The iPhone SE wins best budget phone in the Tom's Guide Awards 2020

iPhone SE 2020 award
(Image credit: Apple/Future)

This is proving to be the year of the cheap phone, and no handset has proven that quite like the iPhone SE 2020. Apple's revised version of the beloved iPhone SE delivers some premium features in a device that costs less than $400, making it an easy choice for the first-ever Tom's Guide Award for the best budget phone around.

Consider the fact that the iPhone SE features the same A13 Bionic processor that also powers Apple's iPhone 11 lineup. The A13 is the fastest mobile processor we've ever tested, meaning you can grab a $399 iPhone SE that can outperform Android devices that sell for hundreds of dollars more.

  • Check out all of the Tom’s Guide Awards 2020 winners

More importantly, the state-of-the-art processor inside the iPhone SE means you'll be able to hold onto that phone for longer. The iPhone SE will be able to run future iOS updates and new apps for years, helping you get even more value out of your purchase.

While it's true the iPhone SE features just one rear camera at a time when many budget phones are adding multiple lenses, Apple has proven that great photography doesn't require more cameras. Thanks to the neural engine on the A13 — there's that chip again — the iPhone SE can use computational photography to bring out the highlights in faces and add portrait effects to images shot with either the front or rear camera.

It's not as if the iPhone SE hasn't faced stiff competition on the budget phone front. Samsung has a sub-$400 phone of its own in the Galaxy A51, which illustrates the phone maker's renewed commitment to producing better midrange devices. TCL's first branded phone for the US, the TCL 10 Pro, boasts a design and display that wouldn't be out of place in a more expensive handset. And the Moto G Power rides a 5,000 mAh battery to the best phone battery life we've seen in some time.

It's an impressive mix of low-cost phones, and yet the iPhone SE with its powerful processor, wireless charging support and affordable price, stands head and shoulders above its rivals.

Philip Michaels

Philip Michaels is a Managing Editor at Tom's Guide. He's been covering personal technology since 1999 and was in the building when Steve Jobs showed off the iPhone for the first time. He's been evaluating smartphones since that first iPhone debuted in 2007, and he's been following phone carriers and smartphone plans since 2015. He has strong opinions about Apple, the Oakland Athletics, old movies and proper butchery techniques. Follow him at @PhilipMichaels.

Latest in iPhones
iOS 19 logo on an iPhone
iOS 19 — all the rumors so far
3D printed models of alleged iPhone 17 Air and iPhone 17 Pro design
iPhone 17 Air dummy model shows off Apple’s big design change
iPhone 16 Pro shown held in hand
iOS 19 may bring Apple Intelligence powers to more iPhone apps — but without any big new features
A render of the iPhone 17 Pro Max
iPhone 17 Pro Max — this new rumor could push people towards iPhone 17 Air
Apple Intelligence logo on iPhone
Apple confirms Siri 2.0 is delayed — 'it’s going to take us longer than we thought'
iPhone 17 Pro render
iPhone 17 Pro Max and iPhone 17 Air designs just teased in new video — here's your first look
Latest in News
iOS 19 logo on an iPhone
iOS 19 — all the rumors so far
NYTimes Connections
NYT Connections today hints and answers — Tuesday, March 11 (#639)
An image of a CAPTCHA
Hackers are using reCAPTCHA to trick users into infecting their own PCs with malware — how to stay safe
Gmail logo on iPhone
Gmail just got a huge AI upgrade that will save you a ton of time
Nina Oyama and Kate Box in Deadloch
One of my favorite shows on Prime Video has been totally overlooked — and it's got 100% on Rotten Tomatoes
Xbox handheld
Xbox handheld reportedly arriving this year, new PC-like console in 2027