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Apple iPhone SE (2022) Display test

June 3, 2022
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86
display
OTHER AVAILABLE TESTS FOR THIS DEVICE

We put the Apple iPhone SE (2022) through our rigorous DXOMARK Display test suite to measure its performance across six criteria. In this test results, we will break down how it fared in a variety of tests and several common use cases.

Overview

Key display specifications:

  • 4.7 inches LCD IPS
  • Dimensions: 138.4 x 67.3 x 7.3 mm (5.45 x 2.65 x 0.29 inches)
  • Resolution: 1334 x 750 pixels, (~326 ppi density)
  • Refresh rate: 60 Hz
Apple iPhone SE (2022)
86
display
Readability
65

76

Color
89

91

Video
61

91

Motion
79

87

Touch
84

85

Artifacts
73

86

DISPLAY
Position in Global Ranking
44th
1. Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max
99
2. Apple iPhone 13 Pro
98
3. Honor Magic4 Ultimate
95
3. Oppo Find X5 Pro
95
5. Oppo Find X5
94
6. Apple iPhone 13
93
6. Huawei P50 Pro
93
6. Samsung Galaxy S22+ (Exynos)
93
6. Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra (Snapdragon)
93
6. Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra (Exynos)
93
11. Samsung Galaxy S22 (Snapdragon)
92
11. Samsung Galaxy S22 (Exynos)
92
13. Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G (Exynos)
91
13. Vivo X70 Pro+
91
15. Apple iPhone 13 mini
90
15. Google Pixel 6 Pro
90
15. Honor Magic4 Pro
90
15. OnePlus 10 Pro
90
15. Realme GT 2 Pro
90
15. Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G (Snapdragon)
90
15. Samsung Galaxy Note20 Ultra 5G (Snapdragon)
90
22. OnePlus 9 Pro
89
22. OnePlus 8T
89
22. Samsung Galaxy Z Fold3 5G
89
22. Samsung Galaxy Note20 Ultra 5G (Exynos)
89
22. TCL 20 Pro 5G
89
22. Vivo X60 Pro+
89
22. Xiaomi 11T
89
29. Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max
88
29. LG Wing
88
29. OnePlus 9
88
29. OnePlus 8 Pro
88
29. Oppo Find X3 Pro
88
29. Vivo X70 Pro (MediaTek)
88
29. Vivo X60 Pro 5G (Snapdragon)
88
29. Vivo iQOO 9 Pro
88
37. Apple iPhone 12 Pro
87
37. Google Pixel 6
87
37. Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra 5G
87
37. Vivo X51 5G
87
37. Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra
87
37. Xiaomi Mi 11
87
37. Xiaomi 11T Pro
87
44. Apple iPhone SE (2022)
86
44. Oppo Reno6 Pro 5G (Snapdragon)
86
44. Sony Xperia 1 III
86
47. Apple iPhone 12
85
47. Huawei P40 Pro
85
47. Oppo Find X3 Neo
85
47. Xiaomi 12 Pro
85
51. Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max
84
51. Realme GT 5G
84
53. Oppo Reno5 Pro+ 5G
83
53. TCL 10 Pro
83
53. Vivo iQOO 7 Legend
83
53. Xiaomi Mi 11i
83
53. Xiaomi 12
83
58. Asus ROG Phone 5
82
59. Asus Zenfone 8
81
59. Oppo Reno5 Pro 5G
81
59. Realme GT Neo 2 5G
81
62. Motorola Edge 20 Pro
80
62. Oppo Reno6 5G
80
64. Lenovo Legion Y90
79
64. OnePlus Nord 2 5G
79
64. Oppo Find X5 Lite
79
64. Oppo Find X3 Lite
79
64. Samsung Galaxy A52s 5G
79
64. Samsung Galaxy A52 5G
79
70. Sony Xperia 5 II
78
70. ZTE Axon 30 Ultra
78
72. Nubia RedMagic 6 Pro
77
72. Samsung Galaxy A53 5G
77
74. Oppo Find X2 Pro
76
75. Google Pixel 5
74
75. Microsoft Surface Duo
74
75. Nubia RedMagic 7 Pro
74
78. Xiaomi Mi 10 Ultra
73
79. Black Shark 4S Pro
72
79. Black Shark 4 Pro
72
79. Xiaomi Mi 10T Pro 5G
72
82. Asus ROG Phone 3
70
83. Fairphone 4
69
84. Crosscall Action-X5
62
85. Xiaomi Black Shark 3 Pro
61
86. Nokia 8.3 5G
55
87. Lenovo Legion Phone 2 Pro
53
88. Realme C21
43
DISPLAY
Position in High-End Ranking
5th
1. OnePlus 8T
89
1. TCL 20 Pro 5G
89
1. Xiaomi 11T
89
4. Google Pixel 6
87
5. Apple iPhone SE (2022)
86
6. Realme GT 5G
84
7. TCL 10 Pro
83
7. Vivo iQOO 7 Legend
83
9. Oppo Reno5 Pro 5G
81
9. Realme GT Neo 2 5G
81
11. Oppo Reno6 5G
80
12. Oppo Find X5 Lite
79
12. Oppo Find X3 Lite
79
12. Samsung Galaxy A52s 5G
79
12. Samsung Galaxy A52 5G
79
16. Samsung Galaxy A53 5G
77
17. Xiaomi Mi 10T Pro 5G
72
18. Fairphone 4
69
19. Crosscall Action-X5
62

