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How The iPhone SE Is Different From The iPhone 6

by Morgan Brinlee

Apple unveiled the newest iPhone at an event in California on Monday, forcing fanatics of the tech giant to pause and ponder: How do the iPhone SE and iPhone 6 differ? As with any new Apple drop, the rumor mill was ripe with speculation over the iPhone SE for weeks prior to Monday's event. Gossip that the iPhone SE will pack a better tech performance than the iPhone 6 in a slightly smaller package with a budget-friendly price tag has consumers debating whether they should snatch up the newly released model? Like the iPhone 6S, Apple's latest model is a slight step up from the iPhone 6.

It should be noted that the iPhone SE is not meant to replace the iPhone 6s or the iPhone 6, which isn't expected to be retired from the iPhone family until Apple drops the iPhone 7 close to the end of the year. Instead, the iPhone SE is likely going to push the iPhone 5S off the market due to its lower price, $399, and list of performance-oriented features. The release of the iPhone SE isn't expected to affect the price or sale of the iPhone 6S, but it's less clear how the newest model will come to impact the iPhone 6.

Here's how the iPhone SE and the iPhone 6 compare.

In Design And Display

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The iPhone 6 boasts a 4.7-inch Retina HD display screen and a major selling point of the iPhone SE has been its 4-inch Retina display, a plus for consumers looking to return to a more pocket-friendly smartphone size. Although the design of the SE is inspired largely by the iPhone 5s, the new model will have the slim look and curved edges of the iPhone 6. Because the iPhone 6 is now only offered in silver and space gray, consumers will automatically have more options in the iPhone SE, which is being offered in gold and rose gold in addition to silver and space gray.

In Software And Hardware

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In some ways, Apple's iPhone SE will be a few steps ahead of the iPhone 6, housing the same A9 processor and M9 motion co-processor of the iPhone 6s. The iPhone SE is also set to include double the RAM, offering consumers 2 BG compared to the 1 GB the iPhone 6 boasts. The iPhone SE will also offer battery capacity on par with the iPhone 6s, superseding the iPhone 6's 1810mAh battery. Both models will contain Apple Pay and run on iOS 9.

In Price

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Currently, the iPhone 6 retails on the Apple website for $549. Compare that to the $399 price tag for the 16GB iPhone SE and $499 for the 64GB.

In Its Camera

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Despite being pegged the budget member of the Apple family, the iPhone SE is expected to blow the iPhone 6 out of the water with a camera that's on par with the first-rate camera of the iPhone 6s. On the iPhone 6 consumers get an 8-megapixel rear camera and a 1.2-megapixel front camera for slightly grainy selfies. Apple's iPhone SE will contain a 12-megapixel iSight camera (like that of the iPhone 6s) and support for 4K video and Live Photos. It will also offer True Tone Flash for better quality selfies.

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With specs better than the iPhone 6, Apple's iPhone SE will be a powerful new generation of smartphone that offers consumers a compact size without sacrificing any of the performance or power they've come to expect from the latest iPhones. Apple will begin taking orders for the new model Thursday and the phone will be available in stores March 31.