DxOMark experts have not yet rated the camera of the latest second-generation iPhone SE, but they have published a review of its sound system. What is the reason for such a sequence of tests is unclear, but we have what we have.
Moreover, the result was very worthy: 70 points. This is only 1 point less than the iPhone 11 and 11 Pro Max! With almost three times the difference in price with the latter.
The budget iPhone SE of the second generation turned out to be one of the best smartphones in the world in sound recording quality. The most affordable modern iPhone received 69 points for playback quality, and 73 points for recording quality.
Interestingly, for the iPhone 11 and 11 Pro Max, the corresponding results are 72 and 68 points. That is, they still have a better sound in playback, but they record it supposedly worse. But the funniest thing is found if you look in the entire list of the best sound quality smartphones in the DxoMark rating. In this case, you can find out that the second-generation iPhone SE is practically the best smartphone in terms of recording quality on the market! Only Honor V30 Pro has one point more, which at the same time has a mediocre rating for playback quality.
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Playback test
Pros
- Good dynamics performance with precise attack
- Few artifacts overall
- Well-balanced midrange and treble
- Good maximum and minimum volume performance
Cons
- Inverted stereo in landscape orientation (Music app)
- Tonal balance lacks bass response
Recording test
Pros
- Excellent timbre performance
- Artifacts almost absent, even at high SPL
- Good envelope and signal-to-noise ratio in every app
- Consistency in each use case
- Microphone occlusions are well-controlled thanks to well-reduced noise from fingers
Cons
- Slight lack of low- and high-end extension
- Pumping can occur on vocal content, and a slow automatic gain control is perceivable at high SPL
Here is a reminder of the specifications of the Apple iPhone SE 2020:
APPLE IPHONE SE 2020 SPECIFICATIONS
- 4.7-inch (1334 x 750 pixels) IPS 326 ppi display, 1400:1 contrast ratio, 625 cd/m2 max brightness
- Six-core A13 Bionic 64-bit processor, 8-core Neural Engine
- 64GB, 128GB and 256GB storage options
- iOS 13
- Dual SIM (nano + eSIM)
- Water and dust resistant (IP67)
- 12MP wide-angle (f/1.8) camera, optical image stabilization, True Tone flash, 4K video recording at 60 fps, Slo‑mo 1080p at 240 fps
- 7MP front camera with f/2.2 aperture, 1080p video recording
- TouchID Fingerprint sensor
- Built‑in stereo speaker
- Dimensions: 138.4x 67.3×7.3mm; Weight:148g
- Gigabit-class 4G LTE up to 1.6Gbps, 802.11ax Wi‑Fi 6 with 2×2 MIMO, Bluetooth 5.0, NFC with reader mode, GPS with GLONASS
- Built-in rechargeable lithium-ion battery with Up to 13 hours video playback, Qi wireless charging, 18W fast charging (5w charger in the box)
