Apple unveils new iPhone SE priced at just $399

AppleInsiderAppleInsider
Posted:
in iPhone edited July 2020
After years of rumors, Apple has finally launched the 2020 iPhone SE, with the new model offering a much-needed specifications bump while still maintaining the affordability of the namesake.

Apple's iPhone SE for 2020
Apple's iPhone SE for 2020


The follow-up to the 2016 iPhone SE, or perhaps the iPhone 8, the new 2020 iPhone SE continues the trend of providing flagship-level processing power in a small form-factor, and great value package. For the latest iteration, Apple has opted for a 4.7-inch LCD display, which is still small when compared to the iPhone 11 and other current models, but it is slightly larger than the original iPhone SE 4-inch screen.

Another element borrowed from the original is the reuse of older design ideas seen in previous iPhone models, with the new iPhone SE borrowing concepts and design elements from the iPhone 8. Chief among the borrowed elements is the use of a physical home button and Touch ID, which have been eliminated from main iPhone releases over the years in favor of an edge-to-edge display with Face ID.

Apple's 2020 iPhone SE


In reusing the iPhone 8 design, Apple has once again used a metal chassis with a visible external band around the outside, with a glass back to enable wireless charging.

Color options for the 2020 iPhone SE
Color options for the 2020 iPhone SE


Inside the iPhone SE is an A13 Bionic processor, the same used in the iPhone 11 and iPhone 11 Pro lines, along with 3 gigabytes of memory. This is, again, similar to how the original model used the A9 with M9 motion co-processor, the latest A-series processor available at the time of its launch.

Connectivity is 802.11ax Wi-Fi 6, with Bluetooth 5.0. LTE antennae are 2x2 MIMO, and the device is dual-SIM.

For the camera, Apple has opted for a single wide-angle 12-megapixel sensor and lens combination, rather than moving to a dual or triple-camera setup.





Apple claims similar battery life to the iPhone 8. Specifically, the company notes local video playback of up to 13 hours, streaming video playback of up to 8 hours, and up to 40 hours of audio playback.

"The first iPhone SE was a hit with many customers who loved its unique combination of small size, high-end performance and affordable price; the new second-generation iPhone SE builds on that great idea and improves on it in every way -- including our best-ever single-camera system for great photos and videos -- while still being very affordable," said Phil Schiller, Apple's senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing. "iPhone SE features the industry-leading performance of A13 Bionic that enables great battery life, takes stunning Portrait mode and Smart HDR photos, shoots amazing videos with stereo audio, is great for games and super fast web surfing, and is built with the same industry-leading security features our customers expect. We can't wait to get iPhone SE into customers' hands."

Pre-orders for the iPhone SE begin on April 17, with shipments starting on April 24. The iPhone SE 2 is priced at $399 for the 64-gigabyte capacity model. Three colors are available, with the phone shipping in black, white, and (PRODUCT)RED.
henrybaydewme
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 138
    tmaytmay Posts: 6,328member
    Doomed.  /s

    Apple would do well to update the iPod Touch to the same spec sans cellular capabilty.
    cornchipdoozydozenasdasdright_said_freddewmejony0watto_cobra
  • Reply 2 of 138
    DAalsethDAalseth Posts: 2,783member
    That looks like a nice phone. I had an SE and it was great, I used it for three and a half years. I ended on moving up to an 11 a few months ago for the improved feature set, but I do miss the small size. Love the 11s big screen, but it was nice to be able to keep the phone in my jeans pocket.
    pulseimagesdoozydozenspock1234JWSClolliverjony0watto_cobra
  • Reply 3 of 138
    wood1208wood1208 Posts: 2,913member
    Apple done it again. Answer to critique but for users who can't let go Touch ID, Respectable spec at $399 price point, what not to like !!
    edited April 2020 doozydozenPatchyThePirateV.2StrangeDaysradioflyerqwerty52jony0watto_cobra
  • Reply 4 of 138
    ElCapitanElCapitan Posts: 372member
    Looks like a nice replacement for a 6s. No headphone jack though. 
    pulseimagesdoozydozen
  • Reply 5 of 138
    GobnuGobnu Posts: 17member
    Expected, but still disappointing.  I was hoping they would pull off the surprise and have one in the original SE case with an A12 in it.  I would greatly miss the smaller size, and the flat edges.  Guess I'll have to take a look at the fall offerings.
    Beatslkruppwebweaselright_said_fredwilliamlondonbaconstangJWSC
  • Reply 6 of 138
    GeorgeBMacGeorgeBMac Posts: 11,421member
    I would have gone with modern external bezelless design in an SE sized phone with previous gen processors. 

    Frankly I don't see a much advantage to the end user from an A13 vs an A12 or even A11.   But to get rid of the bezels and put a big screen in a small form factor would have pronounced user benefits.

