Surprise, surprise! There’s a new iPhone in town, and it’s the most affordable Apple smartphone with modern specs you can buy right now.

(Update, June 24: It’s finally available for purchase in the Philippines! Read 2020 Apple iPhone SE now available in the Philippines. For postpaid, see this: 2020 Apple iPhone SE: Globe, Smart postpaid plans.)

The new Apple iPhone SE is here. It’s different from the original iPhone SE the American tech giant announced in 2016, but in some ways, they’re also alike.

How much is the 2020 Apple iPhone SE?

In the U.S., the latest iPhone will be available in 64GB, 128GB, and 256GB storage models for $399 (or roughly P20,237 converted), $449 (P22,762), and $549 (P27,832). Your color options are Black, White, and (Product) Red. A portion of sales from the latter will go directly to a COVID-19 fund and HIV/AIDS grants.

READ ALSO: 2020 iPhone SE outperforms iPhone XS Max in Antutu

Preorders are live now at apple.com. It will go on sale at Apple Authorized Resellers and select carriers in the country from April 24. It’s also available in more 40 other countries and regions, including the Philippines.

Prices in the Philippines are as follows:

• 64GB: P26,490 ($522)
• 128GB: P30,490 ($601)
• 256GB: P36,490 ($720)

What are the 2020 Apple iPhone SE’s features?

Apple says its newly launched SE comes with the fastest chip in a phone (although, to be clear, the A13 Bionic is the same processor in the iPhone 11 series), as well as the best single camera in an iPhone. Yes, there’s only one camera on the back and one up front, for a total of two cameras. It’s not quite what other companies offer, but knowing Apple, expect good things out of the this modest setup.

The back-facing camera is 12 megapixels and sits behind f/1.8 lens. It captures 4K video up to 60 fps, and uses the neural engine of the A13 Bionic to get the benefits of computational photography, allowing you to take portrait shots with natural-looking blurred backgrounds and depth control. The 7-megapixel front camera can also shoot with advanced bokeh effects.

The new Apple iPhone SE’s official product video

As for the internals, the A13 Bionic is widely regarded as the fastest chipset you can purchase today, and the benchmarks show that it’s more powerful than the Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 inside many Android flagships. That being said, the iPhone SE is easily the most capable compact smartphone you can get, bar none. Throw anything at it, and it’ll just breeze through the task without breaking a sweat.

Of course, the 2020 Apple iPhone SE isn’t without comprises on the hardware side. The most obvious is that it looks like the iPhone 8. That’s not exactly a bad thing, except the iPhone 8 arrived debuted three years ago, in 2017. In other words, this iPhone looks outdated with huge bezels at the top and bottom and a front-mounted fingerprint sensor. The Retina LCD screen is also a bit of a letdown, coming in at 4.7 inches.

SEE ALSO: 2020 Apple iPad Pro, MacBook Air launched. PH prices revealed, too and 2020 Apple iPad Pro scores over 700,000 in Antutu Benchmark app

However, it should be noted that, like the iPhone 8, the iPhone SE has an IP67 rating for its aerospace-grade aluminum body, meaning it’s a lot more resistant to water damage than plenty of other smartphones in 2020. The battery is rated for up to 8 hours of video streaming and up to 40 hours of audio playback on a single charge. Fast charging is on board, and the battery can reach 50% capacity in 30 minutes using an 18-watt wall charger (sold separately).

As expected, the new iPhone SE runs Apple’s latest iOS 13 operating system out of the box, with support for future software updates.

2020 Apple iPhone SE specs

• 4.7-inch LCD display, 1,334 x 750 resolution
• Octa-core Apple A13 Bionic
• 64GB/128GB/256GB storage
• 12-megapixel, f/1.8 rear camera
• 7-megapixel, f/2.2 front camera
• Fingerprint reader (front-mounfed)
• Up to 8 hours video streaming, up to 40 hours audio playback
• 18-watt fast charging via Lightning port
• iOS 13
• IP67 water resistance

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