Apple introduced the 5G-enabled model of the iPhone SE earlier this week, and on the outset, it does not look all that completely different from its predecessor that launched two years in the past. That is by design; the iPhone SE is geared toward customers that need a acquainted iPhone expertise, so it contains a bodily residence button with built-in Contact ID and a kind issue that makes it simple to make use of one-handed.
With iPhones getting taller, wider, and extra advanced with each new technology, the iPhone SE is designed to ship the fundamentals whereas nonetheless supplying you with an awesome digicam and the newest inside {hardware}.
Whereas there is no change within the design this time round, the iPhone SE 5G packs the newest A15 Bionic chipset and contains 5G connectivity. The remainder of the {hardware} is similar to the 2020 iPhone SE: the bottom mannequin begins off at a pitifully low 64GB, you get a single 12MP digicam on the again, 7MP entrance shooter, and an 1821mAh battery with 18W quick charging.
The massive speaking level right here is 5G connectivity; the iPhone SE has international 5G bands, and that makes it the plain alternative for iPhone 7/8 customers which have but to make the change to the connectivity commonplace.
Not like latest iPhones which have each Sub-6 and the quicker mmWave bands in North America, the iPhone SE is restricted to Sub-6 5G connectivity. Sub-6 does not ship the multi-Gigabit speeds that carriers tout of their advertising supplies every time they speak about 5G, however that is not more likely to deter clients — notably provided that the iPhone SE is launching at $429.
Apple’s technique of reusing previous designs and specs however slotting in its newest flagship SoC labored to its benefit with the 2020 iPhone SE, and that needs to be the case with the 2022 mannequin as effectively. Within the context of Android telephones, there actually is not something within the mid-range class that comes near the iPhone SE 5G’s A15 Bionic, and whereas the remainder of the {hardware} is from 2018, the iPhone SE scores a giant win the place it counts.
With the iPhone SE 5G, Apple is betting on familiarity as a differentiator.
Apple did not make too many adjustments with the iPhone SE 5G as a result of it did not have to; the iPhone SE was among the many ten best-selling telephones of 2021, and by providing 5G connectivity with this yr’s mannequin, Apple is providing the best improve path for older iPhone customers.
Whereas the finest Android telephones on this class have higher designs, vibrant AMOLED screens, higher cameras, and big batteries with quick charging, they lack the familiarity that you simply get with an iPhone.
The one fixed with Android is change, and that is evident if you have a look at the final 5 years of telephone designs; we received the notch, the waterdrop cutout, retractable cameras, and now the hole-punch cutout.
The software program has equally developed with the {hardware} — Android 12 appears to be like essentially completely different to Android 7.0 Nougat. iOS, in the meantime, hasn’t modified all that a lot; Apple launched privacy-focused options, cleaned up the UI, and added widgets, however the fundamentals are nonetheless the identical as 5 years in the past.
It is this familiarity that makes iPhone customers so loyal to iOS, and Apple has managed to make use of that to its benefit — there are seven iPhones within the high 10 best-selling telephones of 2021. Lengthy-term software program updates additionally play a giant half right here, with the iPhone SE 5G slated to choose up a minimum of 5 years of iOS updates. Samsung is doing a lot better on this space — its 2022 Galaxy A units will get 4 Android OS updates — however it’s the outlier with regards to mid-range Android manufacturers.
Add up the A15 Bionic, dependable cameras, acquainted design and software program, the newest inside {hardware}, and the promise of long-term updates, and it is not troublesome to see why the iPhone SE 5G will outsell any Android telephone on this class. Customers do not need to re-learn the best way to use their telephones once they’re upgrading, and with the iPhone SE 5G, they do not need to.