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Third-Generation iPhone SE Teardown Reveals Larger Battery Capacity and Snapdragon X57 Modem

The first teardowns of the third-generation iPhone SE have surfaced on YouTube, providing a look at components inside the device.

iphone se 3 teardown pbkreviews

iPhone SE 2 on top vs. iPhone SE 3 on bottom via PBKreviews

The teardowns reveal the new iPhone SE has a larger 2,018 mAh battery compared to 1,821 mAh for the previous-generation model. The new iPhone SE offers up to an extra two hours of video playback and up to an extra 10 hours of audio playback on a full charge versus the previous model, according to Apple's tech specs.

The new iPhone SE is also equipped with Qualcomm's Snapdragon X57 modem, according to Nikkei's xTECH. This modem does not appear to be listed on Qualcomm's website, so it may be a custom model designed for Apple, but no further details are known. The modem enables 5G on the iPhone SE, but support is limited to sub-6GHz bands, whereas iPhone 13 models also support faster mmWave bands in the United States.


A few weeks ago, it was confirmed that the new iPhone SE also features 4GB of RAM, up from 3GB in the previous model.

Overall, the third-generation iPhone SE appears to have a very similar internal design as the second-generation model. Repair website iFixit will likely share a comprehensive teardown of the device in the coming days for a closer look.

Related Forum: iPhone

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Top Rated Comments

TheYayAreaLiving 🎗️ Avatar
55 months ago
Saw this tweet yesterday. Very impressed by the battery life iPhone SE offers. Major improvements. Especially the fact it contains a 5G modem.


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Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ouimetnick Avatar
55 months ago
Not sure why iFixit doesn’t do teardowns on launch day anymore. They we’re slow to teardown the AirPods Max, M1 Macs, new 14” & 16” MBP, AirPods 3, etc.

They eventually get around to it days later, but I remember being excited for the launch day teardowns.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Spock Avatar
55 months ago
Decent update but the SE needs a redesign..
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
JM Avatar
55 months ago

Saw this tweet yesterday. Very impressed by the battery life iPhone SE offers. Major improvements. Especially the fact it contains a 5G modem.


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That’s great… but the tweeter needs to show what apps were used and what percentages.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Nermal Avatar
55 months ago

That’s great… but the tweeter needs to show what apps were used and what percentages.
Indeed. Towards the end of its life my 8 would last a day with light usage. My SE hasn't been charged for two days and is still at 53%.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
55 months ago
I hope the X57 modem is Not like the X55, which requires a 4G connection to authenticate before it can operate on 5G channels; so, if your service had a 5G signal in the area, but no 4G signal, then you could Not connect to your service, and thus you would have No signal, while those with X60 or higher modems would. I also wonder if it has the X55’s higher power draw and lower 5G signal quality.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)