When it comes to iPhone upgrades, Apple is incremental. So are iPhone reviews. Those of us who review iPhones are, for understandable reasons, focused on what’s new between this year’s model and the last.

Fortunately, Apple’s release of a new iPhone SE in March 2022 is an opportunity to zoom out and take the long view. Most people don’t buy a new iPhone every year. The primary upgraders to the third-generation iPhone SE will be coming from older models. So here’s an attempt to provide a little more of a big-picture overview for owners of older iPhones who are wondering what’s new in the iPhone SE.

Consider the iPhone mini Before we compare the new iPhone SE to older models, we want to put in a plug for a phone we love, the iPhone mini. (You can buy the 2021 model iPhone 13 mini or the 2020 iPhone 12 mini.) The iPhone minis offer a second ultra-wide camera, two more hours of battery life, support Face ID (rather than Touch ID), have the harder Ceramic Shield glass on their front, are compatible with MagSafe accessories, offer a larger and higher-quality OLED screen… and for all that, they’re smaller and lighter than the iPhone SE.…