Home Phone comparison Apple iPhone SE (2020) and Apple iPhone XS - Which is better?

Apple iPhone SE (2020) vs Apple iPhone XS

52 out 100
Apple iPhone SE (2020)
VS
52 out 100
Apple iPhone XS
Apple iPhone SE (2020)
Apple iPhone XS

Compared 2 smartphones : Apple iPhone SE (2020) Manufactured in April, 2020, with display 4.7 with chipsetApple A13 Bionic, vs Apple iPhone XS, Manufactured in September, 2018with chipsetApple A12 Bionic. Below are specs, tests, pros and cons for each device

  1. Differences
  2. Review
  3. Specs
  4. Benchmarks
  5. Battery Life
  6. Cameras
  7. Comments (0)

Key Differences

Device key advantages
Reasons to choose Apple iPhone SE (2020)
  • Lighter design: 148g vs 177g
  • Includes charger
  • Fingerprint scanner
Reasons to choose Apple iPhone XS
  • Larger display: 5.8in
  • Higher pixel density: 458ppi
  • Higher battery capacity: 2658mAh vs 1821mAh

Versions

Available versions and configurations
Memory Options - 3/64 GB
- 3/128 GB
- 3/256 GB		 - 4/64 GB
- 4/256 GB
- 4/512 GB

Review

Key Specs Apple iPhone SE (2020) and Apple iPhone XS
Display
Color accuracy, sharpness & brightness
Camera
Main & front camera tests
Performance
App & system performance
Games
3D gaming performance
Battery
Battery life, charging speed & type
Connectivity
Connectivity features
NanoReview Score
Overall score by NanoReview
Adjust each parameter’s importance to find the best match for you.
Customize your score
Function
Importance (Weight)
Display:
Camera:
Performance:
Gaming:
Battery:
Connectivity:
Higher weight means greater impact on NanoReview score.

Tests & specs

Specs & test comparison
Smartphones:
iPhone SE (2020)
vs
Apple iPhone XS

Display

Display quality comparison
Type IPS LCD OLED
Size 4.7 in 5.8 in
Resolution 750x1334 pixels 1125x2436 pixels
Aspect ratio 16:9 19.5:9
Pixel density 326 ppi 458 ppi
Refresh rate 60 Hz 60 Hz
Adaptive refresh rate No No
Max brightness 625 nits 625 nits
HDR support Yes Dolby Vision Yes Dolby Vision
Touch Sampling Rate n/a 120 Hz
Screen-to-body ratio 65.3 % 81.1 %
Features DCI-P3 DCI-P3
Display test
Peak brightness (auto)
Apple iPhone SE (2020)
655 nits
Apple iPhone XS
635 nits
sRGB gamut99.9 %98.8 %
PWM (Flicker)n/a240 Hz
Response time29 ms4.4 ms
Contrast2457:1∞ Infinite
Sources: NotebookCheck [Apple iPhone SE (2020)], [Apple iPhone XS]

Design & Build

Design and ergonomics comparison
Height 138.4 mm (5.45 in) 143.6 mm (5.65 in)
Width 67.3 mm (2.65 in) 70.9 mm (2.79 in)
Thickness 7.3 mm (0.29 in) 7.7 mm (0.3 in)
Weight 148 g (5.22 oz) 177 g (6.24 oz)
Water resistance IP67 IP68
Back panel Glass Glass
Frame Metal Metal
Colors - White
- Black
- Red		 - Silver
- Gold
- Gray
Fingerprint sensor Yes In-Button No
Screen-to-body ratio
Apple iPhone SE (2020)
65.3 %
Apple iPhone XS
81.1 %

Performance

Testing Apple iPhone SE (2020) and Apple iPhone XS In benchmarks
Processor
Chipset Apple A13 Bionic Apple A12 Bionic
Max Frequency 2650 MHz 2490 MHz
CPU Cores 6 (2 + 4) 6 (2 + 4)
Architecture - 4/1.6 (Thunder)
- 2/2.65 (Lightning)		 - 4/1.6 (Tempest)
- 2/2.49 (Vortex)
Process TSMC TSMC
Transistor Size 7 nm 7 nm
Neural Processor Apple Neural Engine Neural Engine
Graphics Apple A13 GPU Apple A12 GPU
GPU Cores 256 256
GPU Frequency 1230 MHz 1100 MHz
FLOPS 629.8 GFLOPS 576 GFLOPS
GeekBench v6
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Apple iPhone SE (2020)
1612
Apple iPhone XS
1307
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
Apple iPhone SE (2020)
4209
Apple iPhone XS
3447
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)16121307
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)42093447
AnTuTu 10
AnTuTu 10
Apple iPhone SE (2020)
800585
Apple iPhone XS
733639
CPU196968202576
GPU317041217548
Memory122258146853
UX164318166662
NanoReview Score800585733639
3DMark Wild Life
3DMark Wild Life
Apple iPhone SE (2020)
6872
Apple iPhone XS
5698
Max Surface Temp.44.3 °C44.8 °C
Stability68 %63 %
Graphics Test41 fps34 fps
Graphics Score68725698
Sources: 3DMark [Apple iPhone SE (2020)], [Apple iPhone XS]

Memory

RAM
RAM Size 3 GB 4 GB
Memory Type LPDDR4X LPDDR4X
Memory Frequency n/a 2133 MHz
Channels 2 2
Storage
Storage Capacity- 64 GB
- 128 GB
- 256 GB		- 64 GB
- 256 GB
- 512 GB
Storage TypeNVMeNVMe
Memory CardNoNo

Software

OS iOS 13 (Upgradeable to iOS 18.3.2) iOS 12 (Upgradeable to iOS 18.3.2)
OS Size 8.4 GB 11.8 GB

