Apple has extended its iPhone range with a new, smaller addition that has been the subject of many rumors over the last few weeks. Replacing the iPhone 5s as the ‘budget’ option for customers, the iPhone SE is a reduced-in-stature version of the larger iPhone 6s and 6s Plus, bringing the iPhone collection up to three different distinct sizes, and despite being smaller than its two stablemates, it still manages to retain most of the functionality iPhone users have previously seen.
Using a 64-bit A9 processor with the M9 motion coprocessor, a newer chip than the A7 in the iPhone 5s, it is twice as fast as the previous four-inch iPhone available, three times more powerful graphically, while also providing battery improvements across the board of uses.
It has a rear-mounted 12 megapixel iSight camera with Focus Pixels, complete with a TrueTone Flash, a new image signal processor, and the ability to take panoramas up to 63MP in size. Slow-motion video, time lapse, Live Photos, and 4K video is also included. The front-facing HD camera has a Retina Flash, which drives the display to be three times brighter than normal for self portraits.
For wireless connectivity, it can connect over LTE at up to 150Mbps, 50 percent faster than the iPhone 5s, with it also having more LTE bands for international use, and Voice over LTE support. Wi-Fi includes 802.11ac-capable radios offering speeds of up to 433Mbps, triple the iPhone 5s, and is enabled for Wi-Fi calling.
Pre-orders for the iPhone SE begin from March 24, with availability from March 31 in the United States, and in 100 countries by the end of May. Two storage capacities is being offered, with the 16GB device selling for $399 on its own, and at $17 per month on installment plans, while the 64GB model will cost $499.
