IT'S hard to imagine being able to shoot and edit 4K video on a phone the size of Apple's power-packed four inch iPhone SE.

Starting at under $700, Apple's latest phone is clearly aimed at budget buyers.

But there's nothing cheap about what's inside.

Powered by the A9, the same chip in the iPhone 6s, the specs are incredible.

A 12 megapixel iSight camera, 4K video, touch ID, Hey Siri support, Apple Pay, faster processor and graphics capability and advanced wireless capabilities are all included.

We've been road testing the SE for the past few days, putting it through its paces shooting hundreds of photos and video while playing tourist in Sydney.

While I'm more of a fan of the bigger screen iPhone 6 Plus, the SE is no poor alternative.

My only gripe so far is that the battery life is not as great as a larger phone. But I really only noticed that while shooting lots of video.

Apple says the SE has a twice as fast CPU and three times faster graphics processing performance compared to iPhone 5s.

Playing the latest games or editing a package on iMovie, we certainly found it no slouch in the performance stakes.

The camera captured great images in both low light conditions at night and during the brightest sunlight. It doesn't have the optical stabilisation of the iPhone 6 Plus but certainly the performance of the 6s.

Live Photos are a nice inclusion and a great way to capture movement while taking your family pictures. The 63 megapixel panoramas come up a treat.

The phone also features true tone flash which adjusts colour and intensity for more than 1000 combinations. The photos looked a little more natural than those shot on my Samsung.

We put the time-lapse video stabilisation to the test while taking a ferry ride around the Sydney Opera House. Despite the movement of the boat, and hands which were not completely steady, the result was stunning. SEE VIDEO ABOVE

It provided the opening scene to a cinema-style trailer we put together using iMovie.

More than 12 hours of checking out Sydney's CBD, Manly and Bondi beaches was condensed into a dramatic 60 seconds of video. It took about 15 minutes of editing on the plane back from Sydney.

The phone has the power to edit two streams of 4K video, which is quite remarkable for a device of its size.

As well as 4K video, which obviously chews up a lot more storage space, the SE can shoot 1080p HD video up to 60 frames per second and slo-mo up to 240 fps.

For those wanting to snap selfies, the Retina display doubles as a flash for your FaceTime HD camera.

The SE will appeal to those wanting to upgrade from the older four inch iPhone but who are not prepared to fork out more for a 6.

The iPhone SE 16GB model costs $679, while the 64GB model is a better option at $829.

The writer was a guest of Apple in Sydney.

AT A GLANCE

64-bit A9 chip

9 motion coprocessor

Always-on "Hey Siri"

Improved battery life

Faster wi-fi

Wi-fi calling

iOS 9.3

12MP iSight camera

Live Photos

63MP panoramas

4K video

1080p up to 60 fps

Slo-mo up to 240 fps

New microphones

Apple Pay