The surprising release of the new iPhone SE, coming just a few months after the iPhone 11, has people wondering how the two Apple phones differ. They're aimed at different types of people and were possibly even designed as a reaction to two very different periods in the world.
This version of the iPhone SE is most remarkable for the things it has in common with iPhone 11. Most notably, it packs the same A13 Bionic chip from AI-controlled depth sensing that no one would have expected from a budget phone. However, that's where the similarities to the newest iPhones stop.
The two biggest differences between Apple's new phones and this version of the SE are size and price. With a 4.7-inch display, this phone is noticeably smaller than the iPhone 11's 6.1-inch screen. This iPhone SE is still slightly larger than the original from 2016, but it also sports better display features like HDR-10. As far as pricing, with this model going for $399 (64 GB), $449 (128 GB), and $549 (256 GB), it's much less expensive than the $699 base iPhone 11. In smartphone speak, it's "affordable".
iPhone SE's Similarity to iPhone 8
The third, and perhaps most surprising difference of the new iPhone SE is how much of it comes off as a redesigned iPhone 8. For starters, that means it brings back the 8's Touch ID fingerprint scanner, which the iPhone 11 replaced with Face ID (a now-useless feature for some as the coronavirus how dramatically smartphones have changed in just three years, the SE should feel like an old phone now.
So, while its similarities to the newest phones, and its ability to hang with those in of performance, make it so impressive, the wildest thing about the new iPhone SE is that it's basically a refresh of an older iPhone. Apple says the iPhone 8 featured the company's 5G, Wi-Fi 6 iPhone 11 replacement during a pandemic, this cheaper phone with its focus on value makes much more sense.