iPhone SE vs XR vs 11 - cheapest iPhone buying Guide

iPhone SE vs XR vs 11 – Choose the Best

May 16, 2020
by Arunyuvaraj
11 min read
16,590 Comments

The current iPhone lineup is genuinely confusing because you have three less expensive models: the all new iPhone XE 2020, the 2018’s iPhone XR, and the 2019’s iPhone 11. It is a tough choice for any iPhone enthusiasts to pick one. Which iPhone should I buy? I was wondering the same thing and came up with this interesting post for all you Apple fanboys and fangirls. 

Today we are going to compare the all new 2020 iPhone SE with the previous years less expensive models, iPhone XR and iPhone 11. We are going to look at a wide variety of things including stuff that you can’t just figure out by the spec sheet and we will see which one you should put your money on. Let’s jump right into the comparison of the all new Apple iPhone SE vs XR vs 11. 

Display

This is where you get to see the real difference, as the iPhone SE comes with a huge top, and bottom bezel whereas the iPhone XR, and iPhone 11 comes with a fairly thick bezel along its borders and the Face ID cutout at the top. Size is going to be the deciding factor for most of us who are confused between the three less expensive iPhone SE vs XR vs 11 available now. 

All the three iPhones have the same LCD display but the screen size is different. Both the iPhone XR and 11 share the same 6.1” LCD, 1792*828 pixel resolution with 326 ppi and rounded corners. The new iPhone SE 2020 comes with a 4.7” LCD, 1334*750 pixel resolution with 326 ppi and squared off corners. All the three iPhones share the peak brightness level at 625 nits. As the response rate is identical in all the 3 phones, apart from the size you will not notice any difference with the screen usage.

All the displays have true tone technology which dynamically changes the color temperature either a little bit cooler, bluer, warmer or redder depending on your environment. So if you are outside on a cool winter day, it is going to be a little bit bluer to match the environment around you. 

Well the weird advantage here for the iPhone SE, though, is that you can reach all corners of the display without any hassle whereas it is a bit difficult in the full screen models. However, the media consumption is better in the bigger models, thanks to the fullscreen display and better audio experience. 

Touch ID vs Face ID

Another major difference here is that iPhone SE comes with a touch ID whereas both the iPhone XR and 11 comes with a face ID to unlock. As we are all covering the face due to the COVID19 pandemic situation across the globe, the touch ID makes perfect sense even in 2020. That’s one area the touch ID becomes a sheer advantage. 

If you love flaunting your iPhone, just by looking at it and flicking it up to get to the home page, it is here with the touch ID without any compromise in the speed. Both the iPhone 11 and iPhone XR come with the tap-to-wake feature which is absent in the iPhone SE. The latter comes with the raise-to-wake feature, which is not bad either. 

Camera

Both the iPhone XR and iPhone SE losses this round to the much expensive iPhone 11. iPhone 11 comes with an extra lens and a complete camera module. The camera bump here is also really minimal. Apple did a great job with the finish here because even with huge sensors, it tends to keep a lower camera bump. 

iPhone 11 comes with a superior front facing camera, with better camera module and better video recording capability of shooting up to 4k at 60 fps. You can actually get wider with this when you have more people to cover which is nice as the other two iphones can’t do that. It is also sad that iPhone 11 is the only one among the three to take night mode shots. As we know the result, It is only fair to continue the segment  by comparing iPhone SE vs iPhone XR. 

iPhone XR gets a 12 MP rear facing camera with f/1.8 aperture and a 7 MP front facing camera with f/2.2 aperture. iPhone SE sports the same old camera system from the iPhone 8 with 12 MP, f/1.8 aperture in the rear and 7 MP, f/2.2 aperture in the front. But the SE gets the latest camera module from the 11 series which is far superior to use. iPhone SE also retains the Smart HDR from the iPhone 11 series which boosts the image quality to a greater extent. 

In iPhone SE, selfies are great, thanks to the advanced software used which is not in the iPhone XR. Even though it doesn’t have the sensor rating, iPhone SE can do pretty much all the portrait effects just like iPhone 11 but only for humans. In SE and XR, you will get “no person detected” notification on the camera screen if you try to take a portrait of other things or animals. iPhone 11 can do portrait shots of almost anything you throw at them. 

Even Though the front facing cameras are the same 7 MP in iPhone XR and SE, iPhone SE can only do 1080p videos at 30 fps whereas in iPhone XR, it is 60 fps. The rear camera does extended dynamic range video in 4k but only up to 30 fps like the XR, not 60 fps like the 11. The iPhone SE’s camera is identical to the one in iPhone XR but comes with better software, and newer hardware for the CPU. Also the SE’s camera bump is thinner when compared to XR. 

If you post mostly on the social media or takes photos with your family and friends but are not too fussy about them, you will be fine with the iPhone SE or XR but if your phone is your primary camera and you know you can never go back in time and get better memories of your most important moments or if you shoot professionally, you want the iPhone 11. 

