Apple Reveals New iPhone SE

Yesterday on the 21st of March, Apple revealed their new iPhone SE during a special event in Cupertino, California. The iPhone SE’s primary attributes are the return to the popular iPhone 5 design and size in combination with up-to-date technical components starting at $399.

Many people are excited to watch the broadcasts in which Apple representatives present and introduce their latest products to the public. This time they introduced their new iPhone SE and a new iPad Pro. The new iPhone SE has been made smaller than the iPhone 6, returning to the design and dimension of the iPhone 5, even though Apple has chosen not to name it iPhone 5 SE.

Why go back?

The market has not adapted the large size of the iPhone 6 very well. The opinion article “Is the iPhone 6 Plus too big? – Phablets like the iPhone 6 Plus might not be for everybody” by Jim Lynch on CIO.com broached the issue before. Seeing how many people still kept sing their iPhone 5 and not upgrading might have taught Apple to change something in their roadmap.

Next to the basic design principles of the iPhone 5 the iPhone SE will be available in the 4 colors Silver, Gold, Space Gray and Rose Gold and if you’re wondering what the ‘SE’ in iPhone SE means, check out this tweet below by Jason Cipriani from Fortune Magazine on Twitter, but beware, it’s not very flashy.

Phil Schiller just told me the “SE” stands for “Special Edition” @FortuneTech

— Jason Cipriani (@MrCippy) March 21, 2016

Praised Features

Many features introduced are not related to hardware but to software improvements. As you know it from Apple however, they love to leverage their unique positioning to leverage a combination of features based on hardware and software improvements. So what fun things does the iPhone SE bring you?

• Live Photos
• Front Camera Flash
• Touch ID biometric security
• Apple Pay
• Improved LTE and Wi-Fi
• iOS 9
• Improved Siri artificial assistant

Please note that based on the Apple iPhone comparison sheet, the iPhone SE does not  feature the 3D touch function.

Pricing

Starting at $399 for the 16GB version, the iPhone SE is targeting the large middle-class of consumers. It’s unclear who wants a fixed 16GB storage phone and it’s also unclear what justifies a price increase to $499 for the 64GB version. Except for the storage controversy the pricing for the remaining technology in the iPhone SE seems fair as it contains the same or better components in comparison to other iPhones in an upper market segment.

Tech Specs

Just to give a quick overview of what the iPhone SE will consist of, check the bullets below. For a more detailed view on the technical components check out the specs page by Apple.

• 16 or 64GB data storage
• 4″ LED-backlit Retina display
• 3.99 ounces (113 grams) of weight
• A9 chip with 64‑bit architecture with embedded M9 motion coprocessor
• 12‑megapixel rear camera
• 1.2‑megapixel front camera
• Battery specification unclear (estimated to be 30% better than iPhone 5s)

What’s in the box?

As per industry standard, the smartphone is sold in neat, shiny and small boxes. Next to the phone itself you will also find the following in the box:

• Apple EarPods with Remote and Mic
• Lightning to USB Cable
• USB Power Adapter
• Documentation

iPhone SE in a Nutshell

“iPhone SE is an exciting new idea — we started with a beloved, iconic design and reinvented it from the inside out. The result is the most beautiful and powerful phone with a four-inch display in the world,” … “iPhone SE is packed with a stunning four-inch Retina display, advanced 64-bit A9 chip with M9 motion coprocessor, longer battery life, 12-megapixel iSight camera with True Tone flash, Live Photos, 4K video, faster LTE and Wi-Fi, and Touch ID with Apple Pay. Everyone who wants a smaller phone is going to love iPhone SE.”

— Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing

About Apple

Apple revolutionized personal technology with the introduction of the Macintosh in 1984. Today, Apple leads the world in innovation with iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch and Apple TV. Apple’s four software platforms — iOS, OS X, watchOS and tvOS — provide seamless experiences across all Apple devices and empower people with breakthrough services including the App Store, Apple Music, Apple Pay and iCloud. Apple’s 100,000 employees are dedicated to making the best products on earth, and to leaving the world better than we found it.

Apple Keynote Special Event (March 21, 2016)