Apple iPhone SE

Anyone that owned an iPhone 5 or iPhone 5S will immediately feel at home with the iPhone SE, as the two handsets are identical from the outside. With the slick metal body and squared edges, the impressive thing is that the design looks as fresh today as it did when it was first introduced.

Weighing 113g and at 7.6mm thick, the iPhone SE is exactly the same size as the 5S and is compatible with the same range of cases and covers. While this makes the SE the lightest iPhone currently available, it's actually the thickest.

This doesn't particularly matter, as the thickness makes the handset easier to grip, and it means that the camera sits flush with the rear of the case. Besides, it's the overall size of the handset that counts here, and the iPhone SE is comparatively tiny by today's standards, slipping easily into any pocket. There's plenty of colour choice, too, with the SE available in silver, space grey, gold and rose gold cases; there's a bit of something for everyone. 

Display

Moving back to a 4in screen, Apple has continued with the iPhone 5S' resolution: 1,136x640. This is one of the lowest resolution phones available, but it's important to put this into the context of display sharpness. On this display, the pixel density of 326ppi matches that of the iPhone 6S, which has a resolution of 1,334x750. Both phones are definitely sharp enough, and text looks clear and is easy to read.

Image quality isn't quite as good as Apple's more expensive iPhones, though, but it's a close-run thing. In fact, the iPhone SE's screen performs better than stated: Apple claims maximum brightness of 500cd/m2 and a contrast ratio of 800:1, but I measured the phone at 577cd/m2 and a contrast ratio of 892:1. While this contrast ratio still isn't great, its colour accuracy coverage of 94.6% of the sRGB colour gamut does go some way to make up for it.