.
Key differences
Reasons to consider the Apple iPhone XS
- Has a 1.1 inches larger screen size
- Comes with 837 mAh larger battery capacity: 2658 vs 1821 mAh
- Thinner bezels – 17.5% more screen real estate
- The rear camera has a 2x optical zoom
- 40% higher pixel density (458 vs 326 PPI)
- Waterproof body (IP68 classification)
- Uses a faster type of memory: LPDDR4X 2133 MHz
- Has 33% more RAM: 4GB versus 3GB
- OLED display (versus competitor's IPS LCD)
Reasons to consider the Apple iPhone SE (2020)
- Compatible with Wi-Fi 6 wireless networks
- Fingerprint scanner
- The phone is 1-year and 7-months newer
- Weighs 29 grams less
- 21% faster in single-core GeekBench 5 test: 1333 and 1102 points
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Review
Display
Screen quality, color accuracy, brightness
Performance
CPU/GPU performance in apps and games
Battery
Battery life, charging type and speed
Camera
Photo and video recording quality
Connectivity
Networks, ports, data transmission
NanoReview score
Final comparison evaluation
Value for money
You can enter your local price of these phones (in USD or any other currency) and click on the "Calculate" button to see which one has a better value for money.
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 | 82.9% | 65.4% |
| Display features | - DCI-P3 | - DCI-P3 |
| RGB color space | 98.8% | 99.9% |
| PWM | 240 Hz | Not detected |
| Response time | 4.4 ms | 29 ms |
| Contrast | ∞ Infinity | 2457:1 |
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 | 177 g (6.24 oz) | 148 g (5.22 oz) |
| Waterproof | IP68 | IP67 |
| Rear material | Glass | Glass |
| Frame material | Metal | Metal |
| Colors | Silver, Gold, Gray | White, Black, Red |
| Fingerprint scanner | No | Yes, in home button |
Screen-to-body ratio
Performance
| Chipset | Apple A12 Bionic | Apple A13 Bionic |
| Max clock | 2490 MHz | 2650 MHz |
| CPU cores | 6 (2 + 4) | 6 (2 + 4) |
| Architecture | - 4 cores at 1.6 GHz: Tempest - 2 cores at 2.49 GHz: Vortex |
- 4 cores at 1.6 GHz: Thunder - 2 cores at 2.66 GHz: Lightning |
| Lithography process | 7 nanometers | 7 nanometers |
| Graphics | Apple A12 Bionic GPU | Apple A13 Bionic GPU |
| GPU clock | 1100 MHz | - |
| FLOPS | ~560 GFLOPS | ~736 GFLOPS |
Benchmarks
Geekbench 5 (Single-Core)
Geekbench 5 (Multi-Core)
AnTuTu Benchmark 9
| CPU | 144499 | 140999 |
| GPU | 178813 | 221156 |
| Memory | 101788 | 86770 |
| UX | 106896 | 113507 |
| Total score | 526744 | 561099 |
3DMark Wild Life Performance
| Max surface temperature | 44.8 °C | 44.3 °C |
| Stability | 63% | 68% |
| Graphics test | 34 FPS | 41 FPS |
| Graphics score | 5726 | 6917 |
Memory
| RAM size | 4 GB | 3 GB |
| Memory type | LPDDR4X | LPDDR4 |
| Memory clock | 2133 MHz | - |
| Channels | 2 | 2 |
| Storage size | 64, 256, 512 GB | 64, 128, 256 GB |
| Storage type | NVMe | NVMe |
| Memory card | No | No |
Software
| Operating system | iOS 12 (Can be upgraded to iOS 16.2) | iOS 13 (Can be upgraded to iOS 16.2) |
| OS size | 11.8 GB | 8.4 GB |
Battery
| Capacity | 2658 mAh | 1821 mAh |
| Charge power | 15 W | 18 W |
| Battery type | Li-Po | Li-Ion |
| Replaceable | No | No |
| Wireless charging | Yes, Qi (10 W) | Yes, Qi (7.5 W) |
| Reverse charging | No | No |
| Fast charging | Yes (50% in 60 min) | Yes (55% in 60 min) |
| Full charging time | 2:40 hr | 2:32 hr |
| Web browsing | 07:30 hr | 09:36 hr |
| Watching video | 09:19 hr | 07:32 hr |
| Gaming | 04:45 hr | 03:09 hr |
| Standby | 80 hr | 86 hr |
General battery life
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 60FPS | Up to 60FPS |
| Slow motion | 240 FPS (1080p) | 240 FPS (1080p) |
| Lenses | 2 (12 MP + 12 MP) | 1 (12 MP) |
| Wide (main) lens | - 12 MP - Aperture: f/1.8 - Focal length: 26 mm - Pixel size: 1.4 micron - Sensor: 1/2.55", Apple iSight X (CMOS) - Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel) - Optical stabilization |
- 12 MP - Aperture: f/1.8 - Focal length: 28 mm - Pixel size: 1.22 micron - Sensor: 1/3", Apple iSight Camera (CMOS) - Phase autofocus - Optical stabilization |
| Telephoto lens | - 12 MP - Aperture: f/2.4 - Focal length: 52 mm - Pixel size: 1 micron - Sensor: 1/3.4" (CMOS) - Phase autofocus - Optical stabilization |
- |
| Camera features | - Bokeh mode - Pro mode - RAW support |
- Bokeh mode |
| Samples | - | Photo samples of Apple iPhone SE (2020) from DxOMark |
| Megapixels | 7 megapixels | 7 megapixels |
| Image resolution | 3088 x 2316 | 3088 x 2320 |
| Aperture | f/2.2 | f/2.2 |
| Focal length | 32 mm | 32 mm |
| Pixel size | 1.12 microns | 1 microns |
| Sensor type | CMOS | CMOS |
| Video resolution | 1080p (Full HD) at 30 FPS | 1080p (Full HD) at 30 FPS |
DxOMark camera tests
Photo quality
Video quality
Generic camera score
Connectivity
| Wi-Fi standard | Wi-Fi 5 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac) | Wi-Fi 6 (802.11 b/g/n/ac/ax) |
| 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 | SPP, PBAP/PAB, PAN, OPP, MAP, LE, HSP, HID, HFP, HDP, GAP, GAVDP, DIP, AVRCP, 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 |
| Number of SIM* | 1 | 1 |
| Type of SIM card | Nano | Nano |
| Multi SIM mode | - | Standby |
| eSIM support* | Yes | 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 2018 | April 2020 |
| Release date | September 2018 | April 2020 |
| SAR (head) | 0.99 W/kg | 0.98 W/kg |
| SAR (body) | 0.99 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 |
*Disclaimer! NFC, GSM network support, and some other specs can be different depending on the country.
Conclusion
If the display and design are more important to you, then choose the Apple iPhone XS. But if the performance and connectivity are more of a priority – go for the Apple iPhone SE (2020).
Cast your vote
Total votes: 1164