iPhone SE 3 in 2025 - worth it? (Review)

Released in early 2022, the 3rd generation iPhone SE is still being sold by Apple for $429 USD - and is likely to be replaced by a new SE 4th generation this spring. How does the iPhone SE 3 hold up in 2025, and is it still worth buying brand new or on the used market?

Timestamps:
0:00 - iPhone SE 3 in 2025
3:18 - Worth buying / using in 2025?
5:55 - iPhone SE Generations
7:38 - Design, Display, Features
9:11 - Photography
10:53 - Hardware & Experience
12:59 - Worth it?

Music:

[RUUDEBOI]

I still have the 2020 SE, which I like to call it the "Pandemic" edition.

[masiniculucipopa]

SE 2 user here.
A13 still works great.
Swapped my original 1800 mAh battery for a new NOHON 2340 mAh battery from Aliexpress. I’ve had it for over a year installed. No battery overheating and battery life has been greatly improved. It’s not 16 Pro Max battery life, but it makes a difference.
Battery + labour for around 25$ (in Romania).

[quettfenn]

I used to own the iPhone 8 - then I went to the X, then 13 Pro, then 15 Pro Max. I physically picked up my iPhone 8 a couple of days ago, and concluded that it's the perfect size for me. If they made an iPhone 8 with iPhone 16 internals, I'd buy it in a heartbeat - I don't even need the better cameras, just the one will do. There's something nice about having the fingerprint button on the bottom too that I love - the double tap just continues to feel super intuitive to me - it's a shame if they take it away for the sake of screensize.

[mustasheolll]

It’s basically a sleeper. Everyone will think it’s old but really it’s the same power as an iPhone 14

[Garrettdx]

It’s basically a 2014 design that runs modern software, and I love that. Granted, I don’t own one right now, but I’ll add one to my collection at some point. Imagine an HTC One running modern software smoothly

[RGanda]

I was switched from iPhone 15 to iPhone SE 3 because the love of compact phone with beast performance. Even sacrifice the battery, but it’s worth it to have one of Apple’s best phone design till now

[maximilian]

Bought my SE in March 2022 at full price, I'm only just upgrading now to the S25. It's served me pretty well, obviously it didn't come with flagship features but the A15 has only just started slowing down.

[MrSupersaiyangoku]

I just got the 16e yesterday in black. I understand SE owners now. I foolishly used to wonder why anyone would want an older iPhone. Something that design wise was so old. But having gotten the 16e. I understand the appeal. For one. You got a phone that is not like anyone else’s. Not like any android phones. And not like the sea of identical looking iPhones. Secondly. You have the ability to text with one hand. I door dash a lot. Man I forgot how nice it is to have medium sized hands and be able to text a whole paragraph with one hand. And it actually comes out how you wanted to say it and not a bunch of misspelled words. I love how light the phone is. I mean stupid light. It’s so light I almost want to rock it without a case. And I’ve never bought an iPhone and not immediately stuffed a case around it. But now I see me just rocking a screen protector. As far as the phone experience goes. You not missing the core experience and I got Apple intelligence. If you can call it that since it’s not even remotely done yet. But you have a phone that does everything the pro models do for the most part minus things I don’t really care for. I’m not taking a bunch of photos and I don’t play phone games. So one camera that takes decent pics of just fine for me. My girl has a 15 model. If I want another camera added for better quality still. I’ve had a 15 pro max. And you never feel like you touch what all the power the phone had to offer. And the power of the A18 chip runs through everyday things I do like it’s nothing. You just do not need to pay over 1000$ for a phone that only surfs the web. Makes calls and sends text. When you see the price it just makes so much more sense: this phone is basically Apples version of Samsungs S24FE. I don’t know why people do not see the similarities of what Apple did here versus what Samsung did with the s24fe. When you see both are right around the exact same price. Offer you higher CPU’s from last years flagship. But body’s don’t have the full flagship make but were flagship materials just a year ago. They give you the power of the flagship. Benchmarks don’t matter in the real world you won’t see the slight differences at all when you open and close apps. And considering both end with e. It was pretty clear to me what Apple did here.

