We put that Ceramic Shield glass to the test during our iPhone 12 drop test, during which the screen emerged almost unscathed while the back did get a few cracks. The front glass of the new iPhone SE does differ from the iPhone 12 and iPhone 13 line, however, with Apple choosing to use glass from earlier iPhone lines instead of Apple's Ceramic Shield coating as seen on the iPhone 12 and iPhone 13.
But on the SE, it is used on the front and back. It's the same glass that's used on the back of the iPhone 13 and the iPhone 12 lines. The glass may be the most significant change for anyone concerned about the durability of the phone, even if it's not exactly new. Remember what it looked like when we started. Yet newer features like Face ID or MagSafe are not included in this phone. The phone has the same body design as the 2020 SE and the iPhone 8, including the throwback home button.ĬNET's Patrick Holland calls the new iPhone SE a low-cost way to get an iPhone with a familiar design but get improvements like the tougher glass and the A15 Bionic processor from the iPhone 13.
The Apple iPhone SE is an update to the 2020 version, but most of its changes are on the inside. So when Apple proclaimed that the new 5G-enabled iPhone SE is made with "the toughest glass in a smartphone," naturally my ears perked up. It's a time-honored tradition here at CNET to drop new phones on the ground - on purpose.