Battery

Volume 1821 mAh 2658 mAh
Max Charging Power 18 W 15 W
Battery Type Li-ion Li-ion
Removable No No
Wireless Charging Yes Qi (7.5 W) Yes Qi (10 W)
Reverse Charging No No
Fast Charging Yes (55% in 60 min) Yes (50% in 60 min)
Full Charge Time 2:32 h 2:40 h
Battery Life Test
Battery Life
Apple iPhone SE (2020)
16:40
Apple iPhone XS
16:06
Web Browsing06:52 h05:44 h
Video Playback10:09 h09:44 h
Games03:33 h03:54 h
Standby Mode79 h84 h

Main camera

Matrix 12 MP 12 MP
Photo resolution 4032x3024 pixels 4032x3024 pixels
Zoom Digital Optical, 2x
Flash Quad LED Quad LED
Stabilization Optical Optical
8K Recording No No
4K Recording Yes (Up to 60 fps) Yes (Up to 60 fps)
1080p Recording Yes (Up to 60 fps) Yes (Up to 60 fps)
Slow Motion 240 fps (1080p) 240 fps (1080p)
Lenses count Standard: 12 MP Standard: 12 MP
Telephoto: 12 MP
Features Bokeh effect - Bokeh effect
- Pro mode
- RAW support
Main lens
Matrix12 MP12 MP
Aperturef/1.8f/1.8
Focal length28 mm26 mm
SensorApple iSight CameraApple iSight X
Sensor size1/31/2.55
Pixel size1.22 μm1.4 μm
AutofocusPhase autofocusPhase autofocus (Dual Pixel)
StabilizationOpticalOptical
Telephoto
Matrixn/a12 MP
Aperturen/af/2.4
Focal lengthn/a52 mm
Sensor sizen/a1/3.4
Pixel sizen/a1 μm
Stabilizationn/aOptical
Main camera DxOMark results
Photo quality
Apple iPhone SE (2020)
103
Apple iPhone XS
n/a
Video quality
Apple iPhone SE (2020)
98
Apple iPhone XS
n/a
Overall camera score
Apple iPhone SE (2020)
101
Apple iPhone XS
n/a
Sources: DxOMark [Apple iPhone SE (2020)]

Front camera

Matrix 7 MP 7 MP
Photo resolution 3088x2320 pixels 3088x2316 pixels
Aperture f/2.2 f/2.2
Focal length 32 mm 32 mm
Sensor CMOS CMOS
Pixel size 1 μm 1.12 μm
Autofocus Phase autofocus Phase autofocus
Stabilization Digital Digital
Video resolution 1080p (Full HD) at 30 fps 1080p (Full HD) at 30 fps
TOF 3D sensor No No
Selfie camera DxOMark results
Photo quality
Apple iPhone SE (2020)
103
Apple iPhone XS
n/a
Video quality
Apple iPhone SE (2020)
122
Apple iPhone XS
n/a

Connectivity

Wi-Fi version Wi-Fi 6 (802.11 b/g/n/ac/ax) Wi-Fi 5 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac)
Wi-Fi features - Dual Band
- Wi-Fi Hotspot
- Wi-Fi Display		 - Dual Band
- Wi-Fi MiMO
- Wi-Fi Direct
- Wi-Fi Hotspot
- Wi-Fi Display
Bluetooth version 5 5
Bluetooth features LE, A2DP SPP, PBAP/PAB, PAN, OPP, MAP, LE, HSP, HID, HFP, HDP, GAP, GAVDP, DIP, AVRCP, A2DP
USB type No No
USB version 2 2
USB features - Charging
- USB Storage Mode
- OTG		 - Charging
- USB Storage Mode
- OTG
GPS - GPS
- GLONASS
- Beidou
- Galileo		 - GPS
- GLONASS
- Beidou
- Galileo
NFC* Yes Yes
Infrared Port No No
Connectivity
SIM Count*11
SIM TypeNanoNano
SIM ModeDual SIM Standbyn/a
eSIM Support *YesYes
Hybrid SlotNoNo
2G BandsGSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900GSM 850, GSM 900, GSM 1800, GSM 1900
3G BandsHSDPA 850 / 900 / 1700(AWS) / 1900 / 2100HSDPA 850, HSDPA 900, HSDPA 1900, HSDPA 2100
LTE Bands*LTE (B1/B2/B3/B4(1700/B5/B7/B8/B12/B13/B17/B18/B19/B20/B25/B26/B28/B29/B30/B34/B38/B39/B40/B41/B66(1700/B2100))LTE (B700/B800/B850/B900/B1700/B1800/B1900/B2100/B2600)
LTE category1616
5G SupportNoNo

Sound

Speakers Stereo Stereo
3.5 mm Jack No No
FM Radio No No
Dolby Atmos Yes Yes
Speaker Test
Max Volume
Apple iPhone SE (2020)
86.4 dB
Apple iPhone XS
87.3 dB

Other

Class Mid-range Flagship
Announced April, 2020 yr September, 2018 yr
Release Date April, 2020 yr September, 2018 yr
Launch Price ($) 399 1000
Sensors - Barometer
- Proximity Sensor
- Gyroscope
- Accelerometer
- Ambient Light Sensor
- Compass
- Fingerprint sensor		 - Barometer
- Proximity Sensor
- Gyroscope
- Accelerometer
- Ambient Light Sensor
- Compass
- Face Sensor
Charger Included Yes 5 W n/a
* Attention! Config, frequencies, NFC, and other specs may vary by region.

Results

No clear favorite identified yet; updates may follow as new data arrives.

Survey

Which smartphone would you pick?
1 (50%)
1 (50%)
Total Votes: 2

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