Even if there weren’t mass unemployment and global economic uncertainty, an iPhone starting at $399 would still be a good move for Apple. I’ve long argued that Apple needs a budget phone to compete with the many excellent Android phones priced at $400 or less, like Google’s well reviewed Pixel 3A. At 4.7 inches, the iPhone SE is smaller than Apple’s 6.1 inch flagship iPhone 11, but it has the same processor and most of the same features as the higher-end phone. And, of course, it runs the same iOS operating system which — more so than the hardware — is what makes an Apple phone so desirable.
This is not the first iPhone SE. Apple introduced one in 2016 but discontinued it in 2018, likely because it wanted to encourage people to buy its more expensive offerings. But in today’s economic climate, a less expensive iPhone makes a great deal of sense, even though I think it’s always made sense. And even though 4.7 inches is small by today’s standards, it was more than big enough until a few years ago when Apple and other phone makers started building much larger phones. In fact, there are still people who prefer a smaller phone — happy to give up some screen real estate for a phone that fits more easily in a pocket, is lighter, and is easier to use with one hand.
The SE also brings back features that Apple took away with its higher end phones. The old Home button is back with its once familiar fingerprint reader. I know that today’s phones are all about on-screen buttons and facial recognition, but there is something reassuring about a physical button and there’s nothing wrong with fingerprint readers as a way to unlock your phone. Unfortunately, they did not bring back the old headphone jack, but there are included earbuds that plug to the Lightning connector/
The new phone features a 12-megapixel (f/1.8 aperture wide) camera with the same us processor and “Neural Engine of A13 Bionic” that Apple uses to “unlock even more benefits of computational photography, including Portrait mode, all six Portrait Lighting effects and Depth Control,” according to an Apple press release. That translates into excellent photos from this budget phone.
Having praised Apple for this move, I’m not suggesting that every budget shopper should buy one. I am still impressed by some of the under $400 Android phones, including some that are considerably larger than the new iPhone SE. If you search for “Under $400 phones,” you’ll find articles from Android Central, Tech Radar, Wired and other publications with reviews of phones from Google, Motorola, Nokia, LG, Samsung and others that are price competitive with the new iPhone. And, now that Apple has priced a phone under $400, I suspect that its competitors will find ways to lower their prices too.