Apple has unveiled its latest offering – the new iPhone SE in a smaller package. With the iPhone SE, Apple reinstates that the 4 inch smartphones are still in demand and thus worth producing. Apple has been always reluctant on increasing the screen size of its iPhones, as the company insisted that moving anything beyond the 4 inch mark will spoil the actual benefits of a mobile phone of being compact, easy to fit in a shirt pocket and the ability to use in one hand. While market competition ensured Apple moves away from this practical thinking, Apple says that it has created the new iPhone SE on customer demand and that many people actually still love the smaller iPhones of the past, such as the iPhone 5s.
In fact, the new iPhone SE also looks pretty similar to the iPhone 5s and is thought to be its actual successor which is going to replace the 5s as per reports. However, the great thing about the iPhone SE is that while it goes back to the previous iPhone size, it hasn’t gone back when capabilities are concerned. So, the iPhone SE is a rather packed heavily and delivers big things even in a small package, and this means a smaller size as well a smaller price tag to make things more interesting. The new Apple iPhone SE’s price tag is also a talking point among the iPhone lovers and is expected to offer the company a great boost in terms of sales.
So, does the iPhone SE deserve all the buzz before it has even hit the market? Can it live up to the expectations that it is generating among the prospective buyers? Can the iPhone SE really prove to be hot seller to help Apple get good sales growth this year? We are going to try and figure out all the answers by looking at what all the new iPhone SE comes packed with, on which its actual market performance will depend. So, let us take a look at the new iPhone SE which is posed to be a great new smartphone under the 40k price slab:
4 inch Size and design
The new iPhone SE comes in a small 4 inch size just like the iPhone 5s, which according to Apple is a result of customer feedback and demands. Although the new device gets a smaller 4 inch screen, the PPI remains the same as its larger counterparts and thus it will offer the same sharp, brilliant viewing experience which the iPhone flagship models offer. Moreover, the display may even seem to be brighter and more vibrant due to its small size. Thus, there is no compromise in terms of display and viewing, plus it offers all the great conveniences that a small compact smartphone can give in terms of portability and handling.
The iPhone SE offers a design amalgamation of the iPhone 6s and the iPhone 5s. Thus, it is great to look and hold and comes with the patent desirable styling of a typical new iPhone. Its metallic body, the matte finish and smooth and sleek styling offers the premium look and feel that it deserves. It will be offered in the color choice of Silver, Space Gray, Rose Gold and Gold similar to the 6s. So, it does offer latest styling as well.
Specs & performance
As mentioned above, the iPhone SE is small in size but big in performance and comes with the same capability as it gets the same specs as that of the iPhone 6s. This means the iPhone SE will offers super fast and smooth smartphone experience, which is a superb upgrade over the iPhone 5s and makes it thrice as fast. The device is powered by the same powerful A9 processor of the 6s, but on the flipside it is supported with only 1GB of RAM. The A9 chipset will come along with the M9 co-processor to offer the always-on feature “Hey Siri”. Thus, the phone will be a great performer as well.
Camera
The iPhone SE will also offer the adorable 12 MP primary rear-end snapper from the iPhone 6s. This is simply a great thing to have at a lower price tag. The phone also comes with the latest feature of Live Photos and also support 4K resolution video recording, again a massive upgrade from the iPhone 5s.
However, the downside is its small 1.2 MP front facing camera like the 5s, which is a far less than the 6s’ 5 MP secondary shooter. Nevertheless, the front facing selfie snapper also comes with a retina flash to offer clearer selfies even in low light conditions.
Other features
The iPhone SE offers the same fingerprint scanner which is rather slow and not commendable, while it also not offer the 3D Touch capability. However, there are other attractive features present in the new iPhone SE such as the Touch ID and Apple Pay which will be offered as built in features in this new model.
Price & availability
The new Apple iPhone SE will be sold in 16 GB and 64 GB inbuilt storage versions. While the 16 GB model will be available at $399, the 64 GB variant will be offered at $499. In India, the starting price of the new iPhone SE will be Rs. 39,000. The latest small iPhone model will be hitting the global market on 31st of March, while bookings are already open.
Final words
The iPhone SE is no doubt a good new package from the house of Apple, which should be able to draw many prospective buyers. The lower price tag with great specs and new capabilities at par with the iPhone 6s certainly makes it an attractive buy. With better features, the iPhone SE is certainly a relatively cheaper great new iPhone model. However, with a Rs. 39,000 onwards pricing, it is doubtful as to how popular the iPhone SE will become in India. Apple would have done much better if it could launch the iPhone SE at the earlier speculated price point of Rs. 30,000.