Apple Pencil Review: The Best iPad Stylus

At an extra hundred dollars on top of the iPad Pro, the Apple Pencil is one of the most expensive iPad styluses you can buy. Is it really worth the cash? Find out all the details in our Apple Pencil review.

If there’s one thing Apple is good at, it’s hyperbole. Whether a new Apple product is magical, revolutionary, or the “funnest” thing ever, chances are good that Apple’s marketing team has thrown a few superlatives in.

Over the years, Apple has expressed a certain amount of disdain over the idea of the stylus. A famous quote from Steve Jobs, Apple’s co-founder and former CEO, suggested that if a company employed a stylus, then something has gone wrong in the design process. So what’s with the big turnaround? Is Apple a hypocrite for coming out with a stylus of their own? It’s a little more complicated than that.

Apple has a love/hate affair with the stylus

Back in the day, mobile devices – both smartphones of the time, and tablets, when they eventually came into being – required the use of styluses. Everything was still designed for use with a keyboard and mouse, and even when there was a touchscreen involved, it was easier to use a stylus, with its precision tapping, than to try and use fingers. These devices got the job done, by and large, but it was a frustrating experience.

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When Mr. Jobs spoke about the idea of styluses, it was in response to products like these, products where a stylus is required just to make the thing usable. I’d go so far as to argue that he wouldn’t have said the same thing about the Microsoft Surface, for example, because those products use a stylus as an optional extra to extend functionality, not to complete it. It’s into this category of devices that both of the iPad Pros, as well as the Apple Pencil, fall.

Apple Pencil review: specifications

Like a couple of the third party options, the Apple Pencil is a powered stylus. It has a rechargeable battery away inside of its hollow tube, and it connects to your iPad over Bluetooth; it isn’t just a simple device. It measures a little under seven inches in length, with a diameter of 0.35 inches and a weight of less than an ounce (just 0.73oz).

Unlike some of the other active stylus options, the Pencil is pretty simple to the end user. There’s no buttons on the barrel; you can write or draw with the included tip, and that’s it. Instead of turning into an eraser if you flip it over, the Pencil has a removable cap held on with a couple of magnets. Underneath is a Lightning plug, like the one you find on the end of your iPhone’s charger cable.

Apple actually subtly changed how the Lightning port on the iPad Pros work. Instead of being a one-way connection like the iPhone and iPad had been up until now, an iPad Pro is actually how most people will charge their Apple Pencil. It looks awkward, and it is, to be honest, but it’s mostly used in short spurts.

If your Pencil runs out of juice when you’re on the go, you can shove it into your iPad Pro – Apple promises that just 15 seconds of iPad charging will get you an hour of Pencil use (ten minutes will take you from 0 to fully charged). Given the nature of the Pencil, it’s impossible to determine a reasonable figure for battery life, but it’s safe to say that you’ll be able to sketch for a few hours or more without worry.

When you get back home, you can connect it to the iPad Pro for an extended period of time, or use a special cable that comes in your Pencil’s box to connect it to a USB port. It sounds fussy, but it’s really a great way to handle charging your Pencil. I’ve had one of these styluses since the middle of December, and my charging cable is still in the Pencil box; I’ve used the iPad Pro to charge it exclusively.

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Along with the charging cable and the Pencil itself, your box contains an extra tip. Eventually, your Pencil’s tip will wear down over time, and you’ll be able to unscrew the old tip to replace it. Unfortunately, Apple has remained mum on how sensitive the Pencil is; it does compare favorably to Wacom’s implementation, whoever.

Apple Pencil review: performance

The Pencil itself is extremely comfortable in hand. Despite being made of plastic, it doesn’t feel cheap at all; it actually feels quite solid thanks to the fact that it’s packed full of battery (it weighs about twice as much as a standard pencil, for instance). While it’s completely round, Apple has engineered it so that if it rolls a little ways along your desk or table, it’ll stop on its own – and the Apple logo will always be facing up.

