The iPhone SE 2020 vs SE 2016 battery capacity revealed, same battery life as iPhone 8

If you ask its fans, it is partly because Steve Jobs thought those don't matter as much as long as the iPhones work smooth and seamless, and if you ask Android fans it's because iPhones are usually under-spec'd, compared to their Android counterparts.
Whatever the real reasons, the new iPhone SE 2020 is no different than Apple's previous handset in that there are no official values for its battery capacity and RAM amounts. The phone certification listings of China Telecom, however, are the gift that keeps on giving in that respect, and both numbers have now leaked out, confirming what we had heard only as rumors before.
Apple iPhone SE 2020 vs iPhone SE 2016 RAM, battery life and capacity
Coupled with the more frugal A13 processor that is two generations ahead of the A11, one would think that Apple's dumpster-diving for iPhone 8 parts in 2020 results in a much better battery life than the iPhone SE's predecessor.
That may not really be the case, though, as Apple lists the exact same 13 hours of video playback on a charge for the iPhone SE, iPhone 8 and the new iPhone SE 2020. If anything, Apple lists a bit more audio playback on a charge from the OG iPhone SE.

Apple iPhone SE 2020 vs iPhone SE 2016 vs iPhone 8 battery life
By now it probably takes less than a Benjamin to assemble an iPhone 8, and it shouldn't cost much more for Apple to make the iPhone SE replacement that probably commands at least 200% profit margin.
Not only that, but the iPhone SE strategy is probably geared towards giving a gateway drug to the iOS ecosystem to as broad a market as possible, including in developing markets.