iPhone SE (2022) vs. iPhone 13: All the differences (2024)

Apple's latest reshuffling of the iPhone lineup means an iPhone SE (2022) vs. iPhone 13 comparison is especially relevant. If you're debating which of the best iPhones to buy, you'll likely notice that both of these models sport the same processor. That means you can expect comparable performance no matter which one you get.

That's a big mark in favor of the newly announced iPhone SE (2022). After all, this follow-up to the iPhone SE from 2020 still costs hundreds of dollars less than Apple's flagship phone, even with a slight bump in price. For less than $450, you can get an iPhone with the latest processor plus 5G compatibility. What's not to like?

Still, the iPhone 13 is a bit more fully featured than the iPhone SE (2022). That higher price tag buys you an additional rear camera, a bigger and better display and MagSafe compatibility, among other features.

Picking a winner in the iPhone SE (2022) vs. iPhone 13 face-off comes down to whether you want an inexpensive Apple device or one that's got more capabilities. Here's a closer look at how the two phones compare to help you decide which one is the device for you.

iPhone SE (2022) vs. iPhone 13 specs

iPhone SE (2022) vs. iPhone 13 price and availability

As we alluded to above, the iPhone SE (2022) gets a slight price bump from the previous model. It now costs $429, which is $30 more than the iPhone SE (2020). Fortunately, our round-up of the best iPhone SE deals can show you where to save some money.

Even with the slightly higher price, the iPhone SE 2022 still costs $170 less than the $599 iPhone 13 mini. The full-sized iPhone 13 goes for $699 since the iPhone 14 arrived, though the best iPhone 13 deals could lower that price further.

The iPhone SE 2022 may not cost as much as the iPhone 13, but you aren't getting as much storage for your money with the less expensive iPhone. The base model of the iPhone SE features 64GB of storage, compared to 128GB for the iPhone 13. To match the storage on that model, you'd have to pay $479 for a 128GB iPhone SE (2022). There's also a 256GB version for $579, while iPhone 13 storage tops out at 512GB.

iPhone SE (2022) vs. iPhone 13 design

Apple takes two very different approaches when it comes to the design of the iPhone 13 and iPhone SE (2022). The former phone features Apple's modern flat-sided design, with a notched display that otherwise stretches from one end of the handset to the other. Meanwhile, the iPhone SE (2022) turns back to the days of the iPhone 8. There's no notch, but the phone does feature some prominent bezels at both the top and bottom of the display.

That also means the iPhone SE has space for a fingerprint sensor, allowing Apple's new phone to feature Touch ID support. The iPhone 13 has no such capability, relying entirely on Face ID to unlock your phone and verify mobile payments. That was a flaw back in the days when we were wearing face masks all the time, but iOS 15.4 is improving Face ID to recognize your face when you're wearing a mask. So Touch ID won't be as big an advantage for the iPhone SE as it might have been at this time last year.

In terms of materials, the iPhone SE and iPhone 13 use the same glass and aluminum materials. Neither phone offers a headphone jack, and both support wireless charging. Only the iPhone 13 has the necessary magnets to support MagSafe connectivity and 15W wireless charging, though.

iPhone SE (2022) vs. iPhone 13 display

Besides the lack of a notch on the iPhone SE (2022), the biggest noticeable difference between these two phones lies in the size of their screens. The iPhone SE sports a 4.7-inch panel, the smallest display you can get on an iPhone — the iPhone 13 mini has a 5.4-inch screen — which will make this an appealing option for fans of the best small phones. The iPhone 13 is positively gargantuan in comparison, with a 6.1-inch display.

It's not just the size of the screens that differs, though. Apple switched to OLED panels with the iPhone 12 family, so the iPhone 13 continues to use OLED for its screen. The iPhone SE (2022) features an LCD panel, which means that blacks will be blacker and contrasts better on the iPhone 13. Both phones still refresh at a 60Hz rate, as Apple reserves fast-refreshing displays for its Pro phones.

Looking at our test results, the iPhone 13's display is unsurprisingly brighter, with a max brightness of 795 nits to the iPhone SE's 596 nits. Curiously it has lower color accuracy; with a Delta-E result of 0.26 to the iPhone SE's 0.21 (lower is better), and lower color gamut coverage 78.1% of the DCI-P3 gamut compared to the iPhone SE's 81.2%.

iPhone SE (2022) vs. iPhone 13 cameras

The other noticeable difference between the iPhone SE and the iPhone 13 is visible when you flip over the phones. While the iPhone 13 features a pair of cameras — one's a wide-angle lens, the other is an ultrawide one — you just get a single camera with the iPhone SE. That feature's a holdover from the iPhone SE (2020). That means you won't be able to switch to an ultrawide view on the iPhone SE should you want to include more of the background in a photo.