To talk about how well the Pencil works requires first talking about other iPad styluses, none of which offer a great experience. Most of them have capacitive nubs that fake the touchscreen into thinking you’re dragging your fingertip across the display. I’ve collected a handful of these over the years, and my current favorite (the Wacom Bamboo) only manages a slow, laggy experience.

This is, like, the pinnacle of my drawing skills. You’re welcome.

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A few enterprising companies have created powered Bluetooth models, theoretically similar to the Pencil. The best known of these include Adobe’s Ink and Slide, 53’s Pencil (they had the name first), and the Adonis Script or Touch. Within some apps, these styluses are actually pretty good. Unfortunately, none of them offer very widespread support, and outside of a handful of these apps, you’re limited to using them more like one of those capacitive models (which are also still your only option if you want a stylus for the iPhone, iPad Mini, or iPad Air).

It sounds like I’m being hard on stylus manufacturers, but they’ve done an admirable job of working around the limitations of iOS – one of the reasons why the Pencil feels so much better is because of its tight integration with the iPad Pro, something that only Apple can do.

One result of that tight integration is that the Apple Pencil is supported pretty much across the entire iPad. The experience is better if an app has been updated with explicit Pencil support, but you’ll still be able to do basic drawing and writing even if it hasn’t.

Apple really worked to make the Pencil feel like, well, an actual pencil, and it shows. While there is lag, it’s nearly imperceptible – especially if you aren’t moving very fast across the screen. It’s completely unlike using a non-powered stylus, where you could see the line following your stylus a second later; it’s just like using a traditional sketchpad.

A key aspect to this experience is Apple’s utterly phenomenal palm rejection technology. When you’re using the Pencil on your iPad Pro, you can rest your hand directly on the screen, just like you might with a pad of paper – the iPad will completely ignore your hand, focusing instead on what the Pencil is doing. If you’ve ever spent time trying to use a stylus with an iPad Air, the iPad Pro’s palm rejection is revelatory.

Another fun aspect to the Pencil is its tilt support. If you’ve ever drawn with a pencil, you’ve probably tilted it to the side to shade in an area – the Apple Pencil will behave in a similar fashion. If you select a pencil in your drawing app, it’ll feel just like a pencil. Other drawing tools will tend to produce a small spot if you hold it perpendicular to the iPad, and a large spot if you tilt it to the side.

What the Pencil doesn’t do well

All told, the Pencil delivers a really impressive experience, but there are definitely things that it could do better. Even now, writing or drawing with the Pencil on glass isn’t as comfortable as using an analog tool and a piece of paper, and the tap-tap-tapping as you write is noticeable in a quiet room.

Unlike practically every other device with stylus support, there’s nowhere to put the Pencil when you aren’t using it. Even if it was just a loop attached to the iPad Pro smart covers, it would be handy to have a place to store the stylus that was always with the iPad. It’s easy to see why they decided not to – after all, the Pencil is an optional accessory – but it’s still annoying.

Additionally, I’m prone to losing things, and I expect it’s just a matter of time before the cap on top of the Pencil is lost forever. It’s held on with pretty strong magnets, but it’s easy to imagine charging your stylus at the coffeeshop and accidentally knocking the cap across the floor. Already, third party solutions are appearing to solve both this and the storage issue; this is one of the more underrated benefits to buying into the Apple ecosystem.

Should you buy an Apple Pencil?

I think that many people are looking at the Apple Pencil as a tool for artists, sketchers, and others similarly inclined. But even non-artists who pick up one of the two iPad Pros should seriously consider picking up the Pencil to go with it – I’d go so far as to say it’s a better buy than the Apple Smart Keyboard.

If you have to take a lot of notes that don’t lend themselves to typing – anything with math or scientific formulae, for example – the Pencil is outstanding. You can take your notes, immediately upload and share them with fellow students or coworkers. The stylus is also great for annotating and signing PDFs.