Pros

  • Good color fidelity
  • Smooth adaptation of its white point according to the lighting environment
  • Uniformity in brightness and color
  • Smooth, responsive and accurate touch performance

Cons

  • Lack of brightness under sunlight
  • Lack of brightness and contrast when watching HDR10 videos
  • Significant loss of brightness when viewed from an angle

The Apple iPhone SE (2022) display showed a strong performance overall in our tests. Unlike the other models in Apple’s series of iPhones which come with OLED displays, the Apple iPhone SE (2022) screen is an LCD, and it is the best one we’ve tested so far, outperforming all other LCDs phones in our database in all use cases.
For a high-end phone with a standard 60 Hz refresh rate, we thought the device was great for gaming because of its good smoothness, great touch accuracy, and well-managed aliasing. The device came very close to achieving a top score in the touch attribute.
The display also rendered color very well overall, making it ideal for viewing photos mainly in an indoor environment.
Where we saw a few limitations was in the display’s video performance, mainly because HDR content lacked brightness and contrast.

Test summary

About DXOMARK Display tests: For scoring and analysis in our smartphone and other display reviews, DXOMARK engineers perform a variety of objective and perceptual tests under controlled lab and real-life conditions. Note that we evaluate display attributes using only the device’s built-in display hardware and its still image (gallery) and video apps at their default settings. (For in-depth information about how we evaluate smartphone and other displays, check out our articles, “How DXOMARK tests display quality” and “A closer look at DXOMARK Display testing.”

The following section gathers key elements of our exhaustive tests and analyses performed in DXOMARK laboratories. Detailed performance evaluations under the form of reports are available upon request. Do not hesitate to contact us.

Readability

65

Apple iPhone SE (2022)

76

Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max
i
How Display Readability score is composed

Readability evaluates how easily and comfortably users can read still content (photos & web) on the display under different real-life conditions. DXOMARK uses its Display Bench to recreate ambient light conditions ranging from total darkness to bright sunlight. In addition to laboratory tests, perceptual analysis is also made in real-life environments.

Learn more about how we test display readability
Brightness under various lighting conditions
Contrast under various lighting conditions
Readability in a sunlight (>90 0000 lux) environment
From left: Apple iPhone SE (2022), Apple iPhone 13, Fairphone 4
(Photos for illustration only)
Readability at a 45° angle

From left: Apple iPhone SE (2022), Apple iPhone 13, Fairphone 4
(Photos for illustration only)

Luminance uniformity measurement

This graph shows the uniformity of the display with a 20% gray pattern. The more visible the green color, the more uniform the display.

Color

89

Apple iPhone SE (2022)

91

Oppo Find X5 Pro
i
How Display Color score is composed

The color attribute evaluates the capacity of the device to accurately reproduce colors. The measurements taken are for fidelity, white point color, and gamut coverage. We perform color evaluations for different lighting conditions to see how well the device can manage color in the surrounding environment. Colors are measured using a spectrophotometer in a controlled lighting environment. Perceptual analysis of color rendering is against the reference pattern displayed on a calibrated professional monitor.