[rafatislam]

SE 3 user for three years its been amazing

[SuicidalHuman]

I completely understand I’m the odd one out, but I absolutely love the SE 3, it’s my daily driver and having the iPhone 8 style design is in my opinion a billion times better then the full screen look of the 10 and later. It’s my favorite iPhone Apple has ever made. :3 So think what you want just let me enjoy my SE 3 in peace. 😭lol

[oct]

Bought Iphone Se 3 brand new in 2022 , battery health is at 96% three years later.

[ManojBarai]

Use the SE3 as my business phone and it works just great for everything calls texts emails and chats. A little bit of social media or email browsing also gets done without a problem. What I like most is the size and compact form factor which makes it a breeze to carry around. Battery life is not much of a concern because there are charging points available almost everywhere including cars. Hope to hold on to it as long as I possibly can.

[keyrob]

I have one. Only problem is the battery life. I get like 3 hours and then it’s 20%

[lombaurdi]

I was very attracted to the iPhone SE 3 until I actually held the phone and felt it was wayyyy too small. I wanted the nostalgia of the home button but also wanted to comfortably hold my phone, so I just bought a used iPhone 8 Plus. And honestly the Plus is peak iPhone design in my opinion, can’t get any simpler than this. Just the right amount of screen, an average battery to discourage constant media consumption, and best of all, a home button. I wish the iPhone SE 3 was based from the iPhone 8 Plus model. I would’ve paid good money for that.

[asdfpi]

Using the SE 3rd gen right now for almost 3 years now, and I think generally I feel like it's a pretty good phone for the right audience. Here were some of the main advantages and disadvantages for me.

Advantages:
Price - I honestly thought the price was a great value, especially on release (less so now as they haven't reduced the price). At the time, it was the cheapest iPhone available (excluding used models or discontinued models that weren't sufficient for my needs).

Performance - It had the same chip as the newest flagship iPhone at the time (iPhone 13). It also has the same amount of CPU and GPU cores too. I do enjoy playing mobile games so performance is a big factor for me.

Design - Maybe unpopular, but I love the design of the iPhone SE. I used a iPhone 8 before, and an iPhone 6 before that, and I can say that the size is perfect for me and the home button is very convenient to use. I know it might not be the most innovative thing but I still prefer it over the newer full screen displays. The LCD screen is just easier on the eyes than the OLED displays that newer phones tend to have.

Disadvantages:
Battery Life - This one's a big one for me. Especially when I'm travelling, the phone running out of power at 1pm is a massive inconvenience meaning I always have to bring a power bank. At home I usually find myself charging it many times a day, which probably makes the battery life even worse with how often I charge it.

Storage - This one was more of a me issue, but I got the 64GB model since my previous iPhone 8 was also 64GB and was generally sufficient. Big mistake. Everything has gotten way bigger since then, apps were over 2x the size they were back then. I'm still on iOS 15 as I haven't had the storage to upgrade (also I heard it's harder on the batter). Definitely should've picked up the 256GB model instead.

Camera - I do take a lot of pictures, but this one isn't that big of a disadvantage to me personally since this IS the best camera I've ever used. But if you're coming from a device with a better camera I can see why this is a huge downgrade.

I was so tempted to buy the exact same phone again except with 256GB so I can keep using it for a few years, but realistically I think the processing power is going to fall behind a bit, as the performance now doesn't really have the same advantages as it had back then as we've had newer and even better chips and apps start becoming more intensive. Ended up begrudgingly going for the iPhone 16E 256GB since I desperately needed a storage upgrade. Not sure if I'll ever get used to the larger size and lack of home button, but we'll just have to see. Gonna be hard saying goodbye though.

[stormyday]

I love my SE3 but 6 months after buying it NEW The battery is now at 94% battery health but it was only $150

[zacsimillion]

Still using the original SE from 2016 here.

[maximilian]

Bought my SE in March 2022 at full price, I'm only just upgrading now to the S25. It's served me pretty well, obviously it didn't come with flagship features but the A15 has only just started slowing down. The battery is painful to deal with at this point tho, I can't even get through half a day without recharging.

[media_hobbit]

Been using the SE since the very first one; I moved from the 5C (white) to the og SE, to the 2020 SE and now to the 2023 SE in September 2024. Will give this phone a few years before upgrading to the SE 4. I’m in no hurry, as I love the home button.

[chucklemeister]

I have the SE3 and an iPhone 13 and while the 13 has more cameras, I prefer the size of the SE. It just feels better in my hands and fits nicely in my pockets.