Apple launches the iPhone SE "2"

[Dietrichw]

Apple: https://www.apple.com/iphone-se/

 

Apple listed the iPhone SE "2" on their website early April 15th. The device has the same body as the iPhone 8 with the 4.7" screen. Yes, there is no plus option available. The device uses the same A13 Bionic SOC as the iPhone 11. The camera sensor is a 12MP sensor which is likely the same as the main camera on the iPhone 11. The iPhone SE does not have a second ultrawide camera sensor like the iPhone 11 does. It does keep the computational portrait mode features that uses the power of the A13 Bionic. Human subjects only; only iPhones with dual cameras can use portrait mode with non-human subjects. The phone has no forms of FaceID, TouchID only as the iPhone 8 had.

  

Pricing is:

$399 - 64GB

$449 - 128GB

$549 - 256GB

 

The $50 increase for the 128GB is not bad for people who need some extra storage. With the 256GB pricing there is a choice of taking a downgrade in storage and CPU for the iPhone XR for $50 more. When new iPhones launch in the fall I wonder if Apple will also drop the price of the iPhone SE since it launched earlier in the same year. If they didn't drop the pricing of the SE and dropped the price of the 11 to the current price of the XR then the SE would be hard to recommend for the price.

[DrMacintosh]

Kinda pissed that the white color option doesn’t have white front glass. 
 

My 8 Plus lives on though. No need to upgrade for at least 2-3 years. 

[FloRolf]

9 minutes ago, DrMacintosh said:

Kinda pissed that the white color option doesn’t have white front glass. 
 

My 8 Plus lives on though. No need to upgrade for at least 2-3 years. 

yeah it sucks that Apples Budget option still has huge ass front bezels at all, expecially when compared to literally any other phone on the market rn that all have Notch/Punchhole or even slide camera displays.

[DrMacintosh]

1 minute ago, FloRolf said:

yeah it sucks that Apples Budget option still has huge ass front bezels at all, expecially when compared to literally any other phone on the market rn

Yeah but how much do those phones cost and how big are they? Remember that the SE is a small phone. Further, the small nature of the SE makes unobstructed 16:9 that much more satisfying. 
 

I’d rather have a thick front bezel than a notch/hole punch. 

[BuckGup]

5 minutes ago, DrMacintosh said:

 

I’d rather have a thick front bezel than a notch/hole punch. 

I think you are alone on that opinion.

[Zodiark1593]

5 minutes ago, DrMacintosh said:

Yeah but how much do those phones cost and how big are they? Remember that the SE is a small phone. Further, the small nature of the SE makes unobstructed 16:9 that much more satisfying. 
 

I’d rather have a thick front bezel than a notch/hole punch. 

Tbh, in normal use, the notch doesn’t really bother me. It really only factors in when watching 16:9 videos in the dark due to the use of LCD instead of OLED. 

[FloRolf]

7 minutes ago, DrMacintosh said:

Yeah but how much do those phones cost and how big are they? Remember that the SE is a small phone. Further, the small nature of the SE makes unobstructed 16:9 that much more satisfying. 
 

I’d rather have a thick front bezel than a notch/hole punch. 

The SE is "small" because they only managed to put a 4.7" Screen in a waaay bigger body. It's literally a standard iphone 6, 7, 8 body that could easily handle a ~5.5" display.

 

3 minutes ago, BuckGup said:

I think you are alone on that opinion.

agreed. I don't have a notch on my OP7P but i'd still take one over bezels like THIS. 

And yes, i know i've said otherwise in the past

[Commodus]

Yeah, it' basically a warmed-over iPhone 8, but you know what?  It's still going to sell well.  To all those people who wanted modern iPhone hardware in a smaller size, who didn't want to pay extra just to get newer hardware, and yes, those who didn't want to move to the modern design.

 

And while it's a sad commentary on our times, I could also see this as the iPhone for people who want or need to wear a mask while heading outside and don't want to enter their password every time they check their phone.

[rcmaehl]

$400

A13 chip like iPhone 11

 

Even as an Android user, I can see this is an amazing deal. 

[AlexOak]

11 minutes ago, rcmaehl said:

$400

A13 chip like iPhone 11

 

Even as an Android user, I can see this is an amazing deal. 

This is deal makes all other phones look bad for the price.

[Sauron]

Wasn't the only appeal of the SE that it had the smaller screen?

14 minutes ago, rcmaehl said:

$400

A13 chip like iPhone 11

 

Even as an Android user, I can see this is an amazing deal. 

I would disagree considering it still has a non-fhd non-oled screen. For a $400 phone in 2020 that's pathetic. There's also no mention of ram on the product page so I'm going to assume it's nothing to brag about. Sure, it's probably fast, but so are all $400 android phones - fast enough that nobody could tell the difference while using it. This has basically nothing I would care about in a new smartphone.

[williamcll]

This is actually a fast and cheap phone, amazing.

 

But the monitor resolution though, that's just as ugly as the mi A3.

[RejZoR]

22 minutes ago, rcmaehl said:

$400

A13 chip like iPhone 11

 

Even as an Android user, I can see this is an amazing deal. 

It was similar with iPhone XR when I was buying one. The fact it had the same chipset as the way more expensive higher models was pretty cool. Especially since it's something that affects everything you do where wide camera is nice addition but not really necessity for me. Or bunch of other stuff.

[DrMacintosh]

7 minutes ago, Sauron said:

I would disagree considering it still has a non-fhd non-oled screen. For a $400 phone in 2020 that's pathetic.

Alright, but let’s go back to when that screen. How bad is it actually? It’s bright, P3 calibrated, and it’s a Retina display. 
 