Still, it’s an extra hundred dollars, depending on where you are, and that’s money that could go toward an iPad case, keyboard, or another accessory. If you don’t think that you’ll ever want to doodle, take notes, or mark up a document, you can safely skip the Pencil. But if you find yourself looking at the Pencil, then looking at the cheaper, third-party alternatives, do yourself a favor and stick with Apple’s stylus.

iPad Pro 9.7 vs Surface Pro 4

Apple just got done showing off the new, 9.7-inch iPad Pro. And, in doing so, the company made many jabs at Microsoft, namely inviting the 600 million people that are using 5-year-old PCs (most likely Windows) to get one.

So, let's put the newfangled iPad Pro to task against Microsoft's own device aimed at upgrading its customers' computing experience, the Surface Pro 4. They're actually more evenly-matched than you might think.

Design

Save for the size reduction, almost nothing has changed about the new iPad Pro's design. The four-speaker audio is there, as are the chamfered edges and the Lightning port which doubles as the Apple Pencil charger. 

In fact, just about the only thing to change within the smaller iPad Pro is its screen technology. But, we'll get to that in a moment.

On the other hand, the Surface Pro 4 (SP4) design didn't change much from its previous iteration, either. Save for getting the device a hair thinner and a few inches larger, the SP4 remained untouched from a design perspective. (OK, so the kickstand was improved, too.)

Frankly, it will be impossible to mistake the iPad Pro for a Surface Pro 4 or vice versa. The two products are tackling the 2-in-1 device market from rather different angles.

Both devices take the tablet-first approach to hybrid computing, but the iPad Pro is unabashedly so, being not much more different than your standard iPad. The SP4, however, employs its clever kickstand to better enable more use cases, like drawing, but also for its typing experience.

Microsoft and Apple alike have developed keyboard covers for their respective productivity tablets. The former has created the Type Cover, one with a backlight, chiclet-style keys and a bending portion with a magnet that allows for a more angled keyboard while typing. Finally, you can buy an upgraded version complete with biometric fingerprint scanner for login.

The latter has designed one with the kickstand incorporated within, allowing the iPad Pro – connected via Apple's new(ish) Smart Connector – to rest on it. Rather than a more standard keyboard design, Apple's Smart Keyboard keys are covered in the same cloth as the cover around them. It's weird, but a learning curve that isn't too tough to get over.

The Type Cover from Microsoft was improved for stability but still is a little louder and flimsier than we'd like. However, Apple's Smart Keyboard simply cannot compare to a laptop-grade keyboard in the way that the SP4's comes even remotely close to.

The winner? The iPad Pro's design isn't all that directly tailored to a play-meets-productivity experience in the way that the SP4 is, but perhaps that's because Apple feels it simply is already there. Conversely, the SP4 hardware seems carved out specifically for this kind of hybrid use. This one goes out to Surface Pro 4.

Screen

This is where the iPad Pro and SP4 seem to be neck-and-neck in competition. The iPad Pro comes with Apple's signature 9.7-inch Retina display, but with a neat new trick: True Tone. This employs new four-channel sensors within the device's optical stack to dynamically adjust the white balance of the screen to match the light around it, thus creating more natural viewing experiences.

The SP4 display, on the other hand, has no such technology. Though, you will find Microsoft's PixelSense technology within its 12.3-inch panel. This tech has been borrowed from its old Surface tablet computer, which enables much of the SP4's super accurate and realistic touch and stylus control.

As for pixels per inch (ppi) – the only truly fair way to compare these two displays' resolutions given their disparate size – the SP4 is still barely the winner with 267 ppi (2,736 x 1,824). The smaller iPad Pro retains the same ppi as its larger predecessor: 264 ppi (2,048 x 1,536).

This is such a narrow difference in sharpness that it's practically meaningless: both of these displays put forth a simply gorgeous viewing experience. (And are proof that Apple is no longer the outright king of displays.)

The winner? What this comparison boils down to, then, is unique features. And, in that regard, the iPad Pro's True Tone technology looks to level the playing field once more with Apple firmly at the top. So, this one goes to the iPad Pro.

