Apple has unveiled a new iPhone at today’s event. The new iPhone, the iPhone SE, brings Apple back to its earlier smartphone roots. Before the iPhone 6, many criticized Apple for making the iPhone small.
However, that size always proved better for one-handed use. Today’s release brings the power of the latest iPhone to the 4-inch form factor.
Greg Joswiak came on stage talking about the iPhone 6 and the popularity of it. But, the 4-inch iPhone is still popular. Over 30 million were sold in 2015 alone. Greg mentioned two reasons: one, they like smaller iPhones; two, these are their first iPhones.
The phone looks very similar to an iPhone 5s, but its internal specs are just like the iPhone 6s. This means the 64-bit A9 chip and embedded M9 motion coprocessor, doubling the CPU speeds of the iPhone 5s and providing three times the graphics power of the 5s. This means better fitness tracking, improved battery life when tracking user activity, and support for “Hey, Siri!”
The camera has also been upgraded to a 12MP camera with Focus Pixels and True Tone Flash. The LED still appears as a pill shape on the back. The camera also can capture Live Photos and 4K video like the iPhone 6s. Meanwhile, the front facing camera has support for the Retina Flash feature.
Other improvements over the iPhone 5s include support for more LTE bands and Wi-Fi bands than the iPhone 5s. Apple Pay is also supported on the iPhone SE thanks to the inclusion of NFC and the Secure Element.
Price wise, the iPhone SE is the most affordable new iPhone ever launched. Users can buy a 16 GB model for $399 or 64 GB model at $499. Orders will begin on March 24 and ship on March 31.
