Finally the wait is over as the iPhone SE 2020 is here. It is the successor to the highly popular iPhone SE which was launched back in 2016. We are so glad that Apple did not name it the iPhone 9 because it would have made the whole lineup confusing. Sure the iPhone SE 2020 is not the greatest iPhone from Apple but at $399 we are not going to complain. Apple aims to disturb the midrange phone market which is purely dominated by Android. This may just pay off for them as it did back in 2016 with the original iPhone SE. Definitely the COVID-19 pandemic isn’t stopping Apple.

Design

The iPhone SE is modeled after the iPhone 8. So you get an old Apple design with large bezels. The phone has a small form factor as compared to Apple’s current flagship iPhone 11 series. On the back we have a single 12MP shooter and the Apple logo is now at the center of the back like the flagship iPhones.

On the front there is a small 4.7 inch true Tone LCD Retina display at 1334×720 pixels. Display is very bright with 620 nits of brightness claimed by Apple. The screen is small and not trendy with the huge bezels which does make it less appealing against modern full screen displays. The old Apple home button is back housing the fingerprint sensor inside.

Apple iPhone SE Performance

One thing that makes the iPhone SE 2020 a very pleasing option is the Apple A13 chip which is the same as the iPhone 11 series. This is a huge factor as you’re getting flagship level performance at just $399. We all know how much of a beast the A13 chip is and in this case the performance may be even better because of the low resolution display.

Performance should be similar to the iPhone 11 (geekbench v5)

Camera

The iPhone SE 2020 features a single 12MP camera with OIS on the back. It’s the same sensor found on the iPhone 11 main camera. The camera performance should be very similar. The iPhione 11 camera has one of the best around and we expect similar results in SE. One feature that is missing is Night Mode which could be a down side.

Apple has always been the king when it comes to video recording in smartphones and the iPhone SE 2020 is no exception to that. it can record video upto 4k 2160p at 24/30/60 fps, 1080 upto 240 fps. OIS is also supported for video which is a bonus.

Some Other Features

IOS 13

IP67 dust/water resistant (up to 1m for 30 mins)

Apple Pay (Visa, MasterCard, AMEX certified)

64/128/256 GB NVMe Storage

7MP front camera, 1080p video recoriding with EIS

Fingerprint (front-mounted)

Fast charging 18W, 50% in 30 min (advertised)

Qi wireless charging

iPhone SE will be available in black, white and (PRODUCT)RED

Pricing and Availability

The Apple iPhone SE 2020 is available to pre-order on apple.com and the Apple Store app beginning at 5 a.m. PDT on Friday, April 17, and will be available from Apple. From Apple Authorized Resellers and select carriers on Friday, April 24 in the US and more than 40 other countries and regions. iPhone SE will be available in 64GB, 128GB and 256GB models in black, white and (PRODUCT)RED starting at $399 (US).

Conclusion

The Apple iPhone SE is here and falls in the midrange category which is the most competitive rightnow. With brands like Xiaomi, realme and many more releasing many phones with high end specs, full screen displays and low price tags, Apple will have a difficult time. At $399 there isn’t much to complain if you know about Apple’s pricing. Apple has also discontinued the iPhone 8 with the SE. So if you’re looking for a budget iPhone or a small form factor phone, the new Apple iPhone SE is the one for you.

You can checkout this video of the iPhone SE 2020 as well