Specs and performance

This is likely the most difficult comparison for the two, as the hardware inside each machine is directly tailored to that device, one being mobile chip-based and the other based in laptop-grade components. So, take the following apples-to-oranges face-off with an extra grain of salt.

That said, the iPad Pro uses Apple's latest A9X chip found within the 12.9-inch original model, so that makes performance comparisons slightly easier, as we have at least one benchmark to judge both on: Geekbench, one the leading processor tests.

The iPad Pro displayed a multi-core Geekbench result of 5,472, while the Intel Core i5-toting SP4 scored 6,649 points in the same test. That's a difference of nearly 1,100 points. Does that mean that the SP4 is unequivocally more powerful than the iPad Pro? Not at all, as this test doesn't even account for clock speed, exact core count and other factors.

Here's the thing, though: for most work scenarios, you're going to want that full-fat, Core i5 processor more than that mobile chip, especially for apps like AutoCAD and complex spreadsheet functions.

So, where does that leave us? The best of the rest. Both devices employ integrated CPU graphics, an Imagination Series 7XT graphics unit and an Intel HD 515 GPU (Intel Core m3, to start) for the iPad Pro and SP4, respectively.

When it comes to gaming, the iPad Pro will always win as its games are designed to that very spec, whereas the SP4 can't get away with playing any game that wasn't designed with its graphics performance in mind. As for work applications, unless the app in question was designed specifically for iPad Pro, you're in a similar situation like I mentioned before (see: "AutoCAD").

It's been confirmed by third parties – but not Apple – that the iPad Pro rocks 4GB of RAM, whereas the SP4 starts at 4GB and can be expanded to up to 16GB of memory. As for storage, while the new iPad Pro starts at 32GB and can house a 256GB flash drive for $899, the SP4 starts at a 128GB solid-state drive and bumps up to 256GB in certain configurations.

Now, another piece of this puzzle to consider is, what kind of connectivity does each device offer? Both offer the latest in Bluetooth and Wi-Fi technology (that means 802.11ac), which present plenty of options for accessories and the like. However, hard connections is where the two differ vastly.

The iPad Pro has a single port, like every Apple mobile device, the Lightning Connector. It's extremely versatile, but it's still a lonely port. In this very special device, however, Apple's side-borne Smart Connector returns to support the Smart Keyboard. Apple sells all sorts of accessories, like a card reader-to-Lightning device, to expand its hardwired connectivity.

But, the SP4 doesn't need (many of) those, as it already employs one USB 3.0 port, a mini DisplayPort and a microSD card reader in addition to a proprietary charging port. Automatically, the SP4 has more hardwired connectivity than the iPad Pro, but may still need one of those USB expanders – or, you know, Microsoft's pricey Surface Dock.

The winner? While this is by no means a 1-to-1 comparison, the SP4 is simply better suited at the onset to handle heavy productivity applications. Perhaps once developers created iOS versions of their apps to support the iPad Pro, that will level the playing field. But, until then, Surface Pro 4 wins. 

Interface

To make the original iPad Pro work, Apple vastly updated iOS to support essential tasks, like same-window multitasking and expanded keyboard functions. That work has paid dividends, with creative types – writers, especially – lauding the device for what it's done for them. Plus, work like Swift will only continue to open up the operating system (OS) for apps to better work in tandem.

That said, it still pales in comparison to the openness and versatility of Mac OS much less Windows 10, the OS of choice for SP4.

There's no need to go into detail here how either interface works: you know iOS and you know Windows 10. However, it's important to note that, while Microsoft's OS is undebatably more conducive to work than iOS, the only thing keeping it that way is development.

SP4 (spoiler!) may have the stronger interface for its primary purpose today, but give a team of Apple engineers a few months and some hearty motivation to cream those folks in Redmond, and we could be having a different discussion entirely this time next year.

The winner? The Surface Pro 4 takes the cake here without much hassle. iOS might be incredibly intuitive, but it simply cannot compare to the almost-native multitasking and file management of Windows.

