iPhone SE (2nd gen) - Apple Just Stole OnePlus' Thunder

Literally a day or two after OnePlus launched the 8 series, Apple decided to put the next gen iPhone SE into the world, seemingly undercutting OnePlus’ upmarket devices. As of late, many of Apple’s latest devices have been pretty expensive, gearing further towards the $999+ premium segment while also allowing a singular cheaper device range within the flagship device segment. There isn’t anything wrong with this method, as they alone have produced some really popular devices in the likes of the iPhone XR and iPhone 11. However, Apple are now going even further by making their latest device sub $400 for the base model, but without sacrificing much. Sound familiar? Well, just until the 8 series, this was exactly what OnePlus were doing, and then they exploded the prices because they went all in on 5G (which could possibly be the worst thing the company could ever do, besides their new pointless rebranding).
This next iPhone doesn’t really follow in the footsteps of its predecessor with its familiar iPhone 5-like design. Instead, it looks a lot more like the iPhone 6, 7, and 8. The same cannot be said of the plus variants since, well, there is no iPhone SE Plus. But anyone who had followed this device in its development stage should’ve already known this.
Other than the obvious design changes, there’s not much else about it that follows the iPhone 8. The internals lean more towards the latest iPhone 11 (even the 11 Pro in some cases), and the design belongs to the 8. Not much else can really be said of this device, as many of its features and designs were new about almost a year ago.

You can’t infer or really take that much information from the image above about the device's singular camera, but when you have a look at some of its features you’ll see just how much of an upgrade it is compared to the original. While the rear camera features the same 12 MP, it brings 4K60 video, OIS, portrait mode, Slow Sync, Portrait Lighting, Smart HDR, and a f/1.8 aperture lens. The selfie camera also got a large upgrade, but mainly in the MP department. On the original, it was only a 1.2 MP sensor, which only allowed for 720p30 video. The new sensor brings a 7 MP 1080p30 support, which is around the same as the latest flagship level devices. Better quality FaceTime and slofies are guaranteed if you currently own the original SE. But, along with these upgrades, the display gets a less noticeable resolution upgrade (1,334 x 750) and gets a little brighter. The 4.7” LCD IPS display can get up to 625 nits, which is considerably brighter than the 500 nits of the OG. 

I think the biggest and most talked about upgrade that the device brings is the Apple A13 Bionic chip. The same processor as their latest flagships? In a mid-range phone? Under $400? This is some new territory from Apple, but I doubt anyone minds. 

Why did Apple choose to release such a glorious device with such a cheap price tag? Did they purposely bring the price down in spite of the more expensive OnePlus 8? Is it so they can help the American economy during these times? Will the device actually be available elsewhere or in developing markets? Will the prices reflect the USA version? We’ll just have to wait and see unfortunately. Though, I’m not sure if we’ll ever get an answer as to why Apple chose this route. 

Pricing

$399 - 64 GB $449 - 128 GB  $549 - 256 GB

Trade in 

Who should upgrade?

I think the only people that should upgrade are those still sticking to their beloved iPhone 6, 7, 8, and SE devices, maybe if you use an iPhone X and miss Touch ID too. It’s definitely worth the upgrade compared to all of the previously mentioned devices, but you will have to give in to the 4.7” screen if you are coming from a Plus model. Other than that, there are more features in the new SE compared to the older specs of those devices. You can preorder the device with or without trade in from the Apple site (http://www.apple.com/iphone-se/)