iPhone 8 vs iPhone SE (2020)

Is the iPhone 8 still worth buying? It’s really all about the A13 Bionic chip.

The biggest differences between the iPhone 8 vs SE are the processor and camera performance. That’s it. Just those two things, really. But those two factors give you a noticeably better device in the case of the iPhone SE. If you hold the two devices side-by-side, you’ll probably notice that apps/games open slightly faster thanks to the A13 Bionic chip in the iPhone SE (the iPhone 8 has an A11 Bionic chip which is 2 generations older). Granted, this won’t be a huge difference, but it will definitely become more noticeable after a few years. Thanks to the newer hardware, you can expect the iPhone SE to get software updates until 2024 or maybe even longer (!) Yes, Apple is known for its long software support timelines (thank you, Apple!).

Does the iPhone SE have a better camera than the iPhone 8?

If you tear down both of these phones and inspect the components, you’ll notice that both of these phones have the same exact camera sensor. Huh? That may sound surprising, but Apple decided to leave the same sensor inside the iPhone 8 when it designed the iPhone SE. But don’t let this fact deceive you, because the camera in the SE is better than the 8 in every single way. How is this possible? This is thanks to Apple’s software, which makes the iPhone SE’s camera “smarter.” Images will be sharper, colors will look better, and the camera will have a better understanding of the scene and make better decisions in how it develops the image. So if a top-notch camera is important to you, it should be clear that there is no question between the iPhone SE vs iPhone 8.

iPhone 8 vs iPhone SE: which one would we choose?

It really depends on why we are buying the phone. If we are just buying a phone to last us for a couple of years, or we tend to drop our phone a lot and want something cheap that won’t hurt to replace, or budget is our top priority, then the refurbished iPhone 8 will get the job done just fine. But if you’re looking for a phone that will give us the best possible experience in the classic iPhone form factor, the iPhone SE is definitely a better choice. And for this reason, we’re crowning the refurbished iPhone SE as the winner of our iPhone SE vs 8 comparison :)