 It is iPhone time. That is, iPhone SE time. Might not be iPhone for a lot of people, but there's still a lot to discuss about it. It's the most affordable new iPhone you can get and it's packed with some really good modern tech inside. But on the outside? Well, it's definitely reaching retro territory and not in a good way. It's a physically small phone, which I love, and you can actually fit it into a pocket. For $429, it's also the most affordable phone that Apple makes. Even with a $30 increase over the previous model, it's still a really good deal. It has 5G, Apple's latest and greatest processor, and a bigger battery. That's all great. But then there's the screen. It's a 4.7 inch LCD bordered by some chunky bezels you probably haven't seen since 2017. That's because the SE uses the same chassis as the iPhone 8, which was officially retired two years ago. That might not seem like a long time, but since then, phone screens have gotten bigger, bezels have gotten smaller, from flagship phones all the way down to $200 budget phones. Apps and webpages are just designed for bigger screens, and using them on such a small screen feels cramped. Text is small at default settings, but making it larger means a lot of scrolling. Icons are tiny and crammed together. It's an adjustment coming from an edge-shed screen, and even after a few days, I still haven't quite gotten used to it. Bezels aside, the best thing about the SE is how long it will last if you take good care of it. That's kind of the whole point of this phone. Apple supports its phones for 5, even 6 or 7 years with software updates after they're launched. Here's my first gen SE from 2016. I just installed iOS 15 on it, and it actually runs pretty well. The phone only works on WiFi because I dropped it in a toilet, but that's another story. My point is, if this design feels crowded and tired now, it's going to feel really dated in 5 or 6 years, and I think that takes some of the appeal of the longevity away. And if you do want to hang on to this phone for more than a few years, I would highly recommend upgrading to the 128GB version, which is 50 more bucks. The base model still only includes 64GB of storage, which will fill up fast if you aren't careful. Between iOS, my usual apps, and a few years worth of photos, I'm already at 41GB in my review unit. Unless you're really on top of your cloud storage or you're a very light photo-taker and app user, consider $479 as the starting cost of this phone. Before we get into who should or shouldn't buy this phone, let's talk updates. The 2022 iPhone SE includes Apple's newest processor, the A15 Bionic, and that's the same one you'll find in the iPhone 13 series. It makes the phone feel really fast, and honestly, there's not much that the SE can't do compared to a $1000 phone. That's pretty impressive. Most importantly, the A15 is the key to getting those iOS updates for many years into the future. The SE also gets 5G this year because it's 2022 and every new phone is going to have it. But unlike a year or two ago, 5G actually kind of means something, and it's good to have it supported here. There's no millimeter wave, which is the super fast, hard to find variety, but that's not really a great loss. You do get low and mid band 5G, including C-band, which is what AT&T and Verizon are using to make their 5G networks actually good. That still might be a few years away for a lot of us. Personally, I pay for my wireless carrier's cheapest unlimited plan, which doesn't include C-band, so having 5G on my phone right now is sort of pointless. But even if you're not currently on a wireless plan with 5G or the network is still sort of weak where you live, things will probably change over the next few years and the SE will be ready for it. If you live outside the US, you might want to check with your carrier which 5G bands are and aren't supported. As of right now while we're filming this, I'm still testing those battery life claims, but future Allison's going to tell you something about it right about now. I'm happy to report that battery life has been improved. It will last through a day of moderate use with plenty left in the tank and even on a day of heavy usage with some gaming, video recording, and lots of screen on time, I'm still able to get through a full day without needing to recharge. Back to you, past Allison. The A15 also enables some camera updates on the same hardware as before thanks to more sophisticated image processing. There's still just one 12 megapixel rear camera and the same 7 megapixel selfie camera as the last SE model, but it gets a few new capabilities that come along with the new processor. There's Apple's 4th gen Smart HDR which does a good job handling high contrast scenes. There's also deep fusion to bring out more detail in photos which is great if your friends are really into wearing sweaters. Outside of sweater mode, it actually uses some pretty sophisticated processing to make low and medium light images pop a little more. It's kind of cool to see this tech coming to Apple's entry level phone. Photographic styles are also included which is a way to apply different color presets to your images. They're like filters but better since they can distinguish different subjects and treat them accordingly rather than just throwing a cool or warm tone over your whole image. But one thing that's still missing is a dedicated night mode so photos in very low light look dark and lack detail. Many of other phones in the mid range and budget categories offer some kind of multi shot mode for brighter photos in low light so it's weird that Apple doesn't include it in the SE. It's like a bad throwback to phone photography from several years ago. Aside from that omission, these are all welcome improvements and the SE delivers really good image quality. There's still no ultra wide sensor, there's no telephoto, but those aren't things that everybody cares about and the main camera is well equipped for day to day snapshots. The iPhone SE's closest competitor is probably the Google Pixel 5a which is another low cost phone that uses a lot of software tricks to take better photos. Previous A series pixels only offered one rear camera but the 5a added an ultra wide so it does the SE one better there. It does have a night mode so it's photos in very low light look a lot better than the SE's. It's more of a toss up between the two in good and medium light. They both do a good job and neither camera does very well with moving subjects in low light but I wouldn't really expect them to. The SE shoots up to 4k 60p video and quality is good. The lens is stabilized which helps keep footage steady and the new processor means low light video is less noisy than on the previous SE. It's definitely good enough for quick video clips even though you don't get fancy features like ProRes or cinematic mode. Just like the previous SE, this year's model is a really well built phone, especially considering the price point. It's IP67 rated so it's water and dust resistant with aluminum rails and glass on the front and back. And although there's no magsafe, there's still standard Qi wireless charging. These things are by no means guaranteed in a phone under $500 so the SE continues to stand out in terms of build quality. Touch ID and the not really a button home button are back and in this era of mask wearing, I gotta say I've missed having the fingerprint sensor rather than face ID. Apple's trying to solve the mask problem in iOS 15 but there's something comforting about that physical fingerprint sensor. It's kind of a throwback, like a lot of things on this phone. Even though the design is dated, the SE still delivers some of the best build quality you'll find in a mid-range phone. That's the thing about the SE, you get great hardware, future ready 5G, and many years of software updates for under $500. There's just no other phone sold in the US that gives you that kind of return on your investment. But this screen is a really important consideration, especially if you plan to keep using this phone for five or six years and I think most people will find it too small to use comfortably in this day and age. You can easily find a phone with a bigger screen that costs less than the iPhone SE. You can get a lot more bells and whistles too, like extra cameras, a battery that lasts for days, or a fancy OLED screen with a faster refresh rate. But the one thing you definitely won't get on those phones is iOS. And for a lot of people, green bubbles are a deal breaker. If switching to Android is an option for you, then the Pixel 5a is a really good alternative. It's $449 with a bigger, better screen, an ultra-wide camera, and more storage. You won't get the same longevity since Google only promises three years of OS and security updates but it's not bad. Bottom line, the iPhone SE is a powerful little phone and the price is great. If you're sure you wouldn't mind the small screen, then it's an excellent deal. But otherwise, I think it might be time to let this vintage design fade away. Apple announced a ton of new products last week. We've got a monitor that doesn't cost a million dollars, the new Mac Studio, new iPad, and green iPhones, which is great if you're a fan of green and iPhones. So keep it locked to the verge because we're going to have reviews of all of them except probably the green iPhones because they're just iPhones that are green.