Apple
iPhone SE (1st generation)
A 4 inch iPhone with VoLTE, so the network still takes it. The apps are what moved on.
$45 to $61
Second-hand only. Swappa listings started at $45 unlocked and on AT&T or Verizon in September 2026, and $61 on T-Mobile.
- TypeSlab
- SoftwareiOS
- Screen4" LCD
- Network2G / 3G / 4G
- Introduced 2016
Software and apps
- Operating system
- iOS 15.8.8 maximum, released May 11, 2026
- App store
- Full app store
- Web browser
- Yes
- Yes
- Sideloading
- No
- Yes
- Spotify
- Yes
- Podcasts
- Yes
- Apple Music
- Yes
- Your own MP3s
- Yes
- RCS messaging
- No
- Group texts
- Yes
- Android Auto
- NoThis is an iPhone, so the car standard is CarPlay.
- Maps
- Yes: Apple Maps
- Rideshare
- NoThe Uber rider app needs iOS 17 and this phone stops at 15.
Hardware
- Form factor
- Slab (touch)
- Screen
- 4 inch 1136-by-640 Retina LCD at 326 ppi
- Camera
- Yes
- Battery
- 1,624 mAh not user-replaceable
- USB-C
- No
- Headphone jack
- Yes
- Weight
- 113 g
Connectivity
- Network
- 2G / 3G / 4GLTE, with the GSM, UMTS and CDMA fallbacks of its day. The fallbacks are switched off in the US now, but LTE is what it calls over.
- VoLTE
- Yes
- SIM
- Physical SIMNano-SIM. No eSIM.
- Wi-Fi hotspot
- Yes
- Bands
- Model A1662: LTE bands 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 8, 12, 13, 17, 18, 19, 20, 25, 26, 29 | Model A1723: LTE bands 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 12, 17, 18, 19, 20, 25, 26, 28 plus TD-LTE | both also GSM/EDGE, UMTS/HSPA+ and CDMA EV-DO
- Carriers
- Apple lists VoLTE and Wi-Fi calling, which is what AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon now require of anything they will carry voice for. Ask the carrier before you buy anyway: a handset this old can fail an activation check on its age rather than its radio.
Where to get one
- Regions
- United States, Canada, Latin America, United Kingdom, Europe, Ships worldwide
- Countries
- Sold worldwide from March 2016 to September 2018. Mexico got it on April 18, 2016, through Telcel, Movistar and AT&T. Second-hand everywhere now.
- Also sold at
- eBay, Swappa and other second-hand markets
Notes
This is the small iPhone that still works, and it is here because the iPhone 5 is the one that does not. Apple lists VoLTE and Wi-Fi calling on both models, so it calls over LTE, which is the only thing the US networks still carry. What has moved on is the software. iOS 15.8.8 in May 2026 is the end of the line, and the App Store answers an old phone with old builds: Spotify hands back the last release that ran on iOS 15, Uber will not install at all, and WhatsApp clears its November 2026 floor by three point releases. Read that as the shape of the thing rather than a fault. A phone that cannot run the rideshare app and cannot receive an RCS thread is most of the way to being a dumbphone already, and it cost forty five dollars. Four inches, 113 grams, and a headphone jack.
Last updated September 19, 2026.
