The Iphone (SE)

The iPhone Special Edition (SE) has the body and screen of an iPhone 5S, but packs it with the processor and rear camera of the iPhone 6S. This puts the performance of a 2016 flagship inside a phone which was considered compact even back in 2013. Does this high-performance, small-size approach make the iPhone SE the hot hatch of the smartphone market? Or have we already evolved to find a 4in screen too small to be comfortable?

I've had this SE for almost two weeks, and I'm really not sure if I have an answer...

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iPhone SE: Design and hardware

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I know that indecisive introduction isn't what we've come to expect from an iPhone review, which is normally shorthand for gushing praise and five shiny (and well-earned) stars. But things are different here. This isn't just the new iPhone; it's a different type of iPhone which is not only the cheapest Apple phone yet, but one which blends old and new like never before.

Finished in Rose Gold, this iPhone SE switches from pink to bronze in different lightIBTimes UK

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What the iPhone SE isn't, is a bargain bin special. Yes, it's convenient and a financial win for Apple to reuse the same body, chassis and screen as the iPhone 5S, but to my eyes that was and still is the most attractive handset Apple has ever made. This compliment can now be aimed at the iPhone SE, which comes in black, silver, gold and Apple's newest colour, Rose Gold.

Lovingly referred to as 'Bros Gold' by male Apple fans who would previously not be seen dead with a pink phone or tablet, the colour has slowly grown on me every day since I started using the SE. It isn't too bright and in some light looks more bronze than pink.

The SE is significantly smaller than the 4.7in iPhone 6IBTimes UK

To hold and examine as a piece of engineering, the iPhone SE is simply beautiful. The angular aluminium body fits in the hand much better than its successors, while the chamfered edges have a completeness to them that a curved handset fails to offer. The phone is nicely weighted without being heavy, is cool to the touch and the perfect size to actually make phone calls with.

iPhone SE: Display

And so to the crux of the matter. The iPhone SE has a 4in screen with a resolution of 640 x 1136 and a pixel density of 326 per inch. All three of those stats make the handset sound prehistoric compared to the 5.5in, Ultra HD screens we have in our pockets today. But hang on, because this was the screen just a few years ago; it was super sharp, huge and all you could ever need.

The iPhone SE misses out on 3D Touch, but is otherwise almost identical, feature-wise, to the iPhone 6SIBTimes UK

It's funny how taste and a sense of perspective change so quickly, but by today's standards the iPhone SE feels tiny. My thumbs kept knocking into each other while typing and even iOS's excellent autocorrect couldn't put right the alphabet soup I was lazily punching into the keyboard. Only after two whole weeks do I now feel comfortable with it.

Anyone who owns both an iPhone and iPad will recognise the weird feeling of seeing the exact same software at very different sizes, and just as switching between an iPhone and iPad feels strange, so too does downgrading from an iPhone 6 to the Special Edition. But, in reality, that isn't the point of the iPhone SE; instead, this is a handset for people to take their first steps into Apple's ecosystem.

Whether the screen is too small is a matter of taste and opinion, but I wish Apple had upped the quality. The resolution is fine, but the black border around the edge and gap between the glass and display panel itself make the SE feel a step below the 6S. Then again, the £200 price difference couldn't hide forever.

At 7.6mm, the iPhone SE is thin, but flat edges mean it is comfortable to hold and grip securelyIBTimes UK

The display lacks 3D Touch, which the iPhone 6S uses to measure how firmly you press on the screen, but given the minimal uses 3D Touch has for now, this isn't a great loss for the SE.

iPhone SE: Camera

In better news, the SE gets treated to the same 12-megapixel rear camera as the iPhone 6S, complete with the same f/2.2 aperture, same dual-tone flash, same software and the same ability to take remarkably good photographs.

The SE's 12-megapixel rear camera is the same as that used by the more expensive iPhone 6SIBTimes UK

All iPhones share the simplest camera app on the market, where an automatic mode handles everything for you and seems to always know what you want from each shot. Focusing is fast, light is handled well and video can be shot in 4K with the ability to take 8MP photos simultaneously. There is also a 240 frames-per-second slow-motion feature and Apple's Live Photos, which records a short clip of video before each photo.

The front camera has a 1.2MP sensor, equal to the iPhone 6 but behind the 6S's 5MP. However, an f/2.4 aperture and large pixels mean it can still take high-quality selfies and shoot HD video to keep your Snapchat game on point.