There's another missing feature with the iPhone SE (2022), but it's not visible to the naked eye. There's no Night mode support on the new phone — a rather important omission given that other phones in the SE's price range offer that capability. So does the iPhone 13, so if you like taking photos in low light, the iPhone SE (2022) shouldn't be your first choice.

That said, the processing power Apple includes with the iPhone SE — more on that in a moment — supports other computational photography features that help iPhones rank among the best camera phones. The iPhone SE supports Smart HDR 4 for better results in challenging lighting as well as Deep Fusion for calling out details in shots. The Photographic Styles feature Apple introduced with the iPhone 13 — think of these as real-time filters — also appears on the iPhone SE (2022).

Up front, the iPhone 13's 12MP TrueDepth camera has better resolution than the 7MP front camera on the iPhone SE. That likely means sharper video chats if you're using the iPhone 13.

iPhone SE (2022) vs. iPhone 13 performance

When Apple releases a new iPhone SE model, it typically uses the same chipset that powered the flagship phones arriving the previous fall. For the iPhone SE (2022), that means the same A15 Bionic silicon featured in the iPhone 13.

As we see in the benchmark results below, the SE actually manages to outscore the 13 on the Geekbench 5 CPU benchmark. However the iPhone 13 manages to beat the SE by a few points on both versions of 3DMarks' Wild Life GPU benchmark, as well as on our custom Adobe Premiere Rush encoding test.

Both phones offer 5G connectivity — a new development for the iPhone SE. However, Verizon customers should note that the iPhone SE (2022) does not support mmWave-based 5G. While Verizon is rolling out high-speed C-Band 5G to more areas, its early 5G efforts were centered around mmWave. According to other reports, the iPhone SE (2022) also won't work with AT&T's upcoming 3.45GHz 5G spectrum. iPhone 13 owners don't have to worry about these caveats.

iPhone SE (2022) vs. iPhone 13 battery life and charging

Apple doesn't disclose battery sizes, but thanks to teardowns we know that the iPhone SE 2022 has a 2,018 mAh battery and the iPhone 13 has a 3,227 mAh battery. The smaller iPhone 13 mini's battery is 2,438 mAh in capacity.

The iPhone 13 managed a battery life test result 10 hours and 33 minutes using our custom process that forces the phone to browse the web over 5G until it dies. On the same test, the iPhone SE lasted 7 hours and 38 minutes. That's pretty poor, as even the iPhone 13 mini, which has the worst battery life of all iPhone 13 models, got to 8 hours and 54 minutes.

The iPhone SE (2022) supports 20W charging, the same speed as the iPhone 13, but the iPhone 13 also supports up to 15W wireless charging when using a MagSafe-compatible charging device. The iPhone SE can only manage up to 5W.

In our charging test, the iPhone SE filled to 61% in half an hour when charged at 20W. The iPhone 13 got to 51% in the same time, and the iPhone 13 mini to 58%. You'll fill the iPhone SE faster using the same maximum charging speed, but it will drain quicker too as we saw before.

Neither the iPhone ships with a charger, supposedly in the name of avoiding e-waste. You'll need to use your own charger or go buy a new one separately.

iPhone SE (2022) vs. iPhone 13 software and special features

Besides performance, here's an area where the iPhone SE and the iPhone 13 are pretty evenly matched. That's because both phones run iOS 15, with both able to upgrade to the newer iOS 16.

That means the same features iPhone 13 users enjoy will be available to iPhone SE (2022) owners, especially since both phones feature that A15 Bionic processor. One exception is Cinematic mode, which the iPhone SE can't use because it only has one rear camera.

The identical chipset in both phones also means that the iPhone SE is likely to remain supported by Apple for however long the iPhone 13 receives software updates. Typically, that's been for about five years, though it's worth noting that the original iPhone SE released in 2016 is still able to run Apple's latest iPhone software.

iPhone SE (2022) vs. iPhone 13 verdict

Deciding whether the iPhone SE or iPhone 13 is right for you depends mostly on your budget and just how important mobile photography and big displays are to you.

If you balk at spending big bucks on a phone, the iPhone SE (2022) is your ideal Apple handset. You won't find a cheaper model in Apple's lineup. And you don't have to sacrifice performance or 5G connectivity to get the low price tag. The phone will also appeal to anyone who likes their handsets compact, since it's smaller than even the iPhone 13 mini.

But the iPhone 13 with its two rear cameras is going to be a better camera phone option. It's also got a longer battery life, and its 6.1-inch display is not only larger but brighter. All those factors tilt the scale toward the iPhone 13, but the iPhone SE's low cost gives it a definite appeal.