Learn more about how we test display color
White point under D65 illuminant at 1000 lux
Color rendering in sunlight (>90 0000 lux)
From left: Apple iPhone SE (2022), Apple iPhone 13, Fairphone 4
(Photos for illustration only)
Color fidelity measurements
Apple iPhone SE (2022), color fidelity at 1000 lux in the sRGB color space
Apple iPhone SE (2022), color fidelity at 1000 lux in the DCI-P3 color space
Each arrow represents the color difference between a target color pattern (base of the arrow) and its actual measurement (tip of the arrow). The longer the arrow, the more visible the color difference is. If the arrow stays within the circle, the color difference will be visible only to trained eyes.
Color behavior on angle
This graph shows the color shift when the screen is at an angle. Each dot represents a measurement at a particular angle. Dots inside the inner circle exhibit no color shift in angle; those between the inner and outer circle have shifts that only trained experts will see; but those falling outside the outer circle are noticeable.

 

Video

61

Apple iPhone SE (2022)

91

Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra (Snapdragon)
i
How Display Video score is composed

Our video attribute evaluates the Standard Dynamic Range (SDR) and High Dynamic Range (HDR10) video handling of each device in indoor and low-light conditions. We measure tone mapping, color gamut, brightness and contrast of the display. We perform perceptual analysis against our professional reference monitor (Sony BVM-HX310) to ensure that the rendering respects the artistic intent.

Learn more about how we test display video
Video rendering in a low-light (0 lux) environment
Clockwise from top:  Apple iPhone SE (2022), Apple iPhone 13, Fairphone 4
(Photos for illustration only)
Gamut coverage for video content
HDR10 Gamut coverage
SDR Gamut coverage
The primary colors are measured both in HDR10 and SDR. The extracted color gamut shows the extent of the color area that the device can render. To respect the artistic intent, the measured gamut should match the master color space of each video.

 

Motion

79

Apple iPhone SE (2022)

87

Huawei P40 Pro
i
How Display Motion score is composed

The motion attribute evaluates the handling of dynamic contents. Frame drops, motion blur, and playback artifacts are scrutinized using games and videos.

Learn more about how we test display motion
Video frame drops
Apple iPhone SE (2022), 30 fps content
Apple iPhone SE (2022), 60 fps content
These long exposure photos present the number of frame irregularities in a 30-second video. A good performance shows a regular pattern (either a flat gray image or a pull-down pattern).

Touch

84

Apple iPhone SE (2022)

85

OnePlus 9
i
How Display Touch score is composed

To evaluate touch, DXOMARK uses a touch robot and a high-speed camera to play and record a set of scenarios for smoothness, accuracy and response-time evaluation.

Learn more about how we test display touch
Average Touch Response Time Apple iPhone SE (2022)
75 ms
Fast
Good
Bad
Slow
This response time test evaluates precisely the time elapsed between the robot touching the screen and the displayed action. This test is applied to activities that require a high reactivity, such as gaming.

Artifacts

73

Apple iPhone SE (2022)

86

Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max

i
How Display Artifacts score is composed

Evaluating artifacts means checking for the performance, image rendering and motion flaws that can affect the end-user experience. DXOMARK measures precisely the device’s reflectance and the presence of flicker, and assesses the impact of residual aliasing when playing video games, among other characteristics.

Learn more about how we test display motion
Average Reflectance (SCI) Apple iPhone SE (2022)
5.1 %
Low
Good
Bad
High
Reflectance measurement (SCI)
Measurements above show the reflection of the device within the visible spectrum range (400 nm to 700 nm). It includes both diffuse and specular reflection.
Flicker Frequency Apple iPhone SE (2022)
No flicker
Bad
Good
Bad
Great
Flicker comparison
This graph represents the frequencies of lighting variation; the highest peak gives the main flicker frequency.
Aliasing (closeup)
Apple iPhone SE (2022)
Apple iPhone SE (2022)
Apple iPhone SE (2022)
(Photos for illustration only)

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