It’s the iPhone SE. That’s the name first used in Spring 2016 when the chassis of an earlier iPhone, the iPhone 5s, was packed with the then-latest processor. It was also cheaper than any of the other phones in Apple’s range. Apple has followed the same route here.
The new phone looks very similar to the iPhone 8, with a 4.7in display, Touch ID, glass back for wireless charging. The iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus will be retired, so this will become the most affordable iPhone in the range. There’s no Plus version of the iPhone SE, because the iPhone SE is deemed to be such a perfect size for the hand.
Latest processor
Where the iPhone 8 has the A11 Bionic chip, first seen in September 2017, this new phone has the very latest chip, A13 Bionic, which powers the latest flagship iPhone 11 and iPhone 11 Pro handsets and which is up to 40 per cent faster than the iPhone 8. As such, it’s near-certain this is the most powerful small-screen phone you can buy.
Camera
Like the iPhone 8 and iPhone XR, this is a single-camera iPhone. But advances made possible with the much more powerful A13 Bionic chip mean that this is the most advanced single-camera system on an iPhone yet.
The advances include more accurate auto white balance than the original iPhone SE, much faster autofocus and zero shutter lag.
Better even than the iPhone XR, then, which is a pricier phone. There are even improvements in the front-facing camera, again thanks to the significantly improved processing power, so that there are more advanced portrait mode features including all of Apple’s advanced lighting techniques for portrait mode.
There have been a lot of advances since the original iPhone SE, or the iPhone 8 which this phone replaces, such as better HDR, more sophisticated computational photography and more.
This is the first time in an iPhone with 4.7in display that there’s video stabilisation in the front-facing camera, too.
Battery life
This is expected to be the same as on the original iPhone 8. It has wireless charging, and can be fast-charged.
Other features
The new iPhone SE has Wi-fi 6, for speedy connections, which wasn’t on the original iPhone SE, as is Apple Pay Express Transit.
Price
The original iPhone SE cost £379 or $399 in the US and has just 16GB of storage. This one, considerably more advanced and with 64GB of storage, costs £419. Available for pre-order from Friday, it’s on sale from next Friday, 24 April.
