Apple still loves building compact smartphones, even though the last generations grew considerably. The iPhone SE (which is short for Special Edition) goes back to the roots and revives the hardly used 4-inch form factor.

sophisticated chassis; compact and light; very high performance; bright display with accurate colors; responsive and smooth handling; many accessories available; great signal quality; accurate GPS; good speaker; decent cameras; great runtimes in practice

high black value; NFC only for Apple Pay; microphone sounds dull; no IP certification; glass surfaces can easily break; storage not expandable; integrated battery

Don't write it off just because it's smaller and looks like the iPhone 5, but be prepared to admit you may have outgrown the dated 4″ screen since Apple introduced larger displays.

Apple's iPhone SE is the best 4-inch smartphone you can buy, period.

Just as powerful as the iPhone 6S; Cheap for the specs; Superb camera; Cute; retro design; Easy to hold and use one-handed

4-inch screen is really small; Must pay extra $100 to get enough storage; Selfie camera is low resolution

Some things are just better bigger. Televisions, hotel rooms, border walls (supposedly), paychecks, wine glasses, hands, and one or two other things I won't mention that come up very quickly when you Google "bigger is better." Oh, and phones.

You can't beat the hand-feel of a smaller phone; The SE's battery life is shockingly great; There's plenty of power, plenty of camera inside this body

Some website and app designs are leaving small screens behind; The SE is no movie screen, and it's sure not VR friendly; Your selfies will look worse, and your touches will be less 3D

Earlier this week at Apple's campus in Cupertino, the company announced a brand-new iPhone. The heavens didn't part, pop bands didn't play, and people aren't camping out at Apple Stores to buy the thing.

Fast; Long battery life; Great rear camera; Relatively inexpensive

Starts with only 16GB of storage; Lacks a few iPhones 6S features; Design not updated from iPhone 5s

The iPhone SE might be small and looks like an old iPhone but it brings some impressive updates to the table. This phone probably belongs on the shortlist for your[...]

Great performance; Excellent battery life; Lowest price per GB for a new iPhone

Unimpressive display; Looks identical to the iPhone 5S; Voice call quality spotty at best; No 32GB option: Starts at 16GB and jumps to 64GB

The Apple iPhone SE gives you the power of the latest iPhone 6s in the compact and stylish body of the iPhone 5s! It's a winning combination, and the fact that this is the most affordable iPhone for years makes it a top buy.

Sure, the Apple iPhone SE looks out of place, but that's more indicative of how comfortable we've grown to bigger handsets, even if their size has impacted on ease of use for many users.

Powerful and compact; Excellent main camera; Premium design; Affordable

Apple's return to small 4in devices with the iPhone SE was a surprise, but a logical development too. Crucially, personal devices are all about choice and the iPhone SE is essentially the engine of the iPhone 6s in a smaller package.

There are two ways of looking at the iPhone SE, the "special edition" smaller-scale 4-inch iPhone. One is that it's Apple simply churning out a 2-year-old design with a spec update; the other is that it delivers what many people actually want: a small but powerful phone for those who believe the...

Small size will suit a certain audience; majority 6S feature set means plenty of power; accessible price point

Not a new design; small size won't be for all - can feel crammed on screen; no 3D Touch; 1.2MP front camera; no MIMO Wi-Fi