Apple has been hit hard by the Covid-19 crisis. Apple share (stock quote: AAPL) has slumped more than 30% since Feb this year and given the fact that US is experiencing the highest unemployment rate never seen since The Great Depression, Apple has reacted by launching cheaper iPhone SE (2nd Gen) to the market.
The new iPhone SE comes in three beautiful colors — black, white and (PRODUCT) RED— and will be available for pre-order beginning Friday, April 17, 8PM SG time from SGD 649 onwards.
The new iPhone SE is armed with A13 Bionic chip, the one that is used in iPhone 11 series. When comes to camera, there is a slight upgrade from its predecessor, the new iPhone SE features a single 12MP rear camera. The front-facing camera is powered by a 7MP sensor.
Apple has also improved the iPhone SE with features such as wireless charging and water resistance of IP67 rating. You can literately wash your iPhone to disinfect. Unlike the iPhone 11 series, Apple has also brought back the popular physical home button which you could use the Touch ID to unlock and make Apple Pay transactions.
What is missing here is the Face ID which I believe Apple is trying to use that feature to distinguish the premium iPhone series from the budget SE series. Anyway, you don’t need your face to access to your apps so it is not a must-have.
The display has got larger. The new iPhone SE is now powered by 4.7 inch LCD display. Note that this is not the OLED display used in the iPhone 11 series. Well, Apple has to find way to cut corner to lower the price, but I don’t think that will affect the whole Apple experience greatly. Anyway, how much difference between LCD and OLED, in terms of quality, can you spot?
In view of the current Covid-19 situation, Apple has lowered sales forecast in the near term. It is not surprising that the new iPhone SE could be a nice alternative for the current users who are retiring their old iPhone 7/8.