Apple is a technology company founded in 1976 that is widely known for producing both technology hardware (phones and computers) and software (apps and programs). Apple was one of the first companies to mass-produce personal computers for household use. The iPhone, a flagship Apple product, launched in 2007 and was the first successful mobile phone with a screen-only interface. Other noteworthy Apple products include the wearable Apple Watch and the iPad, Apple’s tablet computer. Apple also owns the headphone company Beats as a subsidiary, and some of its recent digital accessories include AirPods (earbuds) and AirPods Max (headphones).
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Popular Cell Phones
- Base Price
- $1,199.99
- Storage
- 128 GB, 256 GB, 512 GB, 1 TB
- 5G Capability
- Yes
- Dust Resistance
- Yes
- Water Resistance
- 1.5 meters for 30 min
- Base Price
- $829.00
- Storage
- 128 GB, 256 GB, 512 GB
- 5G Capability
- Yes
- Dust Resistance
- Yes
- Water Resistance
- 6.0 meters for 30 min
- Base Price
- $899.00
- Storage
- 128 GB, 256 GB, 512 GB
- 5G Capability
- Yes
- Dust Resistance
- Yes
- Water Resistance
- 1.5 meters for 30 min
![Apple iPhone 13 design images.](https://www.usnews.com/object/image/00000183-80c8-dc9d-af8b-b5dfaa810000/iphone-13.jpg?update-time=1664313676960&size=responsiveFlow640)
(Apple)
Apple iPhone 13 »
- Base Price
-
$829.00
- Storage
- 128 GB, 256 GB, 512 GB
- 5G Capability
- Yes
- Dust Resistance
- Yes
- Water Resistance
- 6.0 meters for 30 min
Pros:
-
Significantly water-resistant
Cons:
-
Slow display refresh rate (only 60 Hz)
The iPhone 13 is built using Apple’s most updated processor, the A15 Bionic chip, so when it comes to phone speed and performance, it ranks toward the top of the pack. Compared to similarly priced competitors, it provides a long battery life (up to 19 hours of video playback, according to Apple), sports cameras that take Night Mode photos and videos, and features an OLED touchscreen.
The iPhone 13 OLED display uses a 60 Hz refresh rate, while some comparative smartphones provide a 120 Hz refresh rate. The higher the refresh rate, the smoother the visual experience on the phone, which can be particularly important when it comes to gaming, but the gap between 60 Hz and 120 Hz is noticeable even for nongamers.
Professional reviewers point out that when it comes to improvements and upgrades, there isn’t much difference between the iPhone 13 and its predecessor, the iPhone 12. It still comes with Apple’s proprietary Lightning port instead of a USB-C port. And unlike the iPhone 13 Max Pro, which has a telephoto lens and can take macro photos, the iPhone 13 cameras don’t provide many more features than the iPhone 12 cameras.
The iPhone 13’s versatility and ease of use, its attractive design and array of color choices, and long battery life are three of its biggest strengths. It also provides a decent amount of storage for the base price, 128 GB (gigabytes), and users can purchase an iPhone 13 with up to 512 GB in storage, which is more than sufficient for most users.
Apple iPhone 13: Price
The base price for the iPhone 13 is $829.00, which is nearly twice as much as the iPhone SE (2022) at $429.00. The base model of the iPhone 13, however, comes with 128 GB storage as opposed to 64 GB for the iPhone SE, as well as an OLED screen instead of an LCD screen, and cameras with Night Mode and optical zoom. If the base model storage of the iPhone 13 won’t be sufficient, then users can scale up to 256 GB or 512 GB of storage at higher prices.
Apple iPhone 13: Design
The iPhone 13 features a 6.1-inch touch screen that stretches across the entire face of the phone, with a notch at the top of the screen to accommodate the front-facing camera. It also has two rear-facing cameras and a Lightning port at the base of the phone. Users can buy the phone in six different colors: Midnight (black), Starlight (white), red, green, blue or pink. It weighs a little over 6 ounces, measures just under 6 inches in height and just under 3 inches in width, and is a slim 0.30 inches wide.
