Now the line of Apple smartphones looks as diverse as possible. Until recently, it had three current models of the iPhone 11 with a price tag of 60 to 132 thousand rubles, last year's Xr for 50 thousand and the somehow smacked iPhone 8 from 2017. The last iPhone was replaced by the new iPhone SE, which fit perfectly into the current conditions. Lenta.ru tells why the new SE is not just a “cheap iPhone”, but an important event in the company's history.
The original iPhone SE was a very curious smartphone. It came out in the days of the iPhone 6s, combined the old design and the new hardware, and in the 16 gigabyte version it cost 38 thousand rubles. For 2016, it was a huge amount for a smartphone that looked "old." No one understood this release, but when the price dropped to 20 thousand, and restored models entered the market, then everyone was inspired by the idea of a compact and cheap iPhone.
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As a result, the smartphone was bought in large quantities even after the cessation of production in 2018, although it continues to receive updates, including the latest version of iOS 13. Just the long support provided the phone with such survivability: for four years it received system updates and new functions, which is unthinkable for any other company.
Old school
The new SE in this regard exactly repeats the ideas of the original: they scored components from different devices, seasoned them with an affordable price tag and sent them on a long voyage. It was as if he was collected on the principle of “what can we fit into this price tag so as not to be in the loser”. Therefore, the phone does not have its own components: the case, camera, screen, battery, Touch ID scanner and other design elements are from the iPhone 8, and the iron is from the iPhone 11.
apple.com / iPhone SE 2020
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Of course, this is a very strong simplification, and they did not just push the old components into it and pass it off as a new phone. For example, the batteries of two phones have the same capacity and do not differ in appearance, but they are still not interchangeable. But the screen here fits perfectly, despite the fact that the G8 has 3D Touch, but this technology is no longer in SE. By the way, if you install a screen from 8 on the SE, then 3D Touch will not work, like True Tone, but it still greatly simplifies the repair of the device. And if we talk about hardware, then there is only three gigabytes of RAM, that is, less than 11. In general, there are a lot of nuances, although this does not change the big picture.
There are two external differences from the G8: in all color versions of the case, the front panel will be black, and the logo with an apple is shifted to the center of the rear panel, like the latest models of the company. In addition, there is no longer the golden color of the case and only black, white and red are available.
The rest is a full copy of the iPhone 8. It has a 4.7-inch screen with frames and a second-generation Touch ID scanner. There is no Face ID scanner here, although there is plenty of space for it, but it is an expensive technology, and it is not particularly necessary with a fingerprint sensor. Headphone jack, of course, also not. But there is wireless charging and protection against water and dust according to the IP67 standard. It should also be noted that there is no Plus version with a screen enlarged to 5.5 inches, but, according to rumors, it will appear in 2021.
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The main feature of the new SE is its compact size. Even compared to the regular iPhone 11 Pro, which is considered a small phone, this smartphone is incredibly small, which after several years with shovels and phablets is very unusual. The forgotten feeling that you can reach every corner of the screen is shocking for the first few days of use. Next shocking is how quickly a finger unlock works: Touch ID works faster than any face scanner and fingerprint scanner built into the screen.
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Yes, after the iPhone 11, many elements – like the lack of a flashlight power button on the lock screen or the call to the "Control Center" with a swipe from below – seem unusual. It is worth considering that these are all the impressions of a person who used the latest Apple smartphones and has long been accustomed to new controls. Anyone who will be updated from the first SE and a similar device will feel at home.
Fathers and Sons
With iron, the story is more complicated. It is stated that the iPhone SE has the exact same processor as the iPhone 11 (or 11 Pro). From this, many came to the conclusion that in performance tests, a smartphone should gain even more points than the "older brothers", because the screen resolution is lower. In reality, the situation is the opposite, and in all tests the phone loses slightly.
This gave rise to several conspiracy theories: Apple allegedly underestimated the processor frequencies so that the battery would not run out so quickly, or for some other, more self-serving reasons. In fact, this difference is due to the fact that SE has only three gigabytes of RAM, and 11 has four.
apple.com / Comparison of dimensions of iPhone SE of different generations
In general, the new iPhone SE is 2.4 times more powerful than its predecessor, and its graphics system is four times faster. Relative to the iPhone 8, power increased 1.4 times. In general, all these comparisons are designed to show only one thing: the new iPhone SE is an incredibly fast smartphone. Launching applications, switching the processor, loading pages and “heavy” games feel even faster than on 11 Pro Max, although in reality this is not the case when comparing them head-on.
