On April 24th, the release of Apple’s 2020 iPhone SE shocked consumers due to its extremely low price. Upon viewing it, I immediately ran downstairs to my family and told them I was buying a brand new iPhone. Their faces looked even more stunned when I told them it would only cost me $400. After settling down and sifting through the abundance of reviews, I began to wonder — how can Apple sell a phone this cheap?
I browsed the Apple website to examine the marketing efforts behind their newest addition. “The iPhone SE packs our most powerful chip into our most popular size at our most affordable price. It’s just what you’ve been waiting for.” The ads promote a 4.7-inch retina HD display, 4k HD video, portrait mode, and an A13 Bionic chip — the best part, though, is the price.
The company brags about a few other features, including bringing back the original home button, a water-resistance feature lasting up to one meter for 30 minutes, 13 hours of video on a single charge, wireless charging capabilities, and a 50 percent charge in only 30 minutes. The iPhone SE 2nd generation combines the newest 13.4 IOS software of the iPhone 11 Pro and the size of the iPhone 8.
Tech reviewers find this phone uncreative but worth the price.
The Tech Chap on YouTube compares an old iPhone SE to the new version in a video titled “iPhone SE 2020 – Should You Buy Apple’s Cheapest Phone?” As for the camera, between the iPhone 11 and SE 2, The Tech Chap says, “there isn’t a massive difference really…[it’s] a little less detailed.” The new phone bears neither an ultra-wide lens nor night mode. The battery is “not in the same league as the iPhone 11 max,” he reveals in the video.
In the video iPhone SE (2020) Review: It All Adds Up! by Marques Brownlee, he argues, “[this is] one of the most important phones in a long time, especially from Apple.” Marques mostly discusses the design features of the new phone. In this version, the logo rests near the middle of the phone to match current iPhones. The device can be purchased with a red, black, or white back with an all black front. He notes the brightness of the phone as less than the iPhone 11 Pro Max. He reports, “This phone is going to have the longest life of any $400 phone.”
An article from ZDNet explains, “iOS 13 included a gesture keyboard, and I’ve yet to use it more than a couple of times. …trying to hold the iPhone 11 Pro Max with one hand while gesture typing is just begging for the phone to take a tumble. With the iPhone SE, I’ve swipe-typed several times already, and it just feels natural.” This phone offers efficiency in price, design, and included features.
Anandtech maintains, “The second-generation iPhone SE is an extremely straightforward device. Externally, there’s very little that exposes it as a 2020 phone, with only the most minute design changes present.” Even though the device does not display new designs, consumers find familiarity and ease handling the phone.
A Forbes writer affirms, “…just because I care about things like high refresh rate and screen-to-body ratio and having the most bleeding edge technology, most people do not.” Apple phone customers who use the first iPhone SE and all the models through iPhone 8 can switch phones and be comfortable.
The iPhone SE has been made with the average user in mind. Apple is incorporating a whole new group of consumers by offering a cheaper phone and making their products more accessible. Each review seems to agree: this is the best value an Apple iPhone has offered in years, if ever.