Apple iPhone 13: Performance
A smartphone’s processor is the part of the phone that controls its speed and performance, like a processor in a computer, or the brain inside a body. Apple’s latest processor is the A15 Bionic chip, and professional reviewers agree that it provides a powerful and fast performance experience. The processor in the iPhone 13 is a 4-core GPU (graphics processing unit), an integrated graphics card that, as the name indicates, comprises four cores. Apple’s most advanced processor is the A15 Bionic 5-core GPU, which has five cores and can be found in the iPhone Max Pro 13.
Apple iPhone 13: Screen and Display
Smartphone screens come in two basic types: LCD (liquid crystal display) and OLED (organic light-emitting diode) screens. An OLED screen offers better images because each pixel on the screen emits light, while the pixels on an LCD screen are backlit by light. The iPhone 13 comes with an all-screen 6.1-inch OLED display. The screen refresh rate is 60 Hz, which refers to how frequently (per second) the screen is able to display a new image. Many newer phones feature a 120Hz refresh rate, which can make activities such as gaming easier on phones, so the 60 Hz refresh rate could feel too slow for some game-loving users.
Apple iPhone 13: Ports and Audio
Like Apple’s other iPhone products, the iPhone 13 has a single Lightning port at its base. A Lightning port is Apple’s proprietary connector, which the company began using in 2012. Apple has since started making iPads with USB-C ports, but as of this generation, all iPhone ports are Lightning ports. There is no headphone jack for these phones, but users can either separately purchase a headphone-to-Lightning converter cable for any wired headphones, or use wireless listening devices that can connect to the iPhone via Bluetooth.
Apple iPhone 13: Cameras and Video
The iPhone 13 includes cameras that professional reviewers agree are fun and easy to use, and that produce brilliant color-saturated photos and videos. There are two rear-facing cameras on the iPhone 13, one wide-lens camera and one ultrawide-lens camera, both 12 megapixels. This allows the iPhone 13 to take photos and videos in Night Mode, giving more flexibility when it comes to low-light conditions.
The camera can record 4K video (the highest-resolution video available in an iPhone) at 24, 25, 30 or 60 frames per second (fps), as well as 1080-pixel HD video at 25, 30 or 60 fps, and HDR video with Dolby Vision up to 4K resolution at 60 fps. This capacity highlights some of the visual elements of the image (brightness and colors, for example). Users can edit both their photos and videos directly on the iPhone 13 using the included Photos app. The iPhone 13 video capabilities also feature audio zoom, or spatial filtering, to help users tune a video’s sound.
The front-facing camera on the iPhone 13 is a TrueDepth camera that takes 12 megapixel photos, plus it also offers Night Mode. The front-facing camera also includes a “cinematic mode” recording setting for video, which creates a shallow depth-of-field or what’s known as a bokeh, or blurred, background effect.
The iPhone 13 cameras are an improvement over the iPhone SE camera offerings, but the iPhone 13 lacks the telephoto lens that Apple put on the iPhone 13 Pro Max, which allows the iPhone 13 Pro Max to take macro photographs and also provides significantly better digital zoom capabilities, 15x on the 13 Pro Max compared to 5x on the 13.
Apple iPhone 13: Charging Speed and Battery Life
Apple reports that the iPhone 13 reaches a 50% charge in 30 minutes, which is the same amount of time it takes to charge an iPhone 13 Pro Max or an iPhone SE (2022) to 50%. The only phone that outperformed this charging speed was the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra, which charges to 50% in 20 minutes. Battery life on the iPhone 13 is notably improved from previous iPhone versions, according to professional reviewers. The phone provides up to 19 hours of continuous video playback, four hours more than the iPhone SE.
Apple iPhone 13: Storage
The most basic version of the iPhone 13 (which costs $829.00) comes with 128 GB of storage. Because iPhones do not use SD or micro SD cards to expand storage capacity, users should purchase the phone with the amount of storage they think they will need throughout the phone’s lifetime. The iPhone 13 can also come with 256 GB of storage, double the basic version’s amount, or 512 GB of storage, but those cost more.
