Apple iPhone SE Features, Specs & Pricing

After a few years of big phone mania Apple’s finally giving us a phone that will fit comfortably in a woman’s pocket. It’s got the same guts as an iPhone 6s, minus the size and looks an awful lot like the iPhone 5s—to the point that all the comparisons in the announcement were to the 5s and not the 6s.

Design

This phone is, from the outside, just an iPhone 5s. Same 4-inch display and same glass back and vaguely industrial lines and none of that curved glass nonsense on the front that has led to the iPhone 6 and 6s breaking every time they even look at the ground.

Camera

There was a lot of back and forth over what kind of camera the SE would feature. Now we know. It’s
got the same camera as the 6s, including a 12 Megapixel sensor and 4K video support.

That also means Live Photos, solid focusing speed via “focus pixels” and True Tone Flash—which brightens the display for better lit selfies.

Guts

The iPhone SE packs in an A9 processor and M9 co-processor so you’d be hard-pressed to tell the difference between it and the 6s. But for folks still clinging to their iPhone 5S this is a major, major upgrade.

There is, however, a distinct lack talking 3D Touch. Which those 5S owners won’t even notice. But they’ll like be all about the improved Wi-Fi. The SE includes updates to AC Wi-FI and improved LTE speeds—allegedly 50% faster that the iPhone 5s.

Price

The 16GB iPhone SE will go for $399 while the 64GB variation will go for $499. The 16GB version will be free with a 2-year contract or $17 a month over two years.

Release Date

It will be available for purchase at midnight March 24 (this Thursday) and available in stores March 31.