Here's a quick photo I took with the SE. The sky is a little blown out but otherwise, for a shot taken with no setup, it's impressive:

Photo of Limehouse marina, east London, taken with an iPhone SEIBTimes UK

iPhone SE: Software and performance

There are more similarities with the iPhone 6S here. The SE shares Apple's dual-core A9 processor and runs the same iOS 9.3 software, complete with the company's new Night Shift feature, which reduces the amount of sleep-depriving blue light produced by the screen at night.

A single piece of continuous aluminium gives the iPhone SE a timeless and premium designIBTimes UK

Performance is where the SE really begins to shine. The handset flies between applications without a stutter, boots up 3D games with ease and never really feels like it is being pushed to the limit. For what is Apple's cheapest (sorry, most affordable) handset, the flagship-matching performance is a remarkable achievement. Not just technologically, but morally, since Apple isn't exactly known for spoiling buyers of its cheapest products with breakneck performance.

A sticking point is, as ever with Apple, storage. The entry-level SE costs £359 and has just 16GB of internal space; a 64GB version costs £439 and makes far more financial sense, but at this point the £539 iPhone 6S doesn't feel too far away.

Finally, battery life from the comparatively small 1,624mAh battery (little over half that of the HTC 10), is surprisingly good. A full day is easy and 36 hours of normal use is really no effort at all.

Our verdict

Apple iPhone SE

    

I really wanted to love the iPhone SE. From the moment it was announced I just knew it made sense. A compact iPhone with the best design the range has ever had, plus the very best performance and camera, should have made one hell of a handset. To a large extent it does and the SE is very, very good indeed.

But times change. My problem isn't with the iPhone itself, but with how quickly and drastically our perception of a smartphone has changed. A 4.5in screen with the same design would be perfect for me and I really hope Apple does this for its next Special Edition.

Back to today's SE, and the conclusion is simple: This isn't a lesser smartphone, it's simply the range-topping 6S in a different size.

Scores

• Screen: 7/10 - Too cramped by today's standards but otherwise of good mid-range quality and resolution
• Camera: 9/10 - Simple to use and produces excellent photos and video. Lack of manual controls perhaps an issue for some
• Software: 8/10 - Same old iOS means it is comfortable and familiar, but at the risk of starting to feel dated
• Design: 9/10 - My favourite iPhone design ever. Just lovely, and ergonomic too. However, likely too small for some
• Build quality: 9/10 - Feels very solid and well put together. Screen will likely crack when dropped, though
• Overall: 8/10 - Excellent design, software, camera and performance, but a phone which will feel too small for many. Well priced, for an iPhone

The Good:

• Great design
• Well priced
• Excellent camera

The Bad:

• Screen feels old
• Slightly too small
• 16GB minimum storage is disappointing

iPhone 6 review

INTRODUCTIONS :

Update: After upgrading our iPhone 6 to iOS 9 we revisited the handset to see how it was getting on. We've updated our review with the findings, and its new competition in the iPhone SE.

Why do we have the Apple iPhone 6? Well, back in 2013, despite record sales, the Cupertino brand was heading for a fall. The brand had been trading on the same phone for four years, and something big was needed to keep it current.

• Buy Apple iPhone 6 (16GB) at Amazon for $469.00

So with that, the iPhone 6, and its bigger brother, the iPhone 6 Plus, were born to keep Apple at the sharp end of a market that was starting to lust after powerful, big-screen smartphones with clever and premium design.

• Compare: all the best iPhone 6 deals

The iPhone 6 certainly addresses a number of the problems Apple had developed, coming with a much larger screen (although not dramatically increasing the size of the phone) a boosted processor, better camera, improved battery and, crucially, overhauled design. Much of the ground work that went into the iPhone 6S was done here, with the iPhone 6.

This is the sixth iPhone I've reviewed, and there's a distinct sense that this one is really rather different.

I wrote in 2013 that Apple was becoming more aware that the time when it could define what consumers would buy in the smartphone was ending – and with the 4.7-inch screen, it clearly had to admit defeat in the smaller screen market.

There will be some who will miss that 4-inch screen size, maintaining that they don't want a bigger display on their phone – but nearly all of those people won't have spent any appreciable time with a larger device, and I believe that a good portion of you thinking you need a smaller phone will quickly come to appreciate the power a bigger handset brings, without compromising quality.

Apple's now appeased those longing for a new 4-inch handheld though, with the launch of the iPhone SE. It sports the specs of the iPhone 6S, uses the body of the now-discontinued iPhone 5S and sports a lower price tag than the iPhone 6, giving the latter some tough new competition.