Apple iPhone 13: What’s Included
The iPhone 13 comes with a charging cord – a cable connecting USB-C to a Lightning connector – but it does not include a power adapter. Users will need to already own or buy a separate USB-C-compatible power adapter in order to charge the phone. The cable can also be used to connect the iPhone 13 to an Apple computer, either an iMac or a MacBook, that has a USB-C port. Users will also need to purchase headphones or earbuds (either wireless or wired with a headphone jack adapter) separately, as those items are not included with the purchase of an iPhone 13.
Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra »
Best Samsung Camera of 2022
- Base Price
-
$1,199.99
- Storage
- 128 GB, 256 GB, 512 GB, 1 TB
- 5G Capability
- Yes
- Dust Resistance
- Yes
- Water Resistance
- 1.5 meters for 30 min
Apple iPhone 13 vs. Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra
The Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra is the most expensive and feature-laden phone that Samsung released this year, while the Apple iPhone 13 is Apple’s middle-of-the-road option based on cost and offered features. In terms of phone speed and performance, the two are comparable, but the Galaxy S22 Ultra has some extras that you won’t find on the iPhone 13, and the base model costs about $370 more than the iPhone 13.
While both phones use OLED displays, the display on the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra is a bit bigger than the display on the iPhone 13 (6.8 inches compared to 6.1 inches), and the refresh rate on the Galaxy S22 is 120 Hz compared to the iPhone 13’s 60 Hz, giving the Galaxy a smoother visual experience than the iPhone.
The Samsung cameras are also standout performers, according to professional reviewers, who appreciate the larger sensor that lets in more light and creates better, brighter Night Mode photos. The Galaxy S22 Ultra also has a telephoto lens for macro photography, which the iPhone 13 lacks.
Google Pixel 5a »
Best Value Cell Phone of 2022
- Base Price
-
$449.00
- Storage
- 128 GB
- 5G Capability
- Yes
- Dust Resistance
- Yes
- Water Resistance
- 1.0 meter for 30 min
Apple iPhone 13 vs. Google Pixel 5a
The Google Pixel 5a is a more basic phone than the iPhone 13, which its price reflects at $449.00 compared with iPhone 13’s $829.00. The base models of both the Google Pixel 5a and the iPhone 13 come with 128 GB in storage, and the cameras and processing power are comparable, but the iPhone 13 offers a few more attractive features for users, including design and color options.
The battery life for both phones is on the longer side, and both include wide-lens and ultrawide-lens cameras on the rear. The iPhone 13 has a High Dynamic Range (HDR) display, while the Pixel 5a features a full-HD OLED display, but both offer a 60 Hz display refresh rate.
Professional reviewers praise Google’s artificial intelligence (AI)-powered digital zoom, which the iPhone 13 lacks. And while the Google Pixel 5a comes in one color (black), users can select from six different iPhone 13 colors, including black (Midnight). But in most other ways, the phones are comparable, so price may be the deciding factor.
![Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max design images.](https://www.usnews.com/object/image/00000183-80d0-dc9d-af8b-b5df275f0000/iphone-13-pro-max.jpg?update-time=1664313623122&size=responsiveFlow640)
(Apple)
Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max »
Best iPhone Camera of 2022
- Base Price
-
$1,099.00
- Storage
- 128 GB, 256 GB, 512 GB, 1 TB
- 5G Capability
- Yes
- Dust Resistance
- Yes
- Water Resistance
- 6.0 meters for 30 min
Pros:
-
Camera with telephoto lens
Cons:
-
Charging speed is average
The iPhone 13 Pro Max is the highest-end phone available from Apple as of August 2022, and the company has packed the phone with all kinds of interesting features. It’s the first iPhone with a telephoto lens on the rear and the first with a light detection and ranging (LiDAR) scanner, allowing users to take macro photographs and Night Mode portraits. With storage capacity up to 1 TB (terabyte) and featuring Apple’s fastest-ever processor, the iPhone 13 Pro Max offers a slick performance experience for users. Its AMOLED screen with 120 Hz display refresh rate provides silky-smooth graphics rendering, which professional reviewers say is noticeably less jagged than the 60 Hz display refresh rates available on the iPhone 13.