    But, I am sure Apple thought of that idea, tested it and rejected it. 
    I am equally sure that many people will be buying this phone.
    ...   And Kudos for giving it 64gb instead of 32Gb!

    The phone will be fully functional and do a good job.
    cornchipdoozydozenspock1234right_said_fredwilliamlondonJWSCentropysjony0watto_cobra
  • Reply 7 of 138
    gatorguygatorguy Posts: 24,213member
    wood1208 said:
    Apple done it again. Answer to critique but for users who can't let go Touch ID, At $399 price point, what not to like !!
    Recently it's been all about "OMG that FOREHEAD!" and "Geesh, what massive bezels, LOL". I suppose this newest iPhone escapes those complaints.
  • Reply 8 of 138
    gatorguygatorguy Posts: 24,213member
    DAalseth said:
    That looks like a nice phone. I had an SE and it was great, I used it for three and a half years. I ended on moving up to an 11 a few months ago for the improved feature set, but I do miss the small size. Love the 11s big screen, but it was nice to be able to keep the phone in my jeans pocket.
    Is this a small phone ala the original? Could be, I've not seen the dimensions. 
  • Reply 9 of 138
    Dan_DilgerDan_Dilger Posts: 1,583member
    Facebook did try the same thing, and pundits at the time made a big deal about how mini-app"bots" were going to take over and erase the App Store back in 2015-2016. That didn't happen. https://appleinsider.com/articles/16/07/10/apple-inc-and-the-bot-war-on-apps- And the story of WeChat doing the same in China was a tale already told a few years ago in 2017. It's been a story since 2011. Apple somehow still has an App Store in China. No doubt it would be larger without any competition of any kind, but this story seems overblown.
    Gobnu said:
    Expected, but still disappointing.  I was hoping they would pull off the surprise and have one in the original SE case with an A12 in it.  I would greatly miss the smaller size, and the flat edges.  Guess I'll have to take a look at the fall offerings.
    Do you imagine that Apple does not have the data needed to know what people want? If people were buying 5" iPhones, Apple would be selling them. Nobody wants a tiny phone anymore. The SE is already a minor niche product across Apple's primary markets. The only reason for making a 5" phone would be nostalgia for a few thousand 40 year old men.
    macxpressStrangeDaysmacplusplusmontrosemacslolliverjony0watto_cobra
  • Reply 10 of 138
    crowleycrowley Posts: 10,453member
    Nice price, nice spec, nice size.  I don't think I'll ditch my X for it, as I think I'm fine with it for at least another year, but its great that Apple now have broad price coverage and have basically spec parity across the range, distinguishing the models by features rather than performance.  I like that approach.
    JWSClolliver
  • Reply 11 of 138
    lwiolwio Posts: 110member
    Sitting with a 6s. This is the same size. I didn’t want a large screen. Just the replacement I want at a great price. 
    pulseimagesspock1234henrybayMisterKitlolliverwatto_cobra
  • Reply 12 of 138
    ne1ne1 Posts: 69member
    Gobnu said:
    Expected, but still disappointing.  I was hoping they would pull off the surprise and have one in the original SE case with an A12 in it.  I would greatly miss the smaller size, and the flat edges.  Guess I'll have to take a look at the fall offerings.
    I am guessing they opted for the classic rounded edge design from iPhone 6-8 series to complement the new Pro phones in the fall, which, if reports are correct, will feature flat edge designs.
    d_2watto_cobra
  • Reply 13 of 138
    Dan_DilgerDan_Dilger Posts: 1,583member
    GeorgeBMac said:
    I would have gone with modern external bezelless design in an SE sized phone with previous gen processors. 

    Frankly I don't see a much advantage to the end user from an A13 vs an A12 or even A11.   But to get rid of the bezels and put a big screen in a small form factor would have pronounced user benefits.

    But, I am sure Apple thought of that idea, tested it and rejected it. 
    I am equally sure that many people will be buying this phone.
    ...   And Kudos for giving it 64gb instead of 32Gb!