The phone fits very well in the hand

But while the iPhone 6 has answered a lot of the problems I've had with previous iterations of Apple's handsets, there are some issues that still swirled when I handled the phone for the first time – and many of them persist even now that the iPhone 6 has been superseded.

Why did Apple decide to not join the masses with a really high-res screen? Why is the iPhone 6 still one of the most expensive phones on the market? Has Apple done enough to improve the quite dire battery life of previous models, especially at a time when many high-end Android phones are easily chugging through a day's hard use without thirsting for a charger's caress?

Let's take a quick look at the price – and it's not pretty.

At launch you were looking at £539 for the 16GB version, £619 for the 64GB option and £699 for the 128GB model.

That's since dropped to US$549 (£459, AU$929) for the 16GB version and US$649 (£539, AU$1,079) for the 64GB option, with the 128GB handset having been discontinued with the arrival of the iPhone 6S.

That's about as much as you'd pay for a brand new Android flagship just a few months after launch, yet the iPhone 6 is no longer the top model in its range.

Then you've got the iPhone SE which has the same features as the newer iPhone 6S for $150 (£100, AU$250) less than the iPhone 6. You'll have to compromise on screen size, but you could get a better phone for less.

Design

Let's take a look at the first thing most people will wonder about before picking up the iPhone 6: how will it actually feel in the hand?

This is a big departure for Apple, marking a time when it's admitted that the industrial, sharp design of the last four iPhone models is a little outdated and needs to up the ergonomics to really compete.

Well, with the Apple iPhone 6 we're looking at one of the thinnest and sleekest handsets in the market – still. It's got a strong combination of metal back (which feels exceptionally premium, borrowing bucketloads of design language from the iPad Air) and the way the screen curves into the chassis gives it a slight lozenge feel.

One of the thinnest phones in the world

The iPhone 6 looks the business, and at 6.9mm thin it's very nice to hold, though the Samsung Galaxy S6 has since edged it out at 6.8mm thick. I do still feel that phones that push harder on ergonomics are a better choice though – the HTC One M9 bows out at the back and fits in the palm a little better – but that's quibbling. This iPhone just feels really well made.

Apple has always favoured a flatter phone than the rest of the market though, and placed on a desk it looks great. It does feel great in the hand too, but as said others impress more if I'm being hyper-critical.

There's also the issue of the large plastic strips that flow through the top and bottom of the device. Given metal is a nightmare material to try and get radio signal to penetrate, these are clearly there to offset that.

The plastic strips detract and are not flush with the chassis

While the plastic does seem to give good signal performance for the most part, it's nothing amazing, and to my eyes they're a little unsightly and ruin the sleek back of the iPhone 6; their presence seems at odds with Apple's design ethos.

The other big design change is to the power button, which has now been moved to the right-hand side of the phone. This makes a lot of sense and, given the phone is now a larger device at 138.1 x 67 x 6.9mm, hitting the top of the handset is a much harder task, so moving the button is the right thing to do.

Like the rest of the exterior buttons, the power key is raised and easy to hit in both left and right hand modes. It's metallic, and crucially doesn't have the same rattle that I criticised on the iPhone 5S.

The new raised buttons

However, that doesn't mean the metallic keys don't have a little wiggle to them. Running your hand up and down the sides idly will result in you noticing a very slight looseness to the power and volume buttons... I'm in danger of being too critical here, but for the price it's not the sort of thing I expect to see.

The other important design change here is the camera now protrudes slightly on the rear of the phone. It's good to see that happening, as it shows that Apple isn't willing to compromise on camera quality in order to just whack in a thinner phone.

The protrusion is a little worrying in that laying the Apple iPhone 6 down flat on a table could see scratches appearing, but the sapphire glass that covers the lens should ensure that's pretty safe.

The camera protrudes but you won't notice it day to day

The rest of the iPhone 6 is very similar to the iPhone 5S, with the speakers at the bottom flanking the Lightning port. Well, I say speakers: it's just the one speaker, but thanks to the slightly elongated bottom of the phone you won't cover it when holding the phone in landscape orientation.

This was irritating when trying to game or watch a movie without headphones on older iPhones – but this upgrade, combined with the lightness of the iPhone 6, means you won't have a similar problem for the most part, as the hands sit lower and free of the speaker generally.

Sadly the headphone port still resides at the bottom of the iPhone 6, meaning you'll still probably get your phone out of your pocket the wrong way around when listening to music.