Now let’s look at all the other specs. The SE has the fastest SoC on the market with fantastically low power consumption, massive battery life, a leading camera system w/ SmartHDR and 4K 60Hz video, water resistance, stereo speakers, TouchID, WiFi 6, Dual SIM support, and Haptic Touch. 
 

Now that’s a premium f*cking phone for $399. 

[DrMacintosh]

4 minutes ago, williamcll said:

But the monitor resolution though, that's just as ugly as the mi A3.

For a screen this size, you need to look at ppi, not overall resolution. The SE has 326ppi which makes it a Retina Display. It’s a fine display that nobody ever complained about when the iPhone 6,7, and 8 had it. 

[williamcll]

7 minutes ago, DrMacintosh said:

For a screen this size, you need to look at ppi, not overall resolution. The SE has 326ppi which makes it a Retina Display. It’s a fine display that nobody ever complained about when the iPhone 6,7, and 8 had it. 

326 ppi is still kind of small compared to other phones that have came out this year. Full HD for sub 5" existed for years.

[Zodiark1593]

1 minute ago, williamcll said:

326 ppi is still kind of small compared to other phones that have came out this year. Full HD for sub 5" existed for years.

Does it matter much on a non-pentile display? 

[Curufinwe_wins]

1 hour ago, DrMacintosh said:

Yeah but how much do those phones cost and how big are they? Remember that the SE is a small phone. Further, the small nature of the SE makes unobstructed 16:9 that much more satisfying. 
 

I’d rather have a thick front bezel than a notch/hole punch. 

This SE isn't that much of a 'small phone' anymore. I mean it isn't big, but it's huge compared to the original SE.

 

Pixel 3a is similarish size (same width a bit taller), with a 5.6" screen compared to this 4.7".

 

The single biggest reason this SE is worth mentioning is the amazing A13 processor, but with a size that tiny...  there is overkill and then super-mega-overkill hahaha.

20 minutes ago, DrMacintosh said:

For a screen this size, you need to look at ppi, not overall resolution. The SE has 326ppi which makes it a Retina Display. It’s a fine display that nobody ever complained about when the iPhone 6,7, and 8 had it. 

Really? Because tons of people complained about how small and sub-flagship (being LCDs, albeit very good ones) Apple's displays were for those generations. It's the entire reason you saw an eventual transition to the iPhone X. I understand Apple people often didn't care (not that they had much choice)... but "no one ever complained about" is just wrong.

[DrMacintosh]

6 minutes ago, Curufinwe_wins said:

Pixel 3a is similarish size (same width a bit taller), with a 5.6" screen compared to this 4.7".

But how old is the Pixel 3a? It seems like the general android community is trying to pitch the Pixel 3a as the SEs competitor when the two phones are in entirely different classes in terms of feature sets and performance.  

[Curufinwe_wins]

6 minutes ago, DrMacintosh said:

But how old is the Pixel 3a? It seems like the general android community is trying to pitch the Pixel 3a as the SEs competitor when the two phones are in entirely different classes in terms of feature sets and performance.  

1 year old. Like April 2019. Personally, I don't mind Samsung's UI, and think most people care more about the saturation and black levels of OLEDs than they do about having the 'cleanest experience' or the 'absolute best camera software', so I actually recommend (and have swapped grandparents over to) the A50/51 as a budget device. But the Pixel 3a in the 'community' is considered the budget all-rounder (at 299 dollars), so I defaulted to mentioning it in passing here.

 

I cannot and will not disagree that the chipset of the new SE is insanity. It is far more than anyone can want or need on the iPhone 11 Pro Max. On the tiny screen (resolution and size)... it's ludicrous. Awesome but super overkill. Other than that... wireless charging? no headphone jack? Not sure what 'feature set' you are calling different classes here. Honestly.

[Blademaster91]

I think the screen isn't terrible, but Apple could have done better by either using a 5.5" screen and getting rid of the button, or use the iPhone 8+ 1080p display.

I don't really get excited over phones, there are tons of phones in the $300-400 range that have water and dust resistance, and more than fast enough for most chipsets. This phone isn't bad for the price if a person has to have Apple, but no headphone jack and no dual camera so it's not the best phone in the price range IMO.

[Zodiark1593]

19 minutes ago, Curufinwe_wins said:

 

 

The single biggest reason this SE is worth mentioning is the amazing A13 processor, but with a size that tiny...  there is overkill and then super-mega-overkill hahaha.

 

 

[dalekphalm]

This looks fantastic. A perfect upgrade for my fiancées hand-me-down 6s. 
 

The reason the bezel is so large is because of the home button (which IS a feature for many users - my fiancée included - she hates the swipe up design on the XR), and the fact that they are reusing the iPhone 8 body. 
 

No point in reusing the body if they are going to make massive changes to it. And reusing that body almost certainly helped reduce the cost. 
 

Apple really needed a “discount” phone, and this fits the bill perfectly. 
 

I know I’m going to recommend my fiancée and her mother both upgrade to it (the mom has an original SE). 

[Curufinwe_wins]

10 minutes ago, dalekphalm said:

snip

It would have taken absolutely minimal redesign to shrink the top and bottom bezels at least by half while maintaining the exact same frame/internals/home button etc. They sell the whole thing as a top assembly as is. An S7 fit a 5.1 inch screen in that form-factor with a front home button. Even with huge bezels of its own.

 

I don't think those excuses are valid. Apple just doesn't care and people will buy it regardless. 

[vetali]

The price is lower than people speculated. I honestly expected 100 dollars more, with a plus model and discontinuing the XR. Did not expect to see a a13 in it either but makes sense. The lower power consumption of the a13 should help with the very small battery size that this is gonna be limited to. This is gonna sell really well I would imagine. Some people prefer the older, small designs with a home button.