2020 iPhone SE – First Impressions

It has been around 24 hours since I got my used 2020 iPhone SE.

Transferring apps, data and settings from my old 2016 iPhone SE took longer than anticipated, possibly because the new phone needed to update to latest version of iOS 15 first, but it got there eventually.

The new phone isn’t that much bigger than its predecessor, which pleases me, since it will easily fit into a coat or jacket pocket. Trouser pocket would be more of a challenge and not something I’m going to risk!

I got this phone through CEX for the princely sum of £240 as a ‘grade C’ quality device. It has some very faint scratches on the front glass and some scrapes around the edges near the top, but those will be hidden once I get a cover around it. Otherwise, you’d be hard-pressed to know from a distance that it’s a used phone. Battery is rated at 98% of original capacity, which is great news. For comparison, my old phone was rated at 91%.

The new phone is certainly snappier in performance, benefitting as it does from an A13 Bionic chip at its heart. And the small increase in screen space has made apps feel much less cramped! Most importantly, I no longer have to worry about overloading this phone due to low storage capacity — the 16GB of the original iPhone SE was proving a major issue.

Overall, I’m pretty happy with my purchase. While I did consider the iPhone 12 Mini or 13 Mini, I can’t justify the extra expense right now, plus I’m a fan of the Touch ID sensor. With luck this phone should last me many years.

I’ll post another update when I’ve had a chance to do some photography with it, something I’m very much looking forward to!