iPhone SE: how Apple’s new device stacks up against 6, 6s and 5s

Here’s a rundown of the specs and pricing for the new iPhone SE, and how it compares with other iPhones.

Here’s a rundown of the specs and pricing for the new iPhone SE, and a look at how it stacks up against the rest of the current (and outgoing) iPhone line:

Release date

The iPhone SE will ship in the US on March 31, and pre-orders begin this Thursday. The new smartphone will be available in 110 countries by the end of May.

In Australia, iPhone orders will open on March 24 and the phone will be shipped in 100 countries including Australia from March 31.

Price

Smaller size, smaller price tag: The iPhone SE will be less expensive than the 6S and 6S Plus.

The phone will be available in space grey, silver, gold and rose gold metallic finishes in 16GB and 64GB models starting at A$679.

Displays

One of the main reasons the iPhone SE exists is that not everyone wants a large smartphone. Apple has found that some customers prefer the smaller screens found on earlier iPhones. This is why the iPhone SE has a 4-inch display. It’s the first iPhone to offer this screen size since the 5s, which made its debut in late 2013.

The iPhone SE will have the same screen resolution as the iPhone 5s: 1,136 by 640 pixels, which comes out to 326 pixels per inch (ppi).

The 326 ppi is same density as the iPhone 6s, even though that phone has a larger 4.7-inch display with resolution of 1,334 by 750 pixels. The iPhone 6s Plus phablet has the biggest screen of all: a 5.5-inch, 1920 by 1,080 pixel display, with a density of 401 ppi.

One major feature missing from the iPhone SE, that’s found in the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus is 3-D Touch, which lets a phone distinguish between a light tap and a firm press, letting users control apps differently depending on how hard they push on their phone’s touchscreen.

Colours

Like the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus, the iPhone SE will be sold in space grey, silver, gold and rose gold.

Battery life

Apple says the iPhone SE will offer up to 13 hours of Wi-Fi browsing battery life and 14 hours of talk time. This beats the iPhone 5s, which had just 10 hours of Wi-Fi browsing time and 10 hours of talk time.

For comparison’s sake, the iPhone 6s offers 11 hours of Wi-Fi Web browsing battery life and the iPhone 6s Plus offers up 12 hours of Wi-Fi Web browsing.

Chip set

The iPhone SE has the same dual-core chipset as the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus, the A9 chip with an embedded M9 motion coprocessor. This is two-generations ahead of the A7 chip found in the iPhone 5s. Apple promises that it’ll be just as powerful and capable as the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus.

Cameras

On the rear, the iPhone SE will have a 12-megapixel iSight camera. Like the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus, the iPhone SE will be able to take Live Photos, short videos that are captured with every photo snap. Video recording can be done at up to 4K resolution at 30 frames per second.

The Wall Street Journal