iPhone SE (2022) Verdict: Flagship Power in a Dated Body

The iPhone SE (3rd generation) exists for one reason: to put Apple's current-generation silicon into the cheapest possible iPhone. It succeeds completely at that job and struggles with almost everything else.

The A15 Bionic is the same chip that powered the iPhone 13 Pro, and it still comfortably outruns most Android phones costing twice as much. Gaming, editing, multitasking — none of it phases this thing.

Everything around that chip is inherited from an older design language. The 4.7" display with its thick bezels and Home button looks and feels like a phone from 2017, because the shell essentially is one. There's no Face ID, no Dynamic Island, no edge-to-edge screen.

The single 12MP camera is fine in good light and relies heavily on computational photography to compensate in anything dimmer — it gets the job done for casual shooting but isn't going to wow anyone.

Battery life is the most noticeable compromise: the small body simply can't fit a large cell, and heavy users will be reaching for a charger by evening.

For anyone who wants a small, one-handed phone with years of software support ahead of it and doesn't care about camera versatility or a modern screen, this is still a sensible buy. For anyone who'll be looking at it every day, the compromises show.