The iPhone in Space Gray

Going back to the iPhone 6 after a prolonged spell using the iPhone 6S as a daily driver, it's remarkable how much lighter the older phone feels in the hand. You can feel every one of those extra 14 grams, and it's the one area in which the newer iPhone suffers by comparison.

Let me make one thing very clear though: the Apple iPhone 6 is another iconic handset in terms of design for Apple. It's not the best looking on the market (I'm still giving that title to the HTC One M9), but it's definitely right up there, and for the price I'd expect nothing less.

You can pick up the iPhone 6 in Space Gray (the colour I've had on test here), or the more standard Silver. There's no longer a Gold model available, and nor do you get access to the snazzy Rose Gold colour option that debuted with the iPhone 6S.

LG G5 vs Samsung Galaxy S7:

LG G5 vs Samsung Galaxy S7: A rebel and a stunner
GSMARENA TEAM, 29 APRIL, 2016.



Introduction

This is a battle of innovation versus refinement. LG let the designers off the leash and they went wild on the LG G5. Samsung brought in the perfectionists to polish the Galaxy S7.

The G5 is LG's moonshot. It's when a company tries to create the next big thing, instead of turning out sure-fire products. LG rethought everything about how a smartphone is built - from the metal shell to what goes inside it. The modular design is a first in a mainstream phone - it promises unrivaled expansion and customization possibilities, but LG needs a vibrant ecosystem of add-ons to succeed.

 

The Samsung Galaxy S7 is more of a sealed product (literally even, it's waterproof). With it, you get what you get. It's owning up to the mistakes the S6 made, finally giving people what they want. That means the consumers' wants and needs were addressed at the manufacturing stage, instead of waiting on add-ons later.

We find some common features among the two: an Always On screen, the OIS-enabled camera with a bright aperture - but the two phones couldn't have been more different.
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LG G5

Samsung Galaxy S7

Metal all around
Innovative modular design
Secondary wide-angle 135° camera on the back
FM radio and IR blaster
IP68 water and dust resistance
Bigger battery with fast wireless charging
Camera with fast Dual Pixel autofocus
High FPS modes (1080p @ 60fps, 720p @ 240pfs)
Heart rate and SpO2 sensor
You might call the Galaxy S7 a "smartphone distillate". The stuff you need is refined to perfection, while the stuff you don't need (at least the way Samsung sees it) is discarded.

The LG G5 is more of a "what smartphones could be", with complicated build materials and unorthodox design, a step towards the future of the smartphone.

Sony Xperia XA

Sony Xperia XA Ultra hands-on: First look
GSMARENA TEAM, 17 MAY, 2016.


Introduction

Big-screen lovers rejoice! Meet the 6-inch Sony Xperia XA Ultra, the replacement for the popular Xperia C5 Ultra.

With news coming in of the demise of the C and M series, fans of phablets with top-spec'd selfie cameras may have been worried that they'll be left without options. Well, the Xperia XA Ultra is here to address that as a member of the X-series in a "the king is dead, long live the king" kind of fashion.

The new handset takes the C5 Ultra's concept for borderless display, and mates it with the company's updated design for 2016. It's a close relative to the already announced Xperia XA, but not as much as the name would suggest. Yes, it uses the same chipset, but gets a bump in RAM, a higher-res display and higher-res cameras front and back.

And here's the interesting part - the Xperia XA Ultra has two main cameras. That is, Sony refuses to call either the rear or the front shooter primary, as they each serve different purposes. Yes, the rear cam relies on the proven 21.5MP sensor, but the front-facer is a 16MP unit with OIS (no more exclusivity on that, HTC 10). Who's to say landscapes are of greater importance than selfies?

Sony Xperia XA Ultra at a glance:
Edge-to-edge design, 79mm body width
6-inch FullHD display, 367ppi
Mediatek Helio P10 chipset, 3GB of RAM
16GB of built-in storage, microSD expansion
Front camera: 16MP Type 1/2.6" sensor, optical image stabilization, LED flash
Rear camera: 21.5MP Type 1/2.4" sensor, hybrid autofocus with object tracking (not predictive, though), LED flash
Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow
Up to 2-day battery life, quick charge capabilities - 10min charge is enough for 5.5h of use
Graphite black, White, and Lime gold color options
Competing in the midrange, the XA Ultra is targeted at the younger crowd that can appreciate the combination of a large screen and a powerful selfie cam. It's the Asian and Latin markets that have a penchant for those, but the smartphone will be available globally, Sony says.


We got a few short moments with the Xperia XA Ultra.