Photography and video enthusiasts will appreciate the low-light and depth-of-field options that the iPhone 13 Pro Max offers. Users can shoot photos and record video with bokeh-style blurred backgrounds to contrast with the subjects in the foreground, in both well-lit and low-light conditions. The iPhone 13 Pro Max also features one of the longest-lasting batteries available as of August 2022, accommodating 28 hours of video streaming (Apple’s next-best performer, the iPhone 13, provides 19 hours). It comes in five colors.
Reviewers note that the 13 Pro Max’s larger size and heavier weight and average charge speed were the device’s biggest drawbacks. It’s also on the expensive side for what users get, as the iPhone 13 Pro Max costs $1,099.00 for a storage capacity of 128 GB. And, like Apple’s other iPhones, the iPhone 13 Pro Max is still using the company’s proprietary Lightning port instead of the more popular USB-C port.
Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max: Price
The base price for the iPhone 13 Pro Max is $1,099.00, which comes with 128 GB in storage. Because iPhones use flash storage instead of SD cards, users must buy the phone with the amount of storage they think they will need throughout the phone’s lifetime. For an additional fee, users can double the amount of storage to 256 GB. Other storage options include 512 GB or 1 TB (terabyte), the most storage available on any iPhone as of August 2022. Its telephoto lens and extra features contribute toward this being the most expensive iPhone currently on the market.
Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max: Design
The Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max is one of the largest and heaviest new phones available on the market, at almost 8.5 ounces and over 6 inches in height and 3 inches in width. The phone remains on the slim side at just 0.30 inches thick. There is one Lightning port at the base of the phone, three cameras on the rear, and a “selfie” camera on the phone’s face. The touchscreen covers the full face of the phone, with a notch at the top for the front-facing camera. It comes in five different color options: Sierra Blue, Graphite, Gold, Silver, and Alpine Green.
Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max: Performance
Just like a computer, a phone uses a processor in order to function. The processor controls the phone’s speed and performance, as well as its ability to execute commands. If phones were animals, then the processor would be equivalent to the phone’s brain. Apple’s latest processor, the A15 Bionic chip, comes in both four-core and five-core versions, of which the five-core version is the most powerful. The five-core processor inside the Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max gives it the ability to handle a multitude of tasks and executions seamlessly and easily, according to professional reviewers.
Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max: Screen and Display
The touchscreen on the Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max is 6.7 inches and covers the entire face of the phone, with a notch at the top to accommodate the front-facing or “selfie” camera. It features a Super Retina XDR with ProMotion-enhanced OLED screen, where each screen pixel is self-illuminating, providing its own brightness and light. Pixels in the other popular type of phone screen, the LCD screen, are backlit, which is why these screens do not offer the same clarity and color saturation as OLED screens. The refresh rate on the iPhone 13 Pro Max is 120 Hz, which reviewers say provides an ultra-smooth visual experience for users.
Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max: Ports and Audio
Like every iPhone since 2012, the Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max features a Lightning port at its base. Lightning is an Apple-specific type of port and cable, and it is used to charge the iPhone as well as to physically connect it to other devices, such as a computer.
There are no headphone jacks on the iPhone 13 Pro Max. Users can either obtain a headphone jack adapter for the iPhone’s Lightning port, which will work for wired headphones, or they can pair wireless headphones to the iPhone 13 Pro Max using Bluetooth technology.
Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max: Cameras and Video
The iPhone 13 Pro Max has added a third camera to the rear with a telephoto lens that allows users to take macro photographs. It also features a brand-new LiDAR Scanner, a laser scanner that optimizes Night Mode and autofocus capabilities in low light.
There are three rear-facing 12 MP (megapixel) cameras on the device. The telephoto lens is new, and the iPhone 13 Pro Max also features both a wide and an ultra-wide camera lens on the rear. The updated cameras allow the phone to take portrait Night Mode photographs, with a blurred background and sharp subject even in low-light conditions. The front-facing “selfie” camera is also a 12 MP camera.
The iPhone 13 Pro Max also offers significant video capabilities, including recording in cinematic mode, macro video recording (including slo-mo and time-lapse options), 1080-pixel and 4K video recording (including Dolby Vision recording, which enhances some color and brightness image aspects), digital zoom up to 9x, and audio zoom, which allows for audio filtering. This phone also offers ProRes video recording, which allows users to record high-quality video in a smaller, compressed file. The front-facing camera provides cinematic mode for video recording as well as ProRes recording, so users can capture high-quality video from either side of the phone.
