[NewsPoster]

In new tests, the forthcoming four-inch iPhone SE has emerged as the smartphone of choice among premium models -- if users prize battery life above display quality. The new, smaller iPhone handily beat (by two hours) the iPhone 6s, or for that matter the iPhone 5s it replaces, and beat Samsung's Galaxy S7 by three hours. The 10-hour battery life comes at a cost, however: the new iPhone's display is slightly lower resolution that the bigger models, with lower quality color and contrast, plus it lacks the 3D Touch feature found on the larger iPhone 6s line.

The resolution on the iPhone SE is 1136x640, not too far removed from the iPhone 6s' 1334x750 display. The tests, done by the Wall Street Journal, consisted of cycling through websites at a standard and uniform brightness level to determine how long the battery would last. Apple says that the smaller iPhone should deliver up to 13 hours of typical Internet use, but this figure may be dependent on a lower brightness level than the newspaper used for its test, as brightness of the screen is a key factor (along with wireless connections) in battery life.

While the iPhone SE outperformed the iPhone 6s in terms of battery life by 25 percent, despite the latter having only a slightly higher resolution, other factors -- including the 3D Touch feature and higher-quality display -- show off how crucial the display is to overall performance. The iPhone SE's trouncing of the Samsung Galaxy S7 is even more understandable, given that the latter smartphone has a larger display than the iPhone 6s (5.1 inches for the S7, 4.7 inches for the iPhone 6s), and the Galaxy S7's resolution is almost double that of the iPhone 6s: 2560x1440 for the S7 and the previously-mentioned 1334x750 for the 6s.

In most other respects, however, the iPhone SE is the smaller equivalent of the iPhone 6s -- it uses the same processor (downclocked slightly, however); a 12-megapixel rear camera, up to 4K video recording, and Apple Pay support among other features, yet sells for just $399 without contract -- compared to $649 for the iPhone 6s. The new iPhone will be available in stores beginning March 31.

So does that mean the external bumper battery add-on for the SE will also get great battery life?

[iphonerulez]

I'll take the lower display quality and get more battery life. My eyes aren't that good anyway. I wonder if most users would be willing to trade display quality for a couple of hours more battery life. I just happen to find it a good compromise. Samsung is going crazy over display quality. They think a smartphone is some sort of television set where users are staring at the display for hours at a time.

[Charles Martin]

And.reg: at present the battery case Apple makes doesn't fit the iPhone SE, but there will probably be one at some point. I would expect it to have the same ability as the larger one -- another complete charge of the device.

iphonerulez: I really like the quality of the display on my iPhone 6s, but I can certainly see that people who have iPads may feel like they can have their phone be a smaller device, but that it needs longer battery life. I think those who make the choice to buy the iPhone SE will be aware of its strengths and weaknesses and be quite happy with it.

[Vulpine]

Once you get to that 326ppi point, additional resolution is senseless. The only reason to go farther is if you intend to magnify that display in a stereopticon device such as Google Cardboard or other low-grade VR emulator. Even with eyes as bad as mine where I have to bring the display within six inches of my eye when I remove my glasses, the pixels are virtually invisible even on my iPhone 6. I have to use a photographer's loupe to see those pixels. More than that is overkill. More than that kills battery life as well.