    The phone will be fully functional and do a good job.
    Modern A chips cost very little more to produce, and deliver far higher power efficiency. A primary goal of new mobile chips is power reduction, not huge advances in cpu speed. Using an older generation is more like using old RAM, and unlike using a less expensive Intel CPU--which are priced largely by performance. Intel cuts the nuts off its cheaper CPUs to create artificial price tiers. Apple doesn't have to do that because it's not selling A chips. It's only using them internally. Helps explain why Apple is ordering new A14s in bulk at 5ns. It plans to use them beyond iPhone 12, same as it used A4 across multiple devices to save costs. It will also be easier to support the 2020 SE for longer in iOS if it has a more modern chip. And developers can assume the presence of modern logic like an NSP.
    pulseimagesbageljoeyStrangeDaysJWSCmacpluspluslolliverwatto_cobra
  • Reply 14 of 138
    k2kwk2kw Posts: 2,075member
    corrections said:
    Facebook did try the same thing, and pundits at the time made a big deal about how mini-app"bots" were going to take over and erase the App Store back in 2015-2016. That didn't happen. https://appleinsider.com/articles/16/07/10/apple-inc-and-the-bot-war-on-apps- And the story of WeChat doing the same in China was a tale already told a few years ago in 2017. It's been a story since 2011. Apple somehow still has an App Store in China. No doubt it would be larger without any competition of any kind, but this story seems overblown.
    Gobnu said:
    Expected, but still disappointing.  I was hoping they would pull off the surprise and have one in the original SE case with an A12 in it.  I would greatly miss the smaller size, and the flat edges.  Guess I'll have to take a look at the fall offerings.
    Do you imagine that Apple does not have the data needed to know what people want? If people were buying 5" iPhones, Apple would be selling them. Nobody wants a tiny phone anymore. The SE is already a minor niche product across Apple's primary markets. The only reason for making a 5" phone would be nostalgia for a few thousand 40 year old men.
    Do we know where this is assembled?   China or India?   Wasn’t India making the 7 or 8? 
    JWSC
  • Reply 15 of 138
    wood1208wood1208 Posts: 2,913member
    gatorguy said:
    wood1208 said:
    Apple done it again. Answer to critique but for users who can't let go Touch ID, At $399 price point, what not to like !!
    Recently it's been all about "OMG that FOREHEAD!" and "Geesh, what massive bezels, LOL". I suppose this newest iPhone escapes those complaints.
      something got to give to put well recognized Touch ID on front. Obviously, could shrink mm side bezels and may be bit from top/down area but with Touch ID, can't get rid of much. That is a reality of physical touch id in front.

    watto_cobra
  • Reply 16 of 138
    GeorgeBMacGeorgeBMac Posts: 11,421member
    gatorguy said:
    DAalseth said:
    That looks like a nice phone. I had an SE and it was great, I used it for three and a half years. I ended on moving up to an 11 a few months ago for the improved feature set, but I do miss the small size. Love the 11s big screen, but it was nice to be able to keep the phone in my jeans pocket.
    Is this a small phone ala the original? Could be, I've not seen the dimensions. 

    No, it's an iPhone 6 rather than a 5 chassis
    doozydozen
  • Reply 17 of 138
    k2kwk2kw Posts: 2,075member
    wood1208 said:
    gatorguy said:
    wood1208 said:
    Apple done it again. Answer to critique but for users who can't let go Touch ID, At $399 price point, what not to like !!
    Recently it's been all about "OMG that FOREHEAD!" and "Geesh, what massive bezels, LOL". I suppose this newest iPhone escapes those complaints.
      something got to give to put well recognized Touch ID on front. Obviously, could shrink mm side bezels and may be bit from top/down area but with Touch ID, can't get rid of much. That is a reality of physical touch id in front.

    I don’t think touchID is great,  wish it could read your fingerprints  through latex gloves.
    ITGUYINSD
  • Reply 18 of 138
    usersinceos1usersinceos1 Posts: 145member
    This could be my next iPhone.  I've been using a 1st Gen. SE since 2016.  The new SE has very nice specs.  I also prefer Touch ID to face recognition.  My only quibble is the camera bump.  Personally, I would have preferred no bump even at the cost of a poorer camera.
    pulseimagesdoozydozenBeatsbaconstangwatto_cobra
  • Reply 19 of 138
    gatorguygatorguy Posts: 24,213member
    gatorguy said:
    DAalseth said:
    That looks like a nice phone. I had an SE and it was great, I used it for three and a half years. I ended on moving up to an 11 a few months ago for the improved feature set, but I do miss the small size. Love the 11s big screen, but it was nice to be able to keep the phone in my jeans pocket.
    Is this a small phone ala the original? Could be, I've not seen the dimensions. 

    No, it's an iPhone 6 rather than a 5 chassis
    Identical physical dimensions to the iPhone 8 so apparently an iPhone 8 shell then? The 6 was slightly smaller AFAICT and of course the 5 was even smaller...
    https://forums.appleinsider.com/discussion/215441/compared-iphone-8-versus-iphone-se#latest
    edited April 2020
  • Reply 20 of 138
    ne4now76ne4now76 Posts: 20member
    This is the probably Best phone available at this price point but I WANT A SMALLER PHONE!
    Really miss the 5S/SE sized phone and I know I'm not alone. 
    A full screen device with roughly the same dimensions of the 5S/SE would be perfect. 
     

    Beatslkruppright_said_fredspock1234baconstangJWSC
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