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Apple's iPhone SE specs vs. the iPhone 6, iPhone 6S and iPhone 5S specs

How does Apple's new budget phone compare to its other iPhones?

Sarah Mitroff Managing Editor
Sarah Mitroff is a Managing Editor for CNET, overseeing our health, fitness and wellness section. Throughout her career, she's written about mobile tech, consumer tech, business and startups for Wired, MacWorld, PCWorld, and VentureBeat.
Expertise Tech, Health, Lifestyle
Sarah Mitroff
iphonese-7383.jpg

Left to right, the iPhone SE, iPhone 6S and iPhone 6S Plus.

James Martin/CNET

Apple just announced the smaller, budget-friendly iPhone SE. Switching gears from its larger phones, Apple's going back to the popular 4-inch size with the new iPhone.

Just because it's smaller doesn't mean it's weaker. The iPhone SE has the same 64-bit A9 chip and M9 motion co-processor as the iPhone 6S. It's also got a 12-megapixel camera, TouchID and Apple Pay.

Exclusive to the iPhone SE for now is "Hey Siri," a hands-free way to ask Siri for help.

Watch this: Apple unveils the smaller, cheaper iPhone SE

Apple didn't design the iPhone SE to compete with the iPhone 6 and its other high-end models. But if you're grappling with which model to buy, it's helpful to see how they all compare.

Here's what the new iPhone SE looks like (pictures)

See all photos


While the iPhone 5S is no more, we want to see how this new lower-cost phone stacks up to Apple's previous "budget" model.

iPhone SEiPhone 6SiPhone 6iPhone 5S
Display size, resolution 4-inch; 1,136x640 pixels4.7-inch; 1,334x750 pixels 4.7 inches; 1,334x750 pixels4-inch; 1,136x640 pixels
Pixel density 326ppi326ppi326ppi326ppi
Dimensions (inches) 4.87 x 2.31 x 0.3 in5.4 x 2.6 x 0.28 in5.44 x 2.64 x 0.27 in4.87 x 2.31 x 0.3 in
Dimensions (millimeters) 123 x 58 x 7.6mm138 x 67 x 7.1mm 138.1 x 67 x 6.9mm123 x 58 x 7.6mm
Weight (ounces, grams) 3.99 oz (113g)5 oz (143g)4.55oz (129g)4 oz (112g)
Mobile software iOS 9.3iOS 9iOS 9iOS 9
Camera 12-megapixel12-megapixel8-megapixel8-megapixel
Front-facing camera 1.2-megapixel5-megapixel1.2-megapixel; 720p HD video1.2-megapixel; 720p HD video
Video capture 4K4K1080p HD1080p HD
Processor Apple A9 chip (64-bit) with M9 motion co-processorApple A9 chip (64-bit) with M9 motion co-processorApple A8 chip (64-bit) with M8 motion co-processorApple A7 (64-bit) with M7 motion processor
Storage 16GB, 64GB16GB, 64GB, 128GB16GB, 64GB,128GB16GB, 32GB, 64GB
RAM TBA2GB1GB1GB
Battery 13 hours of video playback1,715mAhTalk time up to 14 hours on 3G and Internet usage time up to 10 hours of 3GTalk time up to 10 hours on 4G LTE; standby time up to 10 days
Touch ID YesYesYesYes
Color options Silver, gray, gold, rose goldSilver, gold, gray, rose goldSilver, gray, goldSilver, gray, gold
Price off-contract (USD) $399 (16GB); $499 (64GB)$649 (16GB); $749 (64GB); $849 (128GB)$649 (16GB); $749 (64GB); $849 (128GB)$450 (16GB); $499 (32GB)
Price (GBP) £359 (16GB) £439 (64GB)£539 (16GB); £619 (64GB); £699 (128GB)Unlocked £539 (16GB), £619 (64GB), £699 (128GB)£379 (16GB); £419 (32GB)
Price (AUD) AU$679 (16GB); AU$829 (64GB)AU$1,079 (16GB); AU$1,229 (64GB); AU$1,379 (128GB) Unlocked AU$869 (16GB), AU$999 (64GB), AU$1,129 (128GB)AU$749 (16GB); AU$829 (32GB)

See all of the news from Apple's March 21 event.