Processor

Okay, here is where things are getting interesting. As classic as a new iPhone SE is on the outside, it is all new under the hood. In other words, it has the exact same A13 bionic chipset, the same custom processor, graphics, neural engine, accelerator blocks and controllers as the iPhone 11 series.  

The iPhone 11 has 4 gigabytes of memory whereas the iPhone SE and iPhone XR has only 3 gigs. The iPhone XR has a previous generation A12 bionic. It is still one of the best chipsets on the market because Apple is still way ahead of the market but it is not just quite as highly performing or as highly efficient as the iPhone SE or the iPhone 11. 

You can have a whole lot of discussion about which is faster in between A12 vs A13? Of course, the latest A13 version is going to be the fastest but it doesn’t mean that the A12 bionic is inferior. In the day to day life, you are not going to notice any difference in performance. Does the A13 enable more computational photography features? Is it the most powerful chip ever produced? For sure, it is. But the A12 is also really fast and faster than all the latest androids out there. Even Though there are some differences, this is not going to be the dealbreaker. The phones are faster regardless; think about the processor as an afterthought. 

Battery

Even Though the chipset in the iPhone XR is a year older and the chipsets in the iPhone SE and 11 are the same, the battery life is a totally different story. Battery life is also going to be the deciding factor here. 

With the iPhone SE because it is fairly small, we have a 1821mAH battery which will get upto 4-5 hrs of screen on time(SOT) for regular usage. iPhone XR with its 2942 mAH battery gives an incredible 7 hrs of SOT even with heavy usage. With a bigger battery size of 3110 mAH, the iPhone 11 is going to give us 7 plus hours of SOT. 

It just depends on what you are doing with your phone and how you are using it, expect to charge it a little bit more – especially with the iPhone SE due to the smaller battery size, you are going to charge your phone a little bit faster. 

But if you do everything on your phone, including a lot of social networking and gaming, you need it to last as long as possible between charges, and battery life is a big concern, you will want the iPhone XR or the iPhone 11.  

Wireless charging 

All the three devices get wireless charging with them which allows you to plop down that iPhone on any Qi enabled charging mat which is pretty much all of them and  charge your phone without any wires. 

Fast Charging

And on the flip of that, a big asterisk with this one as they all support 18W fast charging. So if you have a power brick, all these phones can go from 0 to 50% in 30 minutes which is really fast. It would have been great if Apple had provided them out of the box. 

Water resistance

All these iPhones have water resistance and again the most expensive iPhones are going to get the best in terms of the water level and the amount of time they can be soaked(ofcourse, accidentally). 

IPhone SE is splash, water and dust resistant with an IP67 rating and can hold its breath in a maximum depth of 1m up to 30 minutes under water. iPhone XR shares the same IP67 rating and other numbers whereas iPhone 11 comes with a better IP68 rating. 

Colors 

The all new iPhone SE comes in three colors: white, black and (Product) Red. iPhone XR comes in 6 colors: white, black, (Product)red, sky blue, yellow and coral orange. The iPhone 11 again comes in 6 colors: white, black, product(Red), yellow, lavender purple and mint green. So if you are happy with the core three colors of Apple like white, black and Product Red, you will be happy with any of these iphones. The iPhone SE vs XR vs 11 comparison will not be complete without the storage options as they come with the same three different storage options: 64 GB, 128 GB, 256 GB. 

WIFI standards 

There are some differences in the wireless standards due to the processor. iPhone XR supports WiFi 802.1a/b/g/n/ac, which in English is WiFi-5 along with Bluetooth 5.0. But with the iPhone 11 and the iPhone SE, they both support WiFi 802.1a/b/g/n/ac/ax, again in English is WiFi-6, along with Bluetooth 5.0. Thanks to the new A13 Bionic chipset, both the latest iPhones can connect better with any WiFi-6 router network. Check out this article to know the complete differences between WiFi-5 vs WiFi-6.

Verdict

iPhone SE doesn’t have the modern design. It doesn’t have all the colors. It doesn’t have a great battery life and it sure doesn’t have the latest camera setup but it does have the best chipset money can buy that too with an unreal price tag. It comes at a price tag that is 30 percent less than iPhone XR and 40% less than iPhone 11. Sure you get what you pay for. 

That extra few bucks will buy you a modern design, more color options, longer battery life and on the iPhone 11, better camera systems plus a few bells and whistles like the U1 ultra wideband chip that might be way more useful in the future. But sometimes you really don’t have to pay a lot for what you really need. Those extra few bucks can stay in your pocket or pay for things that are more important. 

If you really don’t care too much about one chipset generation, the XR will do you just fine. If you want the maximum performance right now and also the same to last for as many years as possible, you will want the iPhone SE or the iPhone 11. And if the RAM really really matters, you will have to go with the iPhone 11. 

About the author

Arunyuvaraj

I'm Arunyuvaraj, a techno freak, fascinated about the world of science. I would love to share my knowledge about new gadgets, tech products and automobiles with my friends. Through this blog, I aspire to help more friends.

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