Apple announces new £419 iPhone SE for budget-conscious buyers

It is more or less an iPhone 8 with a better processor and camera

Apple on Wednesday unveiled a new lower-cost iPhone SE in a move to attract customers who are not willing to spend money on expensive handsets amid the current economic crisis.

The new iPhone SE looks like an iPhone 8, but comes with many modern features found in the more expensive iPhone 11 and iPhone 11 Pro, including an A13 Bionic processor, a True Tone display and Qi wireless charging.

"The first iPhone SE was a hit with many customers who loved its unique combination of small size, high-end performance and affordable price," said Phil Schiller, Apple's senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing.

"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."

The second-generation iPhone SE sports a 4.7-inch display, a 7-megapixel front-facing selfie camera, 12-megapixel rear camera, Smart HDR and optical image stabilisation.

In the US, prices for this device will start at $399 for 64GB storage version, according to Apple, while the 128 GB and 256 GB models will be offered for $449 and $549, respectively. In the UK, prices are £419, £469 and £569.

Customers will have the option to choose between one of three colours: white, black and red.

While the new iPhone SE is equipped with a variety of attractive features, it lacks Apple's facial recognition system for user authentication, and instead relies on a fingerprint sensor similar to older iPhone models. Moreover, it also lacks 5G connectivity.

Like other phones from Apples, the new device will offer customers a free year of Apple TV Plus service.

iPhone SE 2020 Specifications

• Screen: 4.7-inch True Tone
• Resolution: 1,334 x 750 pixels
• Pixel density: 326ppi
• Processor: Apple A13 Bionic
• Front-facing camera: 7-megapixel
• Rear cameras: 12-megapixel
• Video recording: 4K/60fps
• Storage: 64GB, 128GB, and 256GB
• Memory: Not disclosed
• Battery: Not disclosed
• Operating System: iOS 13
• Headphone jack: No
• Connectivity: Dual SIM with eSIM, Wi-Fi 6, Gigabit LTE
• Biometric authentication: Touch ID fingerprint sensor
• Wireless charging: Yes
• Lightning connector: Yes
• Dimensions: 138.4 x 67.3 x 7.3mm
• Weight: 148 grams

Apple said it would start taking orders for the phone from Friday on its website. Delivery is expected to start from 24^th April.

Apple partner Best Buy announced that buyers can pre-order the new iPhone through its website. They will have the option to either get the handset to be shipped to their home or use the curbside pickup option.

Verizon Communications said it would not sell the new handset in its stores.