Home News Phone Reviews Video

Apple iPhone XS Max vs SE (2020)

Source： Date：

Apple iPhone XS Max vs SE (2020)

59 out of 100
Apple iPhone XS Max
VS
58 out of 100
Apple iPhone SE (2020)
Apple iPhone XS Max
Apple iPhone SE (2020)

Here we compared two smartphones: the 6.5-inch Apple iPhone XS Max (with Apple A12 Bionic) that was released on September 12, 2018, against the Apple iPhone SE (2020), which is powered by Apple A13 Bionic and came out 19 months after. On this page, you will find tests, full specs, strengths, and weaknesses of each of the devices.

  1. Differences
  2. Review
  3. Specs
  4. Benchmarks
  5. Battery life
  6. Camera
  7. Comments (1)

Key differences

An overview of the main advantages of each smartphone
Reasons to consider the Apple iPhone XS Max
  • Has a 1.8 inches larger screen size
  • Comes with 1353 mAh larger battery capacity: 3174 vs 1821 mAh
  • Thinner bezels – 20.01% more screen real estate
  • The rear camera has a 2x optical zoom
  • 40% higher pixel density (456 vs 326 PPI)
  • Waterproof body (IP68 classification)
  • Has 33% more RAM: 4GB versus 3GB
  • OLED display (versus competitor''s IPS LCD)
Reasons to consider the Apple iPhone SE (2020)
  • Fingerprint scanner
  • Compatible with Wi-Fi 6 wireless networks
  • Better grip in hands – the body is 10.1 mm narrower
  • The phone is 1-year and 7-months newer
  • Weighs 60 grams less
  • 23% faster in single-core GeekBench 6 test: 1620 and 1320 points

Review

Evaluation of Apple iPhone XS Max and SE (2020) crucial features
Display
Screen quality, color accuracy, brightness
Camera
Photo and video recording quality
Performance
CPU and memory performance (apps, system)
Gaming
Capabilities for playing modern games
Battery
Battery life, charging type and speed
Connectivity
Networks, ports, data transmission
NanoReview Score
Final comparison evaluation

Value for money

Tests and specifications

Comparison table of technical specifications and tests
Phone:
iPhone XS Max
vs
iPhone SE (2020)

Display

Type OLED IPS LCD
Size 6.5 inches 4.7 inches
Resolution 1242 x 2688 pixels 750 x 1334 pixels
Aspect ratio 19.4:9 16:9
PPI 456 ppi 326 ppi
Refresh rate 60 Hz 60 Hz
Adaptive refresh rate No No
Max rated brightness 625 nits 625 nits
HDR support Yes, Dolby Vision Yes, Dolby Vision
Screen protection Tempered glass Tempered glass
Screen-to-body ratio 85.41% 65.4%
Display features - DCI-P3 - DCI-P3
Display tests
RGB color space 98.8% 99.9%
PWM 240 Hz Not detected
Response time 11.2 ms 29 ms
Contrast ∞ Infinity 2457:1
Peak brightness test (auto)

Design and build

Height 157.5 mm (6.2 inches) 138.4 mm (5.45 inches)
Width 77.4 mm (3.05 inches) 67.3 mm (2.65 inches)
Thickness 7.7 mm (0.3 inches) 7.3 mm (0.29 inches)
Weight 208 g (7.34 oz) 148 g (5.22 oz)
Waterproof IP68 IP67
Rear material Glass Glass
Frame material Metal Metal
Colors Silver, Gold, Gray White, Black, Red
Fingerprint scanner No Yes, in-button
Screen-to-body ratio

Performance

Tests of Apple iPhone XS Max and Apple iPhone SE (2020) in the benchmarks
SoC
Chipset Apple A12 Bionic Apple A13 Bionic
Max clock 2490 MHz 2650 MHz
CPU cores 6 (2 + 4) 6 (2 + 4)
Architecture - 4 cores at 1.6 GHz: Tempest
- 2 cores at 2.49 GHz: Vortex 		- 4 cores at 1.6 GHz: Thunder
- 2 cores at 2.65 GHz: Lightning
Lithography process 7 nanometers 7 nanometers
Graphics Apple A12 GPU Apple A13 GPU
GPU shading units 256 256
GPU clock 1100 MHz 1230 MHz
FLOPS ~576 GFLOPS ~629.8 GFLOPS

Benchmarks

Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
AnTuTu Benchmark 10
CPU 167833 129399
GPU 157230 223288
Memory 121395 107740
UX 215799 204233
Total score 665855 665085
3DMark Wild Life Performance
Max surface temperature 45.2 °C 44.3 °C
Stability 66% 68%
Graphics test 34 FPS 41 FPS
Graphics score 5704 6878

Memory

RAM
RAM size 4 GB 3 GB
Memory type LPDDR4X LPDDR4X
Channels 2 2
Storage
Storage size 64, 256, 512 GB 64, 128, 256 GB
Storage type NVMe NVMe
Memory card No No

