Comparison Apple iPhone SE 2022 128 GB vs Apple iPhone SE 2020 128 GB

The maximum brightness in nits provided by the smartphone display.

The brighter the display, the more readable the picture remains on it under intense ambient light (for example, outdoors on a clear sunny day). Also, high brightness is important for the correct displaying of HDR content. However, a large amount of brightness affects the cost and power consumption of the screen. Manufacturers can specify standard, maximum, and peak brightness values. At the same time, an equal sign cannot be put between the maximum and peak brightness. The first indicates the ability of the screen to produce the specified brightness over its entire area, while the peak one — in a limited area and for a short time (mainly for HDR content).

Percentage of the DCI-P3 colour model coverage by a smartphone screen.

This space has a wider range of colours than the standard sRGB "triangle". In general, the DCI-P3 colour space corresponds to the Adobe RGB model, but with a shift to red. In fact, a high coverage rate means high-quality colour reproduction of the screen and allows finer processing of the images received from the camera of a mobile device.

DxOMark is an independent private research and development centre, which operates a department for evaluating the quality of mobile phone screens. DxOMark tests smartphone displays for comprehensive analysis, from image clarity and responsiveness to artifacts and rendering issues. After passing the test, the smartphone is assigned points for the quality of the screen.

The most popular nowadays are chips from Qualcomm and MediaTek, CPUs from Unisoc are slightly less common. Qualcomm has several processors of each series, namely Snapdragon 778G, Snapdragon 7 Gen 1, Snapdragon 7+ Gen 2, Snapdragon 7s Gen 2, Snapdragon 7 Gen 3, Snapdragon 7+ Gen 3, Snapdragon 865, Snapdragon 870, Snapdragon 888, Snapdragon 8 Gen 1, Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1, Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, Snapdragon 8s Gen 3. And Mediatek has a low cost series MediaTek Helio P and a line of advanced chipsets MediaTek Dimensity (Dimensity 1000, Dimensity 7000, Dimensity 8000, Dimensity 9000).

Knowing the name of the CPU model installed in the smartphone, you can find detailed data on a particula...r CPU and evaluate its level and general capabilities. This is especially true in light of the fact that these capabilities depend not only on the number of cores and clock speed, but also on the specific nuances of the design.

The clock frequency of the CPU that the device is equipped with. For multi-core processors, which are standard in modern smartphones, the frequency of each individual core is implied; and if the processor has cores with different frequencies (see "Number of cores") — usually, the maximum indicator is given.

In general, high performance smartphones have high frequency of the processor. However, note that this parameter itself is not directly related to the capabilities of the CPU: many other features of the chip affect the actual performance, and often a low cost solution with a higher clock speed turns out to be less performant than an expensive one, and at the same time, presumably, more "slow" processor. In addition, the overall performance of the system directly depends on a whole set of other factors — primarily the amount of RAM. Therefore, when evaluating a smartphone, it is worth focus not so much on the frequency of the processor, but on the general specs of the system and visual indicators like the results in tests (see below).

The parameter determines the overall performance of the smartphone: the more RAM, the faster the device works and the better it copes with an abundance of tasks and / or resource-intensive applications (ceteris paribus). This is even more true in light of the fact that large amounts of "RAM" are usually combined with powerful advanced processors. However, only devices with identical operating systems can be directly compared with each other, and in the case of Android, with the same versions and editions of this OS (for more on all this, see "Operating system"). This is due to the fact that different operating systems and even different versions of the same OS can differ markedly in terms of RAM requirements. For example, iOS, thanks to good optimization for specific devices, is able to work efficiently with 3 GB of RAM. For modern versions of Android in the regular edition (not Go Edition), the mentioned 3 GB is actually the required minimum. Under such an OS, it is better to have at least 4 GB or 6 GB of RAM. In high-end devices with powerful electronic "stuffing" you can also find more impressive numbers - 8 GB or even 12 GB or more.

The type of random access memory (RAM) installed in the smartphone.

All modern devices use LPDDR format RAM ( LPDDR4, LPDDR4x, LPDDR5, LPDDR5x, LPDDR5T). In addition to its miniature size, it differs from regular computer RAM by supporting special data transfer formats (16- and 32-bit memory buses). But the versions of such memory can be different:

— LPDDR3. The earliest generation of LPDDR of the current ones — presented in 2012, implemented in devices since 2013. Standardly operates at speeds up to 1600 MT/s (megatransactions per second) and a frequency of up to 933 MHz; the “enhanced” version supports speeds up to 2133 MT/s. Nowadays, this standard is rare, mainly among outdated mobile devices.

— LPDDR4. The successor to LPDDR3, officially presented in August 2014 (although the first hardware developments were released back in late 2013). The operating speed, compared to its predecessor, has doubled — up to 3200 MT/s; the frequency has grown to 1600 MHz; and the power consumption has decreased by 40%. In addition, the data transfer format has changed — in particular, two 16-bit buses are used instead of one 32-bit, and some security improvements have been introduced into the standard. This memory can be found in some mid-range smartphones. — LPDDR4x. An improved version...of LPDDR4 with reduced power consumption — the standard uses a voltage of 0.6 V instead of 1.1 V. In addition, some improvements have been implemented in this type of RAM, aimed at increasing the speed (it reaches 4266 MT/s) and general optimization of operation — for example, a single-channel mode has appeared for undemanding applications. Thanks to such characteristics, this version of memory has become much more widespread than the original LPDDR4. It can be found in mid-range and top-end devices.

— LPDDR5. Further development of "mobile" RAM, officially announced in early 2019. The operating speed in this version has been increased to 6400 MT/s, a differential signal format has been introduced to improve resistance to interference and errors, and dynamic frequency and voltage control has been implemented to reduce power consumption. The use of such memory modules is typical mainly for high-end smartphones.

— LPDDR5x. A more energy-efficient and faster version of LPDDR5 RAM. Its data transfer rate has been increased to 8533 MT/s, and the peak throughput indicator is up to 8.5 Gbps. The number of memory banks per channel in LPDDR5x is always 16. RAM of this standard is typical for advanced smartphones of the highest grade.

— LPDDR5T. T — means "turbo". The operating speed of the LPDDR5T standard "RAM" has been increased to 9600 MT/s, and devices with such memory modules are approximately 13% faster compared to LPDDR5X. The memory operates in the low voltage range from 1.01 to 1.12 V. The corresponding modules are aimed at use in top mobile devices.

The test results are specified either by a younger model in a line or a particular model, made for a better understanding performance of phone models if you compare phones against these parameters. For example, the 128 GB model has test results, and the 256 GB model has no information on the network, and in both models you will see the same value that will give an understanding of the overall performance of the device. But if the editorial office has information for each model individually, then each model will have its test results filled out, and the model with bigger RAM will have bigger values.

The result shown by a device when undergoing a performance test (benchmark) in AnTuTu Benchmark.

AnTuTu Benchmark is a comprehensive test designed specifically for mobile devices, primarily smartphones and tablets. It evaluates the efficiency of the processor, memory, graphics, and input/output systems, providing a clear impression of the system's capabilities. The higher the performance, the more points are awarded. Smartphones that score over 900K points are considered high-performance according to the AnTuTu ranking.

Like any benchmark, this test does not provide absolute precision: the same device can show different results, usually with deviations within 5-7%. These deviations depend on various factors unrelated to the system itself, such as the device's load from third-party programs and the ambient temperature during testing. Therefore, significant differences between two models can only be noted when the gap in their scores exceeds this margin of error.