Everyone has been eagerly waiting for the follow up to iPhone SE for a while now. It was a very well-received product when it launched. This brings us to today’s news of the new iPhone SE being revealed by Apple.
Similar to how the original iPhone SE was sporting the latest chip of the time(A9) in an iPhone 5 form factor, the new iPhone SE has the Apple Bionic A13 (found in the iPhone 11 series) in an iPhone 8 chassis. This might be disappointing to many who loved the small form factor of the original SE and expected its return, as many smartphones were moving towards the phablet size screens.
Moving on to the specifications, the new iPhone SE as already mentioned it sports an A13 Bionic chip, 4.7-inch IPS LCD Retina display with True Tone color, a 12MP f/1.8 rear camera, 7MP front-facing camera, and Touch ID. The A13 Bionic helps in portrait mode shots as there is only a single rear camera available. The A13 also aids its Smart HDR photography and the portrait mode photos for selfies using “monocular depth-sensing” a Machine learning method not dissimilar to Google Pixel’s approach.
The best part about the announcement is it’s compelling $399 price tag. The A13 is the fastest mobile chip of any smartphones on the market right now, making the deal sweeter. For very few compromises in the way of a single camera, older design and Face ID, you get a steep discount in price. Although going back to Touch ID isn’t as big a deal for most.
This is because it has Touch ID with Secure Enclave protecting fingerprint data and Intelligent tracking prevention on Safari. iOS 13 is also in full swing with features like Dark and street-level imagery with Look Around.
The Mighty A13 Bionic
The A13 Bionic might as well be the defining component of the new iPhone SE. As it was built around machine learning which the single-camera heavily benefits from, it also balances performance and efficiency with the help of new intelligent apps. Its Neural engine allows for Portrait mode, 6 Portrait Lightings, and Depth control. The 12MP also captures 4K up to 60fps with optical image stabilization. It also offers unparalleled performance when it comes to gaming and other augmented reality functions.
When it comes to battery life the new SE should do well as it has the same size but a more power-efficient chip. It also supports wireless-charging with Qi-Certified chargers. Although it can support up to 18W fast charging it ships with only a 5W charger in the box.
The new iPhone SE will launch at a base price of $399 (INR 42,500). You can pre-order the device from April 17th, with it shipping from April 24th. However, considering the current pandemic consumers in India might have to wait a little longer to get their hands on the device.