Some professional reviewers agree that the cameras on the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra edge out the iPhone cameras in 2022, but not by much. The Night Mode on the Galaxy S22 Ultra allows a shade more flexibility when it comes to low-light shooting conditions, according to reviewers.
Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max: Charging Speed and Battery Life
The charging speed of the iPhone 13 Pro Max is on par with other Apple iPhones in our rating, which reach 50% charge in 30 minutes with the Lightning connector. However, the battery life for the iPhone 13 Pro Max is one of its best features, according to professional reviewers, and is significantly longer than both any other iPhone and longer than comparably priced phones from other vendors. Apple states that the iPhone 13 Pro Max provides up to 28 hours of video playback, a significant improvement over the iPhone 13, with up to 19 hours of video playback.
Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max: Storage
Apple does not make phones that are compatible with SD or micro SD cards, so users must purchase phones with the amount of storage they will want throughout the phone’s lifetime. The most basic iPhone 13 Pro Max comes with 128 GB of storage for $1,099.00. Given the enhanced photo and video capabilities of the iPhone 13 Pro Max, this may not be enough storage to satisfy most users. Users can also select storage increments of 256 GB, 512 GB, or 1 TB (terabyte)—the largest amount of storage available on any iPhone, but each storage upgrade comes with a higher price tag.
Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max: What’s Included
As part of a stated commitment to the environment, Apple includes only the device itself and a USB-C-to-Lightning charging cable with all its phones. This means that to charge the phone, users will need to already own a USB-C power adapter, or they should purchase one separately. Alternatively, users can charge their iPhone 13 Pro Max by plugging it into an iMac or MacBook that has a USB-C port. There are no headphones, wired or wireless, included with the iPhone 13 Pro Max, so users will need to buy those separately, as well, along with adapters for the wired version.
Samsung Galaxy S22 Plus »
- Base Price
-
$1,049.99
- Storage
- 128 GB, 256 GB
- 5G Capability
- Yes
- Dust Resistance
- Yes
- Water Resistance
- 1.5 meters for 30 min
Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max vs. Samsung Galaxy S22 Plus
The Galaxy S22 Plus comes in either 128 GB or 256 GB storage sizes, while the iPhone 13 Pro Max also offers either a 512 GB or a 1 TB storage capacity, and so the latter might be preferred for users who save a lot of video and photos. The S22 Plus also comes in a wider variety of colors than the iPhone 13 Pro Max (seven for the Galaxy and five for the iPhone). The price difference between the two devices, one of which is an iPhone and one an Android, for the lowest storage amount is nearly the same, about a $50 difference.
Both phones feature telephoto lenses on the rear, plus Night Mode and depth-of-field selection to create that desirable blurred-background effect. Professional reviewers agree that the features and capabilities of the iPhone 13 Pro Max’s camera create slightly better photos and video than the Samsung Galaxy S22 Plus.
OnePlus 10 Pro »
- Base Price
-
$899.00
- Storage
- 128 GB, 256 GB
- 5G Capability
- Yes
- Dust Resistance
- Yes
- Water Resistance
- 1.0 meter for 30 min
Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max vs. OnePlus 10 Pro
Professional reviews say that the OnePlus 10 Pro is the most powerful phone that OnePlus has made, and at $899.00 for the 128 GB base model, it’s a more affordable alternative to the Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max. However, by choosing the OnePlus 10 Pro, users will be sacrificing some of the slick features and options of the iPhone.
Both phones use AMOLED screens with 120 Hz display refresh rates, some of the clearest and fastest screen displays available on the market. The cameras and photo/video features on the iPhone 13 Pro Max outperform the OnePlus 10 Pro, though, according to reviewers, who praise the clearer, brighter visuals.
The iPhone 13 Pro Max comes with two larger storage options than the OnePlus 10 Pro, 512 GB and 1 TB. Users can also choose 128 GB or 256 GB storage options for either. There are two color options for the OnePlus 10 Pro, compared with five for the iPhone 13 Pro Max. Both phones are approximately the same size, and the battery life on the iPhone is significantly higher.
