Apple iPhone SE (1st Gen) vs Samsung Galaxy S6
A spec-by-spec comparison of the Apple iPhone SE (1st Gen) and the Samsung Galaxy S6, taken from their full specification sheets. Green marks the better value in each measured row.
Head to head
| Apple iPhone SE (1st Gen) | Samsung Galaxy S6 |
|---|
| Price | $45 | $69 |
| Our rating | 7/10 | 8/10 |
| Battery | 1,624 mAh | 2,550 mAh |
| Wired charging | — | 15W |
| RAM (max) | 2 GB | — |
| Storage (max) | 128 GB | 128 GB |
| Screen size | 4 in | 5.1 in |
| Main camera | 12 MP | 16 MP |
| Weight (lower is lighter) | 113 g | 138 g |
| Released | Mar 2016 | Apr 2015 |
Summary: Apple iPhone SE (1st Gen) is ahead on weight (lower is lighter). Samsung Galaxy S6 is ahead on our rating, battery, screen size, main camera.
★ Which should you buy? Samsung Galaxy S6 is the stronger overall pick on the measured specs. If budget matters more than the extra capability, Apple iPhone SE (1st Gen) is the cheaper option.
Reviewed by the infozme.com Editorial Team — see how we research & rate phones.
Display
| Apple iPhone SE (1st Gen) | Samsung Galaxy S6 |
|---|
| Type | IPS LCD, 16M colors | Super AMOLED |
| Size | 4.0 inches, 44.1 cm2 (~60.9% screen-to-body ratio) | 5.1 inches |
| Resolution | 640 x 1136 pixels, 16:9 ratio (~326 ppi density) | 1440 x 2560 pixels, 16:9 ratio (~577 ppi density) |
| Protection | Ion-strengthened glass, oleophobic coating | Corning Gorilla Glass 4 |
| Features | 500 nits max brightness (typical), Full sRGB standard, 800:1 contrast ratio (typical) | — |
Platform
| Apple iPhone SE (1st Gen) | Samsung Galaxy S6 |
|---|
| OS | iOS 9.3, upgradable to iOS 15.8.8 | Android 5.0.2 (Lollipop), upgradable to 7.0 (Nougat) |
| Chipset | Apple A9 (14 nm) | Exynos 7420 Octa (14 nm) |
| CPU | Dual-core 1.84 GHz Twister | Octa-core (4x2.1 GHz Cortex-A57 & 4x1.5 GHz Cortex-A53) |
| GPU | PowerVR GT7600 (six-core graphics) | Mali-T760MP8 |
Memory
| Apple iPhone SE (1st Gen) | Samsung Galaxy S6 |
|---|
| Card slot | No | No |
| Internal | 16GB 2GB RAM, 32GB 2GB RAM, 64GB 2GB RAM, 128GB 2GB RAM | 32GB/64GB/128GB UFS 2.0 |
| RAM | — | 3GB LPDDR4 |
Main Camera
| Apple iPhone SE (1st Gen) | Samsung Galaxy S6 |
|---|
| Single | 12 MP, f/2.2, 29mm (standard), 1/3.0", 1.22µm, PDAF | 16 MP, f/1.9, 28mm (wide), OIS, AF |
| Features | Dual-LED dual-tone flash, HDR, five-element lens, sapphire crystal lens cover, backside illumination sensor, autofocus with Focus Pixels, tap to focus with Focus Pixels, exposure control, noise reduction, auto HDR for photos, panorama (up to 63 megapixels), auto image stabilization, burst mode, timer mode, photo geotagging, Live Photos with stabilization | LED flash, auto-HDR, panorama |
| Video | 4K@30fps, 1080p@30/60/120fps, 720p@240fps. Cinematic video stabilization (1080p and 720p), continuous autofocus video, face detection, noise reduction, take 8-megapixel still photos while recording 4K video, playback zoom, video geotagging | 4K@30fps, 1080p@60fps, 720p@120fps, HDR, OIS |
Selfie Camera
| Apple iPhone SE (1st Gen) | Samsung Galaxy S6 |
|---|
| Single | 1.2 MP, f/2.4, 31mm (standard) | 5 MP, f/1.9, 22mm (wide) |
| Features | Face detection, HDR, Retina Flash, backside illumination sensor, burst mode, exposure control, timer mode | Dual video call, Auto-HDR |
| Video | 720p@30fps | 1440p@30fps |
Battery
| Apple iPhone SE (1st Gen) | Samsung Galaxy S6 |
|---|
| Type | Li-Po 1624 mAh, non-removable (6.21 Wh) | Li-Ion 2550 mAh, non-removable |
| Talk time | Up to 14 h (3G) | — |
| Music play | Up to 50 h | — |
| Charging | — | 15W wired (Quick Charge 2.0), Qi/PMA wireless |
Body
| Apple iPhone SE (1st Gen) | Samsung Galaxy S6 |
|---|
| Dimensions | 123.8 x 58.6 x 7.6 mm (4.87 x 2.31 x 0.30 in) | 143.4 x 70.5 x 6.8 mm |
| Weight | 113 g (4.0 oz) | 138 g |
| Build | Glass front, aluminum back, aluminum frame | Glass front (Gorilla Glass 4), glass back (Gorilla Glass 4), aluminum frame |
| SIM | Nano-SIM | Nano-SIM |
Comms
| Apple iPhone SE (1st Gen) | Samsung Galaxy S6 |
|---|
| WLAN | Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band, hotspot | Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band, Wi-Fi Direct, hotspot |
| Bluetooth | 4.2, A2DP, LE | 4.1, A2DP, LE, aptX |
| GPS | GPS, GLONASS | — |
| NFC | Yes (Apple Pay only) | Yes |
| Radio | No | No |
| USB | Lightning, USB 2.0 | microUSB 2.0, OTG |
| Positioning | — | GPS, GLONASS, BDS |
| Infrared port | — | Yes |
Launch
| Apple iPhone SE (1st Gen) | Samsung Galaxy S6 |
|---|
| Announced | 2016, March 21 | March 1, 2015 |
| Status | Released 2016, March 31. Discontinued 2018, September 12. | — |
| Released | — | April 10, 2015 |
Frequently asked questions
Which has the better battery, Apple iPhone SE (1st Gen) or Samsung Galaxy S6?
Samsung Galaxy S6 — 1,624 mAh for the Apple iPhone SE (1st Gen) versus 2,550 mAh for the Samsung Galaxy S6.
Which is lighter, Apple iPhone SE (1st Gen) or Samsung Galaxy S6?
Apple iPhone SE (1st Gen) — 113 g for the Apple iPhone SE (1st Gen) versus 138 g for the Samsung Galaxy S6.
Which is newer, Apple iPhone SE (1st Gen) or Samsung Galaxy S6?
Apple iPhone SE (1st Gen) — Mar 2016 for the Apple iPhone SE (1st Gen) versus Apr 2015 for the Samsung Galaxy S6.
Is the Apple iPhone SE (1st Gen) or the Samsung Galaxy S6 rated higher?
We rate the Apple iPhone SE (1st Gen) 7/10 and the Samsung Galaxy S6 8/10.
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