Battery life

The ultimate point of comparison: how long do these things last? While we haven't yet been able to test, Apple pegs its new iPad Pro for up to 10 hours of Wi-Fi web usage. We've had the luxury (or sobering reality) of testing the SP4's battery, and it's not exactly stellar.

The SP4 lasted for 4 hours and 15 minutes during the PCMark 8 battery life test, and 5 hours and 15 minutes in our own video rundown test. Microsoft claims that the SP4 lasts for up to 9 hours of video playback. Something's fishy here.

The winner? This is where the iPad Pro will probably win every time. Apple has so well tuned its components to its software and screen resolution for battery life since the iPhone that Microsoft has a lot of catching up to do in this field.

Price

This might be a more difficult comparison than performance, as each device is priced to fit within their respective product portfolios and in relation to similar competing devices. That said, the 9.7-inch iPad Pro starts at $599 for the 32GB version, while the SP4 starts at $899 for the 128GB, Intel Core m3 version.

Neither model comes with its essential keyboard accessory, so tack another $150 or $130 on top of whatever price you pay for the Smart Keyboard or Type Cover, respectively. So, at the basest level, you're looking at roughly $650 for the iPad Pro and $1,030 for the SP4.

The winner? Neither, really. This entirely comes down to what you're looking for from your next productivity-meets-play device. Is a souped up iPad that can work worth over 600 bucks to you, or is a grand for a larger take on that concept a better deal? That's entirely up to you.

Verdict

A lot of this is going to boil down to which OS you're adhered to (or sick and tired of). That said, it's tough to refute that the Surface Pro 4 is better suited to productivity at the onset.

If you're going with an SP4 to do work on the go, you're not going to have to relearn much – even if you're coming from Mac OS – if anything at all. But, with an iPad Pro, you might have to dedicate some time to figure out how to use that device to get work done faster.

That might be worth the effort for an iOS fan or someone getting as far away from Windows as possible. But, for someone who doesn't care much for which OS she's working on so long as it gets done, the Surface Pro 4 maintains its figurative and literal lead against the iPad Pro.

Here’s how Apple’s new 4-inch iPhone SE compares to the rest of the lineup

Small iPhone fans, rejoice! Apple has finally updated its 4-inch iPhone for the first time since the iPhone 5s in 2013. Dubbed the iPhone SE, Apple’s 2016 4-inch iPhone could pass for the iPhone 5s if you weren’t looking too close (save for the rose gold version), but how does it compare to its predecessor as well as the rest of the current iPhone lineup? We break it down below:

With the 2013 5s dropped from the lineup, Apple’s current iPhone offering consists of the iPhone 6s Plus, iPhone 6s, iPhone 6 Plus, iPhone 6, and now the iPhone SE. The screen-size options remains unchanged: 4-inches, 4.7-inches, and 5.5-inches.

But small, medium, and large doesn’t necessarily equal good, better, and best in this equation regardless of which screen size you prefer. The cheaper iPhone SE may have the best battery life, the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus have 3D Touch and the best cameras, but the iPhone SE has a better back camera than the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus.

Simply put, it’s complicated. The best iPhone to recommend is no longer the latest iPhone — at least for the next six months — as budget and which specs are important to each customer is now worth considering more than ever.

PRICE

Before this week’s Apple event, the 2013 iPhone 5s was being sold in 16GB and 32GB configurations for $450 and $500, respectively. Keep in mind that was for 2.5 year old specs. The iPhone SE is being sold in 16GB and 64GB configurations for $400 and $500 with mostly-iPhone 6s specs (with a few exceptions), so you’re getting better hardware for less money at 16GB and more storage for the same price at 64GB.

The next cheapest iPhone, which I’d argue shouldn’t exist in the lineup, is the 2014 iPhone 6 at $550 with 16GB but a slower processor and weaker camera than the iPhone SE and iPhone 6s. Spend $650 and you can decide between the iPhone 6 at 64GB, the iPhone 6 Plus at 16GB, or the iPhone 6s at 16GB. For very similar specs, the $400 iPhone SE is a pretty competitive offer next to the $650 iPhone 6s.