![Apple iPhone SE design images.](https://www.usnews.com/object/image/00000183-80ce-dc9d-af8b-b5dffc330000/iphone-se.jpg?update-time=1664313598791&size=responsiveFlow640)
(Apple)
Apple iPhone SE (2022) »
- Base Price
-
$429.00
- Storage
- 64 GB, 128 GB, 256 GB
- 5G Capability
- Yes
- Dust Resistance
- Yes
- Water Resistance
- 1.0 meter for 30 min
Pros:
-
A powerful 5G phone for the price
-
Has home button and Touch ID
-
Quality rear-facing camera
Cons:
-
Small base storage: 64 GB
-
Screen can feel restrictive (not edge-to-edge)
-
No Face ID or camera Night Mode
If you’re seeking a decent smartphone on a budget, the Apple iPhone SE (2022) is one of the top contenders. It’s built with the same processor that Apple used to make its very latest iPhones, a powerful A15 Bionic chip that performs smoothly and quickly, meaning you can perform many of the same tasks on an iPhone SE that you can do on an iPhone 13 Pro Max. The storage options on an iPhone SE range from 64 GB for the entry-level version, up to 256 GB for the largest-available storage on an iPhone SE.
One big area of difference between this iPhone and its more expensive counterparts is the camera. Instead of two or even three cameras, there is only one camera on the iPhone SE. Pro reviewers call it a solid wide-lens camera, but it can’t shoot photos or videos in Night Mode. There is neither an ultrawide lens on the SE, nor a telephoto lens for macro photography. Its video capabilities are similarly minimal.
Another big difference between the iPhone SE and its counterparts is the lack of Face ID. The iPhone SE instead features the Touch ID pad and home button, which can be seen as an advantage for those who prefer to unlock their phone or pay at the register by using a thumbprint instead of their face.
Professional reviewers agree that the iPhone SE is one of the best 5G capable smartphones you can buy at this price point. It’s a solidly performing phone that can handle all of the apps and tasks that a more expensive iPhone would be expected to manage, and it’s available at a fraction of the price.
Apple iPhone SE (2022): Price
The iPhone SE (2022) starts at $429.00, which includes 64 GB of storage. While the iPhone SE uses the same high-performance A15 Bionic chip processor and durable glass as the iPhone 13, it’s built with the body of an iPhone 8, and the SE cameras are therefore not as versatile or high-quality as the cameras on the iPhone 13 or iPhone 13 Max. Many users, and especially those who plan to use the phone for photos and videos, will find 64 GB of storage too limiting. For an additional fee, users can double the storage to 128 GB, or upgrade to 256 GB of storage.
Apple iPhone SE (2022): Design
With a 4.7-inch touch screen and weighing in at 5.09 ounces, this is one of the smaller smartphones currently available for purchase. It comes in three colors: Midnight (black), Starlight (white), and red. It features a single rear camera with a wide lens as well as a front-facing camera, a home button and Touch ID pad for unlocking and navigating the phone, and a single Lightning port at the bottom of the phone.
Apple iPhone SE (2022): Performance
A smartphone processor is the part of the phone that makes it work. It is the central operating system in your device, the equivalent of your phone’s brain. The processor will determine how quickly and how well your phone is able to open an app or execute a command. Apple’s A15 Bionic chip is one of the newest and most advanced processors on the market, and it’s the processor behind all of Apple’s latest iPhones, including the iPhone SE (2022) as well as its pricier counterparts, the iPhone 13 and iPhone 13 Pro Max.
Apple iPhone SE (2022): Screen and Display
Smartphones currently use two general types of display technologies, either LCD (liquid crystal display), or OLED (organic light-emitting diode) screens. The essential difference is that LCD screens use a backlight to brighten pixels on the display, while each pixel on an OLED screen produces its own light, creating a cleaner, crisper image. The iPhone SE (2022) features an LCD display with a refresh rate of 60 Hz. This screen still has black bars at the top and bottom edges, as it does not stretch across the entire phone. The latest smartphones provide a 120 Hz refresh rate, so while the iPhone SE display and screen are decent, they still might feel like a downgrade for those accustomed to a newer device.
