iPhone SE 2: All you need to know!

Back in 2016 apple announced a new iPhone in March, in the middle of its normal flagship launch cycle. At first, it seemed like just a rebranded iPhone 5s with few new specifications. The first impressions were not totally false, as the OG iPhone SE had the same design, front-facing camera, screen size, etc. as the iPhone 5s. Nobody at first, took this iPhone seriously because of its small screen in the world of giant 5.5inch+ screen sized android phones. But when apple discounted the iPhone SE, two years after its release, people started realizing how great this phone was at that price. I love the iPhone SE because it was my first apple device. I bought it at its launch price (Rs. 35,000) and I felt at that price it still was a great device. After 2018 the hype of iPhone SE was so big, that people started speculating about its successor, the iPhone SE 2. But as it turned out Apple was busy working on iPhone X then. So that's when the wait began for the iPhone SE 2. It took Apple 4 years to launch it, but finally today Apple just launched the iPhone SE 2020 (iPhone SE 2). With this new second-generation iPhone SE, Apple is trying to achieve the same 3 goals that made the original iPhone SE so successful, which are - small form factor, flagship performance, and low cost. When Apple launched the iPhone XR back in 2018 it was called the new cheaper iPhone. But the launch price of $749 or Rs. 76,900 was not "cheaper" in any sense of the word. So, has Apple successfully achieved the above mentioned 3 goals? let's find out! In this blog, I'm going to tell you everything you need to know about the iPhone SE 2.

First of all, let's take a look at the specifications of the iPhone SE 2

• 4.7-inch True Tone display 
• 12MP Rear Camera featuring OIS, HDR, Portrait mode for people, and video recording at up to 4K/60FPS
• 7MP Front Facing Camera 
• A13 Bionic Processor 
• 64GB/128GB/256GB storage options 
• 3GB RAM
• Supports iOS 13
• Wi-Fi 6, Dual SIM with eSIM
• Second-generation Touch ID
• Compatible with QI wireless charging
• IP67 dust and water resistance certification

Design

It has the same shape and looks like the iPhone 8. It comes with a 4.7-inch Retina HD display with True Tone compatibility. In 2020 it comes with large bezels, on the top as well as on the bottom part of the screen. It retains the home button with Touch ID. Essentially, it's the design that finds its roots in the iPhone 6 design. Therefore iPhone SE 2 becomes the fifth phone after iPhone 6/6s/7/8 to follow this Jony Ive’s design. 

Performance

Although the design is four-generation old, but as the previously mentioned specs suggest, the performance isn't anything short of the latest Apple Flagships. The iPhone SE 2 comes with Apple's current mobile flagship A13 Bionic chip, the same as iPhone 11 and 11 Pro models. This ensures the longer lifespan it'll have in terms of updates and sheer performance. This new iPhone replaces the same sized iPhone 8. As there is no plus-sized version of the iPhone SE2, the iPhone 8 Plus will continue to be sold wherever available. It also comes with 3GB of RAM, which combined with iOS 13 optimization is literally more than enough. It can handle multiple apps in the background while giving you a smooth performance. Be it video editing, heavy tasks or marathon gaming sessions of PUBG Mobile, the iPhone SE 2 will not let you down. 

Camera 

The new iPhone SE 2 also gets an upgrade in the camera department over its predecessor. It still is equipped with only one rear as well as a front-facing camera. Both sensors are new and improved. The rear 12MP camera supports Smart HDR and Portrait mode photography, thanks to the new A13 Bionic chip. Apple is using, what it calls, "monocular depth-sensing" technology to produce human portrait photos. Apple has previously used this technology in iPhone XR. Sadly, this means you can't click portrait mode photos of an object. The back camera also supports high-quality video recording at up to 4K/60FPS. The iPhone SE 2 also has an extended dynamic range mode of video recording which is capped at 4K/30FPS. The biggest gain in the camera department is the new 7MP front camera. It is going to be far better than the crappy old 1.2MP front camera of the iPhone SE. 

Other Changes 

Design, performance, and camera are some of the highlighted changes that we got in the iPhone SE 2. But there are still some other minor changes that Apple has made, such as the removal of the headphone jack. I know, the headphone jack is long gone, and this is not an iPhone 7 article. But the original iPhone SE had the headphone jack so its removal should be considered as a change. The second change is the addition of wireless charging. Unlike OnePlus which has just introduced wireless charging, Apple has introduced wireless charging with the iPhone 8/8+/X back in 2017. The original iPhone SE was launched before this new wireless revolution, so this is also a change for the iPhone SE 2. The backside of the phone is now made up of glass to help wireless charging technology. Also, the Apple logo is in the middle now!

Pricing 

The iPhone SE 2 looks like an extremely good deal when you consider the price along with the above-mentioned changes. The official launch price of iPhone SE 2 is 400$. Just yesterday OnePlus launched its OnePlus 8 with the base variant priced at 699$. Compared to that its crazy that the iPhone is undercutting the "So-called" flagship killer OnePlus. If directly converted to the INR the price of the iPhone SE 2 comes out to be Rs. 30,623. It'll be great if apple actually launches the iPhone SE 2 in India at that price. But considering all the taxes and custom-duty charges it had to pay to sell the iPhone SE 2 in India, that price seems highly unlikely. If past pricing history is any evidence, for apple, it's always been 1$ = Rs. 100. So I expect to see it come to India at a launch price of Rs. 40,000. This will also let apple undercut the Indian price of the OnePlus 8 of Rs. 53,190.

Final thoughts 

As India currently is in a nationwide lockdown, it's hard to predict the status of availability. Also, as there are no official Apple stores in the country and Authorized online resellers like Amazon are also closed, it's going to be impossible to get the iPhone SE 2 until this lockdown finally ends. 

Overall, this new iPhone SE seems a pretty good upgrade over the previous model. It gets a specs bump in almost all the areas the iPhone SE was lacking behind initially. Apple is a premium brand here in India, and many people literally dream to buy an iPhone. If this launches around the expected price it'll be a steal deal for iPhone lovers. So to sum it up, if you want to buy a new phone this year, which consists of a solid software-enhanced camera, top of the line performance, normal-sized display with excellent colors, up to 5 years of software support along with performance-enhancing software updates, this new iPhone SE 2 is definitely one of the strong contender to serve your needs.