Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) unveiled the iPhone SE, its most powerful 4-inch iPhone ever, and it is intended to capture consumers in China and emerging markets.
Greg Joswiak, vice president of iPhone, iPod, and iOS product marketing, explained that the 4-inch model is important based on the fact that Apple sold 30 million 4-inch iPhones in 2015.
According to him, People are buying the 4-inch iPhone because people love smaller phones with most compact design and it is the first iPhone owned by most customers worldwide particularly in China.
The cost of the 16GB iPhone SE is $399, and the 64GB is $499. The device is free with a two-year service contract with wireless providers. Users could also purchase the device through an installment plan –$17 per month for 24 months (without a service contract).
iPhone SE specifications
Joswiak said customers requested Apple to keep the 4-inch iPhone in its product line-up. The company responded positively by introducing the iPhone SE with an aluminum design and powered by the company’s 64-bit A9 chip embedded with the M9 motion coprocessor.
The CPU performance of the iPhone SE is similar to the iPhone 6S and two times better than the processing speed of the iPhone 5S. Its graphic performance is the same as the iPhone 6S and three times faster than the iPhone 5S.
According to Joswiak, the iPhone SE comes with an improved battery life and the most advanced camera system. The device is equipped with a 12MP iSight Camera with focus pixels, true tone flash and a new image signal processor. The device allows users to capture live photos and 4K video.
The iPhone SE has a fast LTE capability of up to 150 Mbps, 50% faster than the iPhone 5S. Apple added more LTE bands on the device to provide better global roaming. The device is also integrated with 802.11 ac Wi-Fi with a speed of up to 433 Mbps, three times faster than the iPhone 5S. It also supports high-quality Wi-Fi calling.
Furthermore, the device is integrated with the TouchID technology and allow users to pay securely through Apple Pay.
iPhone SE availability
Apple will start taking orders for the iPhone SE on March 24, and it will be available on March 31.
The tech giant will first ship the device in Australia, Canada, China, France, Hong Kong, Japan, New Zealand, Puerto Rico, Singapore, United Kingdom and the United States. The iPhone SE will be available in 110 countries by the end of May.