Apple iPhone SE (2022): Ports and Audio
Like its predecessors, the iPhone SE (2022) does not come with a headphone jack. Instead, the phone has a Lightning port, a type of charging and connecting cable that is specific to Apple products, which was first introduced in 2012. Newer iPads use a USB-C port, but Apple has continued to make its new iPhones with Lightning cable ports. Users have the option to either pair Bluetooth-enabled speakers, headphones, earbuds, and other listening devices to the iPhone SE, or to use a headphone-to-Lightning adapter jack for any plug-in or wired headphones or other audio devices.
Apple iPhone SE (2022): Cameras and Video
There is only one camera on the back of the Apple iPhone SE (2022), but professional reviewers say it’s a powerful one. The f/1.8-aperture wide-lens camera shoots 12 MP (megapixel) photos with optical image stabilization, portrait mode (which offers depth control and bokeh-style backgrounds), a digital zoom up to 5x, and Deep Fusion image processing. The camera can shoot 4K video at 24 fps (frames per second), 25 fps, 30 fps, or 60 fps, and it features 1080-pixel HD video recording at 25 fps, 30 fps, or 60 fps. When shooting video, the camera features a digital zoom up to 3x. The front-facing selfie camera is a FaceTime HD camera that can take 7 MP photos. The selfie camera can record 1080p HD video at either 25 fps or 30 fps.
While the camera on the iPhone SE is serviceable, users who have become accustomed to some of Apple’s more advanced camera features will notice their absence on this device. Because the iPhone SE has only one camera, the beloved-by-photographers Night Mode feature is not available on this device, making it much more difficult to shoot photos or video in poorly lit or dark environments. The iPhone SE camera also doesn’t have optical zoom, which allows photographers to zoom in or out by magnifying the actual subject (the view that the photographer is capturing), instead of first capturing an image and then magnifying it.
Apple iPhone SE (2022): Charging Speed and Battery Life
The iPhone SE can reach a 50% charge in 30 minutes, about the same as both the iPhone 13 and the iPhone 13 Pro Max, and slightly faster than the Google Pixel 5a. Samsung’s Galaxy 22 Ultra was the only phone that beat the iPhone in charging speed for phones in our rating. According to Apple, its battery life should accommodate up to 15 hours of video playback, which is less than the iPhone 13 and iPhone 13 Pro Max, but still puts the iPhone SE on par with most other smartphones.
Apple iPhone SE (2022): Storage
The iPhone SE (2022) in its most basic version comes with 64 GB of storage for $429.00. To increase the phone’s storage, users must pay more to purchase phones with larger memory capacity. Unlike some other mobile phone brands, you cannot buy an SD card or micro SD card to increase an iPhone’s storage. Instead, users can double the amount of iPhone SE storage to 128 GB if they’re willing to pay an additional fee, which increases again for 256 GB of storage built into the phone.
Apple iPhone SE (2022): What’s Included
The iPhone SE (2022) comes with a USB-C to Lightning charging cable. This cable allows you to charge the iPhone SE using a USB-C power adapter (sold separately), or to connect your iPhone via cable to a newer iMac or MacBook computer, some of which use USB-C inputs. The iPhone SE does not come with a power adapter, and an adapter must be purchased separately in order to charge the phone. The iPhone SE package also does not include headphones or earbuds, which must be purchased separately.
Google Pixel 6 Pro »
Best Android Camera of 2022
- Base Price
-
$899.00
- Storage
- 128 GB, 256 GB, 512 GB
- 5G Capability
- Yes
- Dust Resistance
- Yes
- Water Resistance
- 1.5 meters for 30 min
Apple iPhone SE (2022) vs. Google Pixel 6 Pro
The Google Pixel 6 Pro is the closest-in-price Google-made competitor to the Apple iPhone SE (2022), although the Pixel 6 Pro outprices the iPhone SE by at least more than $400.