But if the iPhone SE price stays the same in September when Apple likely introduces the iPhone 7, the spec gap for the $250 difference would make more sense. So would the lineup if it only consisted of the iPhone SE, iPhone 6s/Plus, and iPhone 7/Plus.

CAMERA

Apple’s choice of cameras for the iPhone SE is also very interesting. The rear iSight camera is spec’d out across the board just like the iPhone 6s camera, which is superior to the iPhone 6 camera. We’re talking about 12-megapixels versus 8-megapixels, the same ƒ/2.2 aperture, improved local tone mapping, improved noise reduction, 63-megapixel panoramas versus 43-megapixels, and the ability to shoot Live Photos. Despite being a thicker iPhone, Apple is still saving optical image stabilization, or OIS, for the Plus-sized iPhones.

Video recording is also impressive with 4K capture at 30 fps on the iPhone SE and iPhone 6s/Plus versus a maximum 1080p video capture at 60 fps on the iPhone 6/Plus. Slow-mo video on the iPhone SE and iPhone 6s/Plus can be captured at 240 fps, whereas the iPhone 6/Plus maxes out at 120 fps. The iPhone SE and iPhone 6s/Plus can take 8-megapixel still photos during video recording, while the iPhone 6/Plus captures lower resolution still photos during video. OIS for video is only offered on the iPhone 6s Plus.

Since the 4-inch iPhone has a thicker design than the 4.7-inch and 5.5-inch iPhones, the iPhone SE is the only modern iPhone without a protruding camera bump for fans of flush lenses.

For selfie fans, the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus offer the best cameras. Apple’s flagship iPhones feature 5-megapixel FaceTime cameras while the rest of the iPhone family offers much lower spec’d 1.2-megapixel cameras. The iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus both beat the iPhone SE’s aperture at ƒ/2.2 aperture versus ƒ/2.4 aperture (like golf, lower is better) which is what the iPhone 5s had, but the iPhone SE offers the same Retina Flash feature that the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus introduced. This illuminates the iPhone display to 3x brightness to make selfies in the dark possible. I’m a huge selfie fan, but even I’m not sure a better front-facing camera is worth $250.

BATTERY

The iPhone SE doesn’t hit stores until March 31 so we haven’t tested this yet, but in theory and on (Apple’s) paper the new 4-inch iPhone should best the 4.7-inch and 5.5-inch iPhones in battery life in at least one area. Previously, the larger Plus-sized iPhones were the best models for battery life thanks to room for higher capacity batteries. The idea with the iPhone SE is that the more powerful A9 chip is just way more energy efficient than the A7 chip from 2013, but the iPhone SE uses the same design (and likely same battery capacity) as the iPhone 5s (and has fewer on-screen pixels to drive). Apple doesn’t disclose battery capacities, so we’ll have to wait for the tear downs to see inside, but this is what Apple promises on “up to” battery life for each iPhone:

iPhone SE: 14 hours talk time, 10 days standby time, 12 hours of 3G Internet/13 hours on LTE/13 hours on Wi-Fi, 13 hours of video playback, 50 hours of audio playback

iPhone 6/6s: 14 hours talk time, 10 days standby time, 10 hours of 3G Internet/10 hours on LTE/11 hours on Wi-Fi, 11 hours of video playback, 50 hours of audio playback

iPhone 6 Plus/6s Plus: 24 hours talk time, 16 days standby time, 12 hours of 3G Internet/12 hours on LTE/12 hours on Wi-Fi, 14 hours of video playback, 80 hours of audio playback

Go 5.5-inch if you want overall best battery life, but 4-inch if you value an extra hour of LTE and Wi-Fi Internet use, and consider a battery case if you prefer the 4.7-inch iPhone.

