Apple's 2020 budget iPhone, putting the iPhone 11's A13 Bionic chip into the iPhone 8's 4.7-inch body with Touch ID. Owners rate its speed and size, but the small battery and dated screen are recurring frustrations.
This entry is written from the 4 sources listed at the bottom of the page. The numbers are our editorial estimates drawn from that material, not measurements, and no statistical sample sits behind them.
On the evidence gathered here, yes. 70% of owners say they would buy it again, and satisfaction is still 6.0 out of 10 two years in. Still as smooth as day one after two years.
Performance holds up and the compact size stays a plus, but the small battery is the main frustration. Heavy users lean on low-power mode or a power bank.
Battery health falls to the low 80s within two to three years. Heavy users end up on low-power mode or carrying a power bank.
Still as smooth as day one after two years. Sentiment across the ownership period stays close to flat, which is rare: it reads 7.6 out of 10 in the first week and 6.0 two years later.
Worth it for: Budget iphone buyers; Touch id fans; Kids and older relatives. Think twice if: Heavy video streamers; Mobile gamers; Big-screen lovers.
Our reading of how sentiment moves across an ownership period, drawn from the sources below. It is an editorial estimate, not tracked longitudinal data.
| At purchase | 7.8 / 10 |
|---|---|
| First week | 7.6 / 10 |
| One month | 7.4 / 10 |
| Six months | 7.0 / 10 |
| One year | 6.7 / 10 |
| Two years or more | 6.0 / 10 |
Owner reviews move this score. The researched figure stays visible next to it, so you can always see what the sources said before anyone voted.
Leave a review on the live pageEvery complaint and every piece of praise above traces back to these. The summaries are ours; nothing is quoted, and no link, quote or username anywhere on this site is invented.
Praises the light body, A13 speed, good main camera and Touch ID, but finds the 4.7-inch LCD cramped, the battery quick to drain with video and the 5W charger slow.
A late-2021 look back citing the roughly $399 price and iPhone 11 chip, while calling the bezel-heavy 60Hz screen and weak low-light camera dated.
After two years the owner reports 84% battery health, still-smooth performance and a durable build, but calls the battery the one real frustration.
An owner of a roughly three-year-old SE saw health go from 83% to 79%; a reply says that is normal wear and suggests a battery replacement.