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Modern smartphones are all about screen size. For the last five years, we've seen our phones get bigger and bigger. Sometimes, even too big.

Still, most phone makers have coalesced around the 5-inch mark. At 4.7-inches, the iPhone 6S is actually one of the smaller flagship smartphones on the market — at least if you just judge it by its screen size.

In an era when phones are getting bigger, it's notable that with its latest iPhone, the iPhone SE, Apple is revisiting its smaller 4-inch form factor.

Even after Apple released the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus in 2014, it continued to sell 4-inch phones. But those phones were all older models. The iPhone 5S — released in 2013 — was the most powerful 4-inch phone you could buy from Apple.

That changes with the iPhone SE.

Look and feel

On the outside, the iPhone SE looks and feels nearly identical to the iPhone 5S. It has the same size screen, the same chamfered edges and the same button placement.

The only new feature is the color selection. The iPhone SE is available in space grey, silver, gold and our favorite shade of pink, AKA, rose gold. Apple has made a few changes to the paint on the iPhone SE — the chamfered edges are matte and not shiny — and the gold and silver hues have been updated to better match the iPhone 6S line. But unless you're rocking the rose gold variant, this phone is going to look just like an iPhone 5S.

Some will criticize Apple's decision to keep the form-factor identical. There were plenty of rumors before the device was announced that had it looking like a smaller iPhone 6S — complete with curved glass and rounded sides. And certainly, that might have created a more exciting looking product.

But if you think about it, keeping the classic 4-inch form factor makes some sense. Not only is the design one that millions of consumers are familiar with, it also helps keep the price down.

The iPhone SE starts at $400 — a price which is very competitive for the type of performance the phone offers. We'll discuss price more later on, but it's important to take that into context when looking at the iPhone SE.

I was speaking to Jason Snell of Six Colors for MashTalk (Mashable's weekly tech podcast) and he brought up another great point regarding the use of the iPhone 5S case: If Apple is going to redesign the iPhone for the iPhone 7, would there really be an advantage to trying to make the iPhone SE fit into the rest of the iPhone design language? After all, that design language might change anyway.

Holding the phone in my hand felt like a weird flashback experience. After using an iPhone 6 and now iPhone 6S for the last 18 months, going back to a 4-inch phone felt a little bizarre.

My fingers are now used to a larger screen and it took some adjustments to get used to typing on a smaller screen. Still, I won't lie it's nice to be able to use a phone with one hand again. The form factor is classic and a bit of a throwback, but it feels great too.

Apple used to vaunt the one-handed nature of its 4-inch phones. And it's true, there is something to be said about a phone that can truly be used with one hand. No need for reachability, no need for adjusting your hands. Just use your shelf — AKA pinky — and you can power through undeterred.

If you like the feel of an iPhone 5 or iPhone 5S, you'll be right at home with the iPhone SE.

Specs and power

What makes the iPhone SE such an interesting product is that this isn't a low-end phone.

When we first started hearing rumors about the iPhone SE at the end of 2015, conventional wisdom seemed to suggest that Apple would take the guts of the 2014 iPhone 6 and put it in the form-factor of the iPhone 5S.

But that's not what Apple did. Instead, Apple took the exact same A9 processor and M9 motion coprocessor from the iPhone 6S and put it inside the iPhone SE.

And Apple didn't cut corners either. They didn't lower the clock speed or reduce the amount of RAM. The Geekbench results for the iPhone SE and the iPhone 6S are identical.

Left: iPhone SE. Right: iPhone 6S

In my iPhone 6S review last September, I wrote that "by any objective measure, the iPhone 6S is a beast." That remains true for the iPhone SE.

It's fast. It's snappy. Apps and web pages open quickly. There isn't any stutter in switching between apps, and high-performance games look great.

Just like the iPhone 6S, you can edit two streams of 4K video in iMovie at once. Now, how good of an experience that is on a 4-inch screen is a different story — but the fact remains, you can do it.

The iPhone SE took some other tricks from the newer iPhone devices too. It has 802.11ac Wi-Fi and more, faster LTE bands. For users coming from an iPhone 5 or iPhone 5S, this will offer some potential connectivity improvements. It also means the iPhone SE should work more easily on more carriers.

The iPhone SE also has Touch ID and a built-in NFC for use with Apple Pay. The Touch ID sensor is the older, slower sensor from the iPhone 5S and iPhone 6.

The iPhone SE supports Apple Pay and Touch ID.

The M9 motion coprocessor on the iPhone SE allows for always-on Siri. Simply say, "Hey Siri" and whether the phone is plugged in or not, it will wake up and Siri will take your queries.

Of course, the iPhone SE doesn't have everything that the iPhone 6S has. It doesn't have 3D Touch — one of the iPhone 6S's very best features. And the screen — because it's basically the same as the iPhone 5S — doesn't have the same color gamut and wide viewing angles of the iPhone 6S.

But the bottom line is that this is an insanely powerful phone.

Cameras

The 12MP sensor on the iPhone SE takes amazing photos.

