At a key note address in San Francisco last night, Apple unveiled a new, affordable version of its flagship smartphone, the 4-inch iPhone SE.
“Some people simply love smaller phones. And the 4-inch phone is often their first iPhone. Some people asked and pleaded with us. So we’re calling it the iPhone SE. Our most powerful 4-inch phone ever,” Vice President of Product Marketing at Apple, Greg Joswiak said.
While billed as Apple’s “most affordable” handset yet, the SE is by no means a cut-down version of the iPhone 6s. The handset still boasts the super powerful Apple A9 processor in a dual-core configuration running at 1.84GHz.
The rear camera is the same snapper we found in the iPhone 6s and is able to capture video at UHD at 30 frames per second (fps). The front facing camera however has been downgraded a bit from a 5MP camera to a 1.2MP with a f/2.4 aperture.
The full specifications follow below:
Dimensions | 123.8 x 58.6 x 7.6mm |
Weight | 113g |
Display size | 4inch IPS |
Resolution | 640 x 1136p |
Operating System | iOS 9.3 |
Chipset | Apple A9 |
CPU | Dual-core 1.84GHz Twister |
GPU | PowerVR GT7600 |
Storage | 16/64GB |
Camera Rear | 12MP |
Camerar Front | 1.2MP |
Battery | Non-removable Li-Po 1642mAh |
The handset will also support WiFi Calling and Voice over LTE while also supporting the blazing fast 802.11ac WiFi standard.
While 3D Touch seems to be missing, we think that’s a feature many people might not even miss, though the sacrifice of the curves Apple has been adding to its iPhone designs may cause some Apple fans to think they’ve stepped into a time machine when they pick up the iPhone SE.
Apple’s mobile operating system, iOS, has also been updated to version 9.3 which, while still secure adds a new Night Shift feature which adjusts the colours of the display to be less harsh on your eyes at night.
As far as pricing goes, the new Apple products shouldn’t destroy your wallet. The 16GB version of the iPhone SE will start at $399 (R6 071,14) and the 256GB version will cost $499 (R7 592,73).
The iPhone SE will hit shelves from the 31st March though official pricing and availability in South Africa is yet to be confirmed.
[Source – Apple]