‘Despite a dated design, it’s Apple’s best budget phone in a while’

After months of speculation, Apple has finally unveiled the much-awaited successor to its 2016’s iPhone SE. The long-rumored model was often referred to as the iPhone 9 or iPhone SE 2 since it was Apple’s big move to fill the void between iPhone 8 and iPhone XR.

To everyone’s surprise, Apple has officially named the latest 2020 handset as iPhone SE. Some would say it’s a marketing gimmick to bring back the nostalgia of its massively successful predecessor. In Apple’s own defence the new Special Edition phone is more than just an iPhone XR in the body of an iPhone 8. It has the brains of an iPhone 11 at its core — unarguably the best and most premium iPhone today.

We live in strange times. No really. Two phones launched on consecutive days.
One from Apple other from Oneplus. It’s funny that a while back, no one would have expected Apple to be the more affordable of the two. But roles have switched today. Oneplus, which used to be the bearer of flagship killer phones has unknowingly passed on the baton to Apple. And from Apple’s perspective, the timing couldn’t be better.

With economies crashing and unemployment rates on the rise, the new iPhone SE has arrived as a breath of fresh air. The handset with a $399 base price is not only affordable but also offers unbelievably good value and fast performance. By shifting its logo to the center, Apple might have just subtly indicated that it’s gunning the mid-tier contenders. Also, there are a few reasons to believe it is the best flagship killer phone, yet.

It’s The Best Single-Camera Phone Today

In recent years, Apple has been pushing forward its advancements in computational photography with the recent introduction of Deep Fusion technology in iPhone 11 only enabling users to take highly detailed images.

While the second-generation iPhone SE doesn’t boast of dual or triple camera setup, that doesn’t derail it from unlocking camera features that only the flagship phones possessed till yesterday.

Apple claims that the iPhone SE has the best single-camera system ever in an iPhone with a 12-megapixel f/1.8 aperture wide camera and most importantly the A13 Bionic which brings Portrait mode, Smart HDR, and Depth Control. The support for 4K video at 60fps, a 7MP front-facing camera, and a monocular depth estimation technology are just the icing on the cake.

It Has Speed, Longevity, And Offers Value

The A13 Bionic is the world’s fastest chip in a smartphone today. It’s not only perfect for photography but also improves gaming, augmented reality and web-surfing experiences by a mile. Built for efficiency, the A13 Bionic also enables great battery life and future-proofs the iPhone SE for the next 4–5 years with a blistering performance to say the least.

As the world is grappling with the pandemic and people are advised to wear face masks, unlocking an iPhone with facial recognition became a cumbersome experience. Despite planning the product release for a year and before the Coronavirus crisis set in, it just happens to be that the iPhone SE brings back the fingerprint sensor in place of Face ID at a time when it’s most needed.

Besides the compact form factor, being powered with true tone display, wireless charging, IP67 water resistance, WIFI6, and dual sim features makes the iPhone SE a standout at a super competitive price. It will give the premium Android flagship phones that were trumpeting their already sky-rocketing prices, a run for the money.

Closing Thoughts

While the iPhone SE boasts of compelling features at an affordable price, it isn’t devoid of flaws. A dated design with thick bezels coupled with the absence of OLED and 5G might worry a few. But then, no flagship killer is perfect and compromises need to be made.

Having said that, the iPhone SE has dropped like a time bomb. It’ll force the other manufacturers to quickly rethink their pricing strategies.

Despite a low-key press-release due to the ongoing pandemic, the second-generation iPhone SE is a silent volcano that’ll slowly disrupt the smartphone industry in the years to come.

It’s a clear winner in the mid-range segment.