One of the big feature enhancements of the iPhone 6S was its 12-megapixel rear camera. This camera is one of the best on the market. Newer Samsung devices do a better job in low light, but this is still one of the best cameras you can get in a smartphone.

As with the iPhone 6S, colors on the iPhone SE are natural and true to life. I took a number of photos outdoors in Union Square on a nice spring day, and the details are incredible.

Cropped photo taken with the iPhone SE

You can also take Live Photos with the iPhone SE. This is a new feature that captures a few seconds of video before and after the shot is taken. It captures sound too. The effect is neat — if a tad gimmicky.

I have to admit, in the six months since the iPhone 6S was released, I haven't used Live Photos as much as I thought I would. Most of my photos I take are Live Photos — it's just easier to keep it on by default — but I rarely get a really great shot. But more and more apps, like Tumblr, Facebook, Instagram and Google Photos, all support the posting or uploading of Live Photos.

It also takes 4K video. And like the iPhone 6S and iPhone 6S Plus, the 4K quality is really, really good. Still, I'm not sure how many people will actually be taking 4K footage on a phone of this size. Playback on a 4-inch screen really can't do the footage justice. But the feature is here, and that's exciting.

Less exciting is the front-facing FaceTime camera. Sadly, this did not get the 5-megapixel upgrade from the iPhone 6S. It's stuck at 1.2-megapixels, which means your selfie game won't be quite on point. Apple did however add Retina flash to the iPhone SE. This means that when you tap the shutter, it illuminates the screen to help brighten your face.

So yes, you will get better illuminated selfies — and this is great for low-light situations — but the quality of the images themselves is still going to be poor.

Front-facing camera aside, the camera on the iPhone SE is tremendous — especially when you consider how much the phone costs.

Battery Life

This is the part where your reviewer admits she hasn't had the time to do a fully calibrated battery test on the iPhone SE. In the next few days, I'll complete my tests and add full findings here, but my early impressions are good.

Thanks to the more efficient A9 processor and software enhancements in iOS 9, the iPhone SE gets even better battery life than the iPhone 5S. In my tests, which included running an app that loads web pages and videos on a loop — as well as heavy-usage during the day and throughout the night — my first impressions are that the battery life is excellent.

Side-by-side my iPhone 6S, I actually got better battery life on the iPhone SE. Screen size probably accounts for that difference — but it's still notable. One of the benefits of having a smaller screen is that it consumes less power.

I would expect a full day of battery life on the iPhone SE. As always, this will depend on what apps you're using, your radio signals and the brightness level on the screen.

Price

The best thing about the iPhone SE might just be its price. Selling for just $399 for a 16GB version and $499 for a 64GB version, this is a tremendously competitive phone.

Most $400 phones are not going to give you the latest-generation processor and camera technologies. I really can't underscore how well I think this product will do, simply based on its price.

Consider that the iPhone 6S starts at $649 for a 16GB version. Yes, it has more features — including 3D Touch, a better front-facing camera and a larger display — but the price point Apple has set will be very compelling.

In the United States, we're now in the post-subsidy era and consumers are more price conscious about phones now that they know how much they really cost.

That isn't to say there aren't trade-offs. Apple is still selling the phone in the 16GB size. And even though I stand by my statements that 16GB iPhone's need to die, I'm willing to give this a little bit of a pass. It's one thing to sell a 16GB phone for $400. That's at least somewhat defensible, given the quality of the other specifications and features. It's still indefensible, in my mind, to start your flagship phones at 16GB.

I'm OK with having a 16GB iPhone SE but if I see a 16GB iPhone 7, I might start throwing things.

Although Apple isn't expressly marketing the iPhone SE at markets such as India and Asia, I think this phone will do well in those areas. This is the first lower-priced iPhone that doesn't feel like a hand-me down device, and that's important.

Who is this for

The iPhone SE is an interesting product in that it isn't for everyone. It's simply an additional option. As smartphone saturation increases, having more options is one way to stimulate growth.

When I look at this phone, I see a few potential buyers. The first group are users who are already using an iPhone 5 or iPhone 5S and want a newer phone. But maybe they don't want to spend more than $600 on that phone. This is a product those users can upgrade to, without breaking the bank.

Another potential customer are first-time iPhone buyers, especially in places like India, where iPhones have previously been cost-prohibitive. Again, this is a way to get an iPhone — not the fanciest iPhone, but a good phone — for a good price.

And then, of course, there are users who simply like smaller phones. Women, in particular. Since 2014, those users haven't had a lot of options. No one else is making 4-inch phones that aren't super low-end. I don't anticipate that many iPhone 6 or iPhone 6S users will downgrade to the iPhone SE — and buying data seems to show that people really like bigger phones — but that doesn't mean there isn't a market for this device.

Apple said it sold 30 million 4-inch phones in 2015. With the improved specs and the competitive price, the iPhone SE should do just as well.

Final thoughts

The iPhone SE is one of the more interesting products to get released this year. To be clear — it's not really a new product — but it's still interesting.

I honestly never thought I would review another 4-inch phone. But here we are in 2016, and I'm rocking a 4-inch phone again. I still prefer larger displays — and I don't see myself going back to the classic design — but this is a great device, especially at $400.