Paul Morris on March 21, 2016, 11:36 pm

Meet Apple’s $399 4-Inch iPhone SE: Specs, Price, Release Date

After what feels like months of constant speculation and conjecture, Apple’s 4-inch iPhone SE has finally been made official. Tim Cook and his band of executives have finally removed the coverings from the mysterious device, and in turn have introduced a $399 4-inch iPhone that some analysts believe could push sales of that particular form-factor through the roof during 2016. We’re going to jump right in and take a deep look at the device in detail here.

iPhone SE main main

Features / Specs

Design: The physical design of the new iPhone SE falls completely in line with the previous 4-inch devices that we’ve seen from Apple, namely the iPhone 5/5s. Apple is clearly keen to position the new iPhone SE in the same category as those devices by appealing to individuals who not only loved the older aesthetic of the iPhone 5s, but who want an extremely capable smartphone that falls into this particular size range.

Display: There has been a huge amount of discussion about Apple’s internal plans to move future iPhone models across to OLED displays going forward, but that doesn’t apply in this case. The iPhone SE packs a 4-inch Retina display that offers a 1136 x 640 pixel resolution. As expected, the smartphone doesn’t include a revamped display assembly with embedded 3D Touch pressure sensors, but that will definitely not take us away from the excellent visual experience that all Retina iPhone models provide.

Processor/RAM/Always-on Hey Siri: The iPhone SE is packed with the latest internals from the current flagship iPhone 6s. That includes the excellent Apple-designed A9 processor with accompanying M9 motion coprocessor for activity tracking. That processor integration will not only provide the device with a huge amount of power, but it also paves the way for the fantastic always-on “Hey Siri” functionality. Did we mention that the phone also packs 2GB of RAM? Yes it does!

Camera: Like the internals of the device, the front camera setup has been inspired by Apple’s current iPhone 6s range as well. That includes a 12-megapixel rear shooter with 4K video recording, and Slo-Mo video recording in 1080p resolution at 120fps, and in 720p resolution at 240fps. Like the iPhone 6s, the phone packs a two-tone flash as well. The iPhone SE also sports the ability to capture Live Photos. The camera tech packs the Focus Pixels tech, and the ability to capture panoramic shots up to 63MP. But unlike iPhone 6s, there’s a forward-facing 1.2-megapixel offering instead of 5MP for those selfie fans out there.

Touch ID: As you’d expect from a modern Apple device, the iPhone SE does feature biometric authentication in the form of Apple’s proprietary Touch ID sensor. Unfortunately, this isn’t the second-generation sensor found in iPhone 6s. It’s the same one found in iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus series.

Apple Pay/NFC: Apple can hardly be expected to make a song and dance about Apple Pay without actually providing all of their new devices with the ability to consume it. The iPhone SE comes equipped with internal NCF capabilities purely for the purpose of allowing owners to setup and transact with Apple’s contactless Apple Pay platform.

Faster Connectivity: The iPhone SE supports LTE speeds of upto 150 Mbps, which makes it 50% faster than the iPhone 5s. It also packs Bluetooth 4.2 and advanced 802.11a/b/g/n/ac Wi‑Fi with VoLTE and Wi-Fi calling support.

Battery: It is likely that the phone carries the same battery as the iPhone 5s (1560mAh), but Apple claims to have made vast improvements to the battery life of the iPhone SE.

Software: As expected the 4-inch iPhone SE will come running iOS 9.3 out-of-the-box.

Colors: There’s no real surprise here. Those interested in iPhone SE will have the choice of purchasing the device in Space Gray, Silver, Gold, or Rose Gold, just like the iPhone 6s.

Price

16GB – $399 (unlocked)
64GB – $499 (unlocked)

Release Date

Pre-orders begin March 24th. Release date is March 31st.