The basic Pixel 6 Pro comes with double the memory of the iPhone SE, at 128 GB to the iPhone’s 64 GB. The Pixel 6 and the iPhone SE are both available in three colors, but the Pixel’s more recently updated body might be appealing to users who care more about aesthetics, because iPhones are all the same design. Camera enthusiasts will note that the Pixel 6 Pro has three rear cameras, including ultrawide and telephoto cameras, while the iPhone SE has only one wide rear camera.
Conversely, professional reviewers agree that the Pixel 6 Pro’s battery life is disappointing, especially compared with other smartphones, such as the iPhone SE, which offers 15 hours of continuous video streaming compared to 9 hours on a Pixel 6 Pro. And because the iPhone SE operates on Apple’s most up-to-date processor, its performance and speed make it a solid choice for users who aren’t as concerned about using it for photos or videos.
Samsung Galaxy Z Flip3 »
Best Cell Phone of 2022
- Base Price
-
$959.99
- Storage
- 128 GB, 256 GB
- 5G Capability
- Yes
- Dust Resistance
- No
- Water Resistance
- 1.5 meter for 30 min
Apple iPhone SE (2022) vs. Samsung Galaxy Z Flip3
The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip3 is an Android phone with a lot of bells and whistles, so it makes sense that it’s priced significantly higher than the $429.00 Apple iPhone SE (2022), at $959.99 for a basic phone. Users will also get quite a few extras with the Galaxy Z Flip3 compared to the iPhone SE.
Unlike the iPhone SE, which has a bar-shaped phone body, the Galaxy Z Flip3 features a foldable screen in a body that “flips” open and shut in a clamshell fashion. You can use the phone split-screen style, which provides more multitasking opportunities than most other phones. The Galaxy Z Flip3 features an AMOLED screen that uses a 120 Hz refresh rate, providing clearer, brighter images than you’ll find on the iPhone SE’s LED screen with its 60 Hz refresh rate.
That said, the iPhone SE runs on Apple’s latest processor, so in terms of basic smartphone speed and performance, it’s equal to the Galaxy Z Flip3, but is more affordable. When a low replacement cost outweighs screen display and other features, then the iPhone SE is a clear alternative to the Galaxy Z Flip3.
How do I buy an Apple cell phone?
iPhones are available to purchase directly from Apple, either online or at an Apple Store. You can also purchase an iPhone from cell phone carriers and from most major electronics outlets and vendors, including warehouse discount stores, such as Costco. Amazon.com and other online-only retail stores are another way to find and purchase an iPhone. You do not need an active cell phone plan to purchase an iPhone, however. If you don’t currently have a mobile phone plan, then you can purchase a prepaid Apple phone, which does not require a carrier plan to activate or use, at retailers such as Walmart or Target. If you do have a mobile phone plan, you may be able to finance an upgrade to an iPhone through your carrier, which will add a monthly surcharge to your bill.
Does Apple offer a warranty for its cell phones?
Apple offers a limited one-year warranty for the iPhone, which covers manufacturing issues only. Apple also provides a 90-day guarantee for any services or replacement parts provided, which extends to the remaining term of either your limited warranty or your AppleCare+ plan (available for an additional fee) if your warranty or AppleCare+ plan will cover your phone for longer than 90 days. For more complete coverage, which includes loss, theft, and damage beyond manufacturer’s defects, you will need to subscribe to an AppleCare+ plan. You can get your phone serviced by making an appointment at your nearest Apple Store, mailing your iPhone in for repair, or scheduling an onsite service at your house.
Does Apple offer good customer support?
If you need help with your iPhone, you can contact Apple’s customer support online, download the Apple Support app, or make an appointment at an Apple Store’s brick-and-mortar Genius Bar, where a staff member will sit down with you and help you troubleshoot any issues. The website offers a number of support articles, as well as a live chat option, or you can call the customer support department directly. Apple will follow up with you via email and provide a case number that you can use to follow your device’s support journey.
Does Apple have a good voice assistant?
Siri, Apple’s voice assistant, was the first smartphone voice assistant (introduced in 2011) and activates when users say “Hey Siri” while within hearing distance of an unlocked iPhone. Users can program Siri with different voices, both male and female. Siri performs automated and hands-free tasks, remembers your relationships with your important contacts (e.g., “Jane Smith is your mother”), and suggests improvements to your iPhone setup.
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