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iPhone SE can even be called a gaming smartphone. Most games do not need such power, and the usual time killers work even on the weakest hardware. But yes – on a 4.7-inch smartphone you can easily launch Civilization 6 and other ports of "big" games, like Witness or GRID. Another question is how to play such projects on a small 4.7-inch screen? The way out may be to connect a gamepad from the Xbox or PlayStation, but this is still not an option for playing the subway or on the go.
Ultimately, all this power rests on a weak battery of 1.8 thousand milliampere-hours. Despite all attempts to make the new processor energy-efficient, the phone only lasts for one day in gentle mode. On average, one charge is enough for four to five hours of screen operation, that is, by the middle of the day with constant use, you will have to look for charging. It is clear that nothing else could be put in this case, but against the background of how Apple rests on autonomy in its latest models, this move looks like a rollback – at a time when jokes about iPhone owners who are constantly looking for sockets were relevant.
Dark night
With the main camera, which is just one, the story is just as confusing. The fact is that Apple does not directly say what kind of module it is, because of which they began to speculate on the Internet. Someone believed that the camera is from Xr, others – that a stripped-down version of the iPhone 11 module. The reality turned out to be much more prosaic: here it is exactly the same camera as in the iPhone 8.
But this does not mean at all that the pictures will be the same as on the 2017 phone. Due to the new hardware and technology, iPhone SE received a new post-processing algorithm, which plays a much larger role than the quality of the optics and the number of lenses in the module. In addition, he can shoot in portrait mode, including those modes that are not available on Xr with a similar camera system and with Smart HDR.
Of course, under daylight or in similar conditions, the difference between the pictures on the iPhone SE and 11 Pro Max will not. But in the dark, a significant lag in the SE is already visible, including due to the lack of a night shooting mode. Also, there is no technology for obtaining ultra-clear photos of Deep Fusion, although this is not such a big problem, because most owners of new iPhones are not aware of its existence.
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But in terms of video for such a price, there is nothing better than iPhone SE on the market at all. The smartphone writes 4K videos with a frequency of 60 fps and optical stabilization, and it loads stereo sound from several microphones into the load. Sometimes the camera does not have enough dynamic range to work out complex scenes, but the output clips are still smoother and better quality than on most smartphones for 80-100 thousand rubles.
Surprisingly, the front camera with 7 megapixels makes good pictures. It is felt that she came from a previous generation, and this can not be covered up with new processing algorithms. But there is a portrait shooting mode without any Sloughy, Animoji, Memoji.
Tricky plan
As a result, the question pops up: why all this is needed when other iPhone models sell well? And here are several reasons. Firstly, it is an opportunity to refresh the line and give a second life to those components that have long been on the market. Secondly, the company is trying to drag its old audience to a new device that supports all Apple services. Thirdly, for many, this will be the starting point in the Apple ecosystem, the easiest option to get a relevant and powerful iPhone.
The company has been trying for many years to stop relying on iPhone sales alone, and as one of the options is to increase the number of buyers in the App Store, subscribers to Apple Music, Arcade, TV + and iCloud storage. And here, just Apple gives customers free to try all these services, and one of them will leave a subscription.
Yes, this is just the perfect offer in the context of the global crisis and pandemic. iPhone SE will not play a key role in the company's reports, and even the iPhone Xr brings Apple more money. But after a year, Xr production may cease, and SE will remain with us for a long time.
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***
It’s possible to briefly describe what iPhone SE is: it’s a harsh dialer, from which all new-fangled technologies have been removed, leaving a compact case and powerful hardware. This is not a competitor to the iPhone Xr or some more interesting models. First of all, this is a phone for the older generation and people who live well with old smartphones. They don’t really need a camera, a frameless screen, an unlock on the face and a lot of other things that are not clear to an ordinary person. They need the phone to not slow down and in which case it was easy to repair. This is also a good option for a second phone with a working SIM card.
On the other hand, 40 thousand for a “harsh dialer” with 64 gigabytes of memory is still expensive. With a little extra payment, you can take a more interesting Xr or something on Android. Therefore, while there are no discounts on SE, the choice in most cases will be in favor of other devices. But a year later, when it drops in price, this situation will change dramatically – and SE will again become a national phone.
Chief editor of the blog – Erika J. Wells .
