Apple unveils affordable iPhone

Apple has launched a new iPhone that starts with a price tag of $399.

Stephen Nellis reported the news for Reuters:

Apple Inc (AAPL.O) on Wednesday released a smaller iPhone priced at $399, cutting the starting price for the company’s smartphone line in a move to broaden its appeal to budget-conscious customers as the coronavirus hobbles the global economy.

The lower-cost model could also attract more consumers to Apple services, a growing driver of revenue. Shares of Apple fell 0.8%, less than the 2.1% decline of the S&P 500 index.

Apple will start taking orders for the phone on its website on Friday, with delivery of devices expected to start April 24.

The iPhone SE will start at $50 less than what was previously the cheapest iPhone available, the iPhone 8, which will be retired. The SE comes with a 4.7-inch display and the same processor chip as Apple’s most advanced phone, the 11 Pro. The SE lacks Apple’s facial recognition system to unlock the device, instead relying on a fingerprint sensor similar to older models. While the new iPhone adds features such as wireless charging and a high-end camera, it lacks connectivity for 5G, the next generation of mobile data networks.

CNN’s Samantha Murphy Kelly wrote:

At 4.7 inches, the new SE is smaller than the latest lineup of iPhones — the iPhone 11 is 6.1 inches — but comes with the same fast processor that’s in the11 Pro. It also offers a Retina HD display, 4K video and a home button that enables TouchID.

The smaller size, display choice and Touch ID feature may help keep the cost down but could turn off customers who are accustomed to the current lineup of bigger iPhones with higher pixel density and an option to unlock via facial recognition.

But the new SE does pack a wide camera with image stabilization and faster autofocus in low light, along with features such as portrait mode, depth of field control and lighting adjustment tools. In a tweet, CEO Tim Cook called it the “best single-camera system ever in an iPhone.” It has the same battery life as the iPhone 8.

Dieter Bohn from The Verge noted:

Many of the new second-generation iPhone SE parts are identical to the iPhone 8. It should have about the same battery life as the iPhone 8 (but no word on exact battery size). Apple says that cases designed for the iPhone 8 will work fine on the SE. It has Apple’s 4.7-inch IPS LCD Retina display with True Tone color. It sounds as though it’s the exact same display as what’s on the iPhone 8.

That’s not a problem from a quality perspective. This IPS display is well-known and well-regarded, but it does mean that people who were holding out for a smaller phone are out of luck. Apple says that this is the most popular screen size it has ever sold — 500 million devices and counting — and that’s part of the reason it’s using this screen size now.

It only comes with a dinky 5W charger in the box, though it can support 18W fast charging if you have the right adapter. It uses a Lightning connector for charging, of course, and it will also support Qi wireless charging. There is no headphone jack, but it will come with Lightning headphones in the box.