At $719, the iPhone SE 5G Is a Compelling Proposition

At $719, the iPhone SE 5G Is a Compelling Proposition

Apple has put rumours to rest, officially announcing its new iPhone SE 5G. While more budget-friendly, and packing a way better battery life than its predecessors, it still has Touch ID and a lot of wasted screen real estate.

“Delivering the iPhone experience at an incredible price” – that’s the pitch from Apple CEO Tim Cook. Basically, it’s for people who just want a cheap iPhone.

The iPhone 13 starts at $1,349, while the Pro Max model starts at $1,849. The price for the iPhone SE 5G is $719. It’s a compelling proposition.

iPhone SE 5G specs

The iPhone SE 5G has a 4.7-inch display and isn’t all that dissimilar from the 2020 version of the SE. It’s the third-generation of its budget-friendly device but the first one to get 5G. It runs the A15 Bionic chip (which, as we said, is the same chip that powers the iPhone 13). But not just power, the A15 Bionic is also to blame for the 5G mmWave support, but sadly not for us Aussies.

We tease apart the specs a little more over here, but it’s worth noting that Apple is also promising more durability with its iPhone SE 5G. it features an aerospace-grade aluminium and glass design, now with the toughest glass in a smartphone on the front and back. This is actually the same as on the back of iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 13.

It’s rated IP67 for water and dust resistance.

As I said above, the iPhone SE features the Home button with Touch ID – not as good as the Face ID present in the iPhone 13 range, but still secure.

iPhone SE 5G camera

The camera on this thing deserves its own section.

The all-new camera system is also thanks to the A15 Bionic, with a 12-megapixel ƒ/1.8 aperture Wide camera boasts Smart HDR 4, Photographic Styles, Deep Fusion and Portrait mode. Smart HDR 4 was introduced with iPhone 13 range and uses intelligent segmentation to apply different adjustments for colour, contrast and noise to the subject.

Not as good as the iPhone 13 Pro Max, but really, if you’re comparing the two devices, just splash the cash on the iPhone 13 beast.

iPhone SE 5G Australian pricing and availability

The iPhone SE 5G will be available in three colours: midnight (black), starlight (white) and (PRODUCT)RED (um, red).

Apple is rumoured to start mass production this month with 25 million to 30 million (!) iPhone SE 3 units estimated to be sold in 2022. But officially, the iPhone SE will be available for preorder in Australia from Saturday, 12 March, and availability beginning Friday, 18 March.

Phone SE will be available in 64GB, 128GB and 256GB models starting at $719 RRP.

We’ll let you know what deals the big telcos are doing around the iPhone SE 5G as soon as we do. This article has been updated since it was first published.


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