STORAGE

Apple’s current iPhone lineup offers 16GB and 64GB models across the board with $100 in between each capacity jump. Only the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus offer the higher 128GB capacity option. Avoid 16GB at all cost, pick 64GB whenever possible, or go iPhone 6s/Plus if you need 128GB.

My last two iPhones (iPhone 6, and iPhone 6s Plus) have both been 128GB, but services like Apple Music and iCloud Photo Library make 64GB more comfortable; 128GB is preferred for extended time offline, however.

COLOR

Since Apple discontinued the iPhone 5c, the whole lineup has consisted of aluminum and glass builds. The iPhone 6/Plus and iPhone 6s/Plus all have full-metal backs while the iPhone SE has the same mostly-metal back with rear-glass near the top and bottom. All iPhone models offer space gray or silver options, but you’ll want the iPhone SE or iPhone 6s/Plus if you want gold or rose gold. The iPhone 6/Plus was originally offered in gold (and never rose gold), but Apple slimmed down the offering after the first year.

SCREEN

Screen size obviously varies with the 4-inch iPhone SE, 4.7-inch iPhone 6/6s, and 5.5-inch iPhone 6/6s Plus, but there are other display differences as well. For example, only the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus feature pressure-sensitive 3D Touch displays, which let you interact with iOS in more efficient ways. Bigger screens also have higher resolutions, and the Plus-sized iPhones have a higher pixel-per-inch count at 401 ppi compared to the medium and small models at 326 ppi.

Contrast ratio also varies between models: expect 1400:1 contrast ratio on iPhone 6/6s, 1300:1 on iPhone 6/6s Plus, and a mere 800:1 on the cheaper iPhone SE. The iPhone SE also lacks dual-domain pixels which offer wider viewing angles. Only the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus features Apple’s new Taptic Engine for greatly improved vibrations, which will be missed for anything moving from a 6s-series iPhone to the SE-series iPhone.

POWER

Expect to see benchmark score comparisons when the iPhone SE hits stores, but for now the iPhone SE is on par with the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus thanks to its A9 chip; the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus use 1.5 year old A8 chips. The embedded M9 chip is found on the SE, 6s, and 6s Plus, which enables features like always-on Hey Siri.

This means the $400 iPhone SE is faster than the $550 iPhone 6. Other variances like clock speed and RAM have yet to be revealed, but Apple set the iPhone SE up for success by including the A9 chip over the A8 chip.

TOUCH ID

All models have the Touch ID fingerprint sensor for unlocking the iPhone and authenticating purchases in apps and through Apple Pay, but Apple’s website confirms that only the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus use the second-generation Touch ID sensor, which is faster and more reliable. Sorry iPhone SE fans, but the $250 savings should help and the first-generation Touch ID wasn’t bad; it’s still being used on all iPads too.

EVERYTHING ELSE

The iPhone SE is the only model in the current lineup without a barometer, which is used to track flights of stairs climbed among other things. It also lacks Display Zoom, which the larger iPhones have as an option to make iOS appear larger and easier to see (at the expense of being less sharp). But it’s also the most pocketable iPhone with a 4-inch display versus the 4.7-inch display and 5.5-inch display on the rest of the lineup.

Smaller also means lighter: the iPhone SE comes in at 3.99 ounces, the iPhone 6 at 4.55 ounces, iPhone 6s at 5.04 ounces, iPhone 6 Plus at 6.07 ounces, and iPhone 6s Plus at 6.77 ounces. The smaller, boxier design makes it the thickest iPhone, though, at 7.6 mm; the iPhone 6s Plus is next at 7.3 mm, the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6 Plus are tied at 7.1 mm, and the iPhone 6 is the thinnest at 6.9 mm.

The iPhone SE is also the most one-hand friendly model in the family; it measures 4.87 inches tall by 2.31 inches wide. Compare that to the iPhone 6 and 6s at 5.44 inches tall and 2.64 inches wide. The big-screened iPhone 6 Plus is 6.22 inches tall and 3.06 inches wide while the iPhone 6s Plus is the same height and barely wider at 3.07 inches. Choose wisely!