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So you wanted a smaller iPhone? You got it!
Last night, Apple announced the iPhone SE, a new 4-inch smartphone that offers a smaller (and cheaper) option to the company’s flagship iPhone 6S and 6S Plus.
The phone is a throwback in a lot of ways. It’s got the same 1136×640 resolution screen as the iPhone 5 family, and its general design borrows much more from those older phones than it does from the thinner, more rounded 6 and 6S. It looks like and is probably best described as “an iPhone 5S but faster.”
Apple VP Greg Joswiak introduced the device, noting that there was great demand for a smaller iPhone. “We sold 30 million 4-inch iPhones in 2015,” he said.
Joswiak walked the crowd through several notable specs for the iPhone SE. It starts with the device’s insides, which include the Apple A9 and M9. With that processing power, the iPhone SE will double the CPU speed of the 5S and have three times its GPU speed, according to Joswiak. Wireless improvements include LTE up to 150Mbps, more LTE bands, and 433Mbps 802.11ac Wi-Fi. Joswiak also touted improved battery life compared to other Apple 4-inch devices despite better components.
User-facing aspects include use of Touch ID, Apple Pay, and Hands-free Hey Siri. The device’s camera also includes notable improvements from Apple’s last 4-inch offering. The iPhone SE has a 12MP iSight camera, and the A9 allows for features like Live Photos, screen-based flash for the front-facing camera (similar to the 6S), and the ability to capture 4K video. Joswiak noted users will be able to update two 4K streams simultaneously with iMovie on the iPhone SE.
“This is the most powerful 4-inch phone ever at our most affordable introductory price,” Joswiak concluded. The new iPhone SE starts at $399, $50 less than the 5S. There will also be a 64GB model for $499, and subsidized and on-contract plans are available too.
The iPhone SE will be available for pre-order on March 24. Canadians will be able to buy the phone from an Apple retail store on March 31.
Agencies/Canadajournal