Software

Operating system iOS 12 (Can be upgraded to iOS 17) iOS 13 (Can be upgraded to iOS 17)
OS size 16 GB 8.4 GB

Battery

Capacity 3174 mAh 1821 mAh
Max charge power 18 W 18 W
Battery type Li-Ion Li-Ion
Replaceable No No
Wireless charging Yes, Qi (10 W) Yes, Qi (7.5 W)
Reverse charging No No
Fast charging Yes (50% in 30 min) Yes (55% in 60 min)
Full charging time 03:29 hr 2:32 hr
Battery life tests
Web browsing 09:13 hr 09:36 hr
Watching video 10:50 hr 07:32 hr
Gaming 04:38 hr 03:06 hr
Standby 80 hr 86 hr
General battery life

Camera

Specs and camera test of smartphones
Main camera
Matrix 12 megapixels 12 megapixels
Image resolution 4032 x 3024 4032 x 3024
Zoom Optical, 2x Digital
Flash Quad LED Quad LED
Stabilization Optical Optical
8K video recording No No
4K video recording Up to 60FPS Up to 60FPS
1080p video recording Up to 60FPS Up to 60FPS
Slow motion 240 FPS (1080p) 240 FPS (1080p)
Lenses 2 (12 MP + 12 MP) 1 (12 MP)
Wide (main) lens - 12 MP
- Aperture: f/1.8
- Focal length: 28 mm
- Pixel size: 1.4 micron
- Sensor: 1/2.5", Apple iSight X (CMOS)
- Phase autofocus
- Optical stabilization
- 12 MP
- Aperture: f/1.8
- Focal length: 28 mm
- Pixel size: 1.22 micron
- Sensor: 1/3", Apple iSight Camera (CMOS)
- Phase autofocus
- Optical stabilization
Telephoto lens - 12 MP
- Aperture: f/2.4
- Focal length: 52 mm
- Pixel size: 1 micron
- Sensor: 1/3.4" (CMOS)
- Phase autofocus
- Optical stabilization
-
Camera features - Bokeh mode
- Pro mode
- RAW support 		- Bokeh mode
Samples Photo samples of Apple iPhone XS Max from DxOMark Photo samples of Apple iPhone SE (2020) from DxOMark
Selfie camera
Megapixels 7 megapixels 7 megapixels
Image resolution 3088 x 2316 3088 x 2320
Aperture f/2.2 f/2.2
Focal length 32 mm 32 mm
Pixel size - 1 microns
Sensor type BSI CMOS CMOS
Video resolution 1080p (Full HD) at 60 FPS 1080p (Full HD) at 30 FPS

DxOMark camera tests

Photo quality
Video quality
Generic camera score

Connectivity

Wi-Fi standard Wi-Fi 5 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac) Wi-Fi 6 (802.11 b/g/n/ac/ax)
Wi-Fi features - Dual Band
- Wi-Fi MiMO
- Wi-Fi Direct
- Wi-Fi Hotspot
- Wi-Fi Display 		- Dual Band
- Wi-Fi Hotspot
- Wi-Fi Display
Bluetooth version 5 5
Bluetooth features SPP, PBAP/PAB, PAN, OPP, MAP, LE, HSP, HFP, HDP, GAP, GAVDP, DIP, AVRCP, A2DP LE, A2DP
USB type No No
USB version 2 2
USB features - Charging
- USB-Storage mode
- OTG 		- Charging
- USB-Storage mode
- OTG
GPS GPS, GLONASS, Galileo GPS, GLONASS, Beidou, Galileo
NFC * Yes Yes
Infrared port No No
Network
Number of SIM * 1 1
Type of SIM card Nano Nano
Multi SIM mode - Standby
eSIM support * Yes Yes
Hybrid slot No No
LTE Cat * 16 16
5G support No No

Sound

Speakers Stereo Stereo
Headphone audio jack No No
FM radio No No
Dolby Atmos Yes Yes
Speakers test
Max loudness

Other

Category Flagship Mid-range
Announced September 2018 April 2020
Release date September 2018 April 2020
SAR (head) 0.99 W/kg 0.98 W/kg
SAR (body) 0.99 W/kg 0.99 W/kg
Sensors - Barometer
- Proximity sensor
- Gyroscope
- Accelerometer
- Ambient light sensor
- Compass
- Face recognition sensor 		- Barometer
- Proximity sensor
- Gyroscope
- Accelerometer
- Ambient light sensor
- Compass
- Fingerprint
Bundled charger - Yes, 5 W
* Disclaimer! NFC, GSM network support, and some other specs can be different depending on the country.

Conclusion

If the display, camera, battery life, and design are more important to you, then choose the Apple iPhone XS Max . But if the performance, gaming, and sound are more of a priority – go for the Apple iPhone SE (2020) .

Related recommendations
Scroll to Top