Today: iPhone SE is back
Wojciech R. Bolanowski, MD PhD
Chief AI Officer, retail and digital banking, payments and fintech in EU, GCC, SEA, enthusiast of cross-border banking
Today (April 24th, 2020) is the official launch day of new Apple smartphone – the second generation iPhone SE. There is no much hype around the model, for understandable reasons. Some are related to the phone itself. iPhone SE is an entry level device, amending thirteenth generation of Apple smartphones, which is on the market for over half a year. It is not a flagship product, designed to lead the fight with powerful competitors and overcome horizon of imaginable possibilities. Most importantly, it is not the foldable iPhone, the breakthrough device being expected for almost two years, and rumored to be ready in 2020. iPhone SE launched today replicates the same concept as its namesake predecessor of 2016. It is seeking for attractive balance of value and price, achieved by putting new hardware, including the best performing chipset, into an old design, with some functional limitations. In case of the first generation SE the respective design was the one of 5S device (the old good idea of sharp edges case and fit-to-palm size), the technology was mainly the same as inside Apple’s flagship models of the time i.e. iPhone 6S and 6S Plus. The second generation iPhone SE comes again in the case of discontinued device, namely iPhone 8, with the inside of iPhone 11 (including Apple A13 processor). So, this is an SE pattern: today technology within yesterday body at affordable price. There is absolutely the target group for such value proposition, as the first generation of iPhone SE already has proven. I am really going to consider getting the new SE, for I used to be a huge fan of the previous SE model.
Retro look is something responsible for the favorable perception of SEs. In old days it was that cult 4.0 inch screen, which gave the iPhone its vintage look. Today, there are bezels (upper and lower), framing the phone touchscreen which make it looking old. At the time of whole screen smartphones the framed screen looks sweet and nostalgic. Something just for connoisseurs of Jony Ive’s legacy. What else do the two phones have in common? One feature is substantial – fingerprint reader built-in the round “home” button. Yes, the iconic home button, the trade mark of iPhone design since its first appearance until sunset of iPhone 8, the model discontinued just few days ago, on April 15th, 2020. For anybody, who have difficulties in face recognition authentication, the return of the button is a very good news. Additionally, in some situations, touch ID seems be more ergonomic solution than face ID. In my opinion it is a case of contactless paying with use of Apple Pay. Face ID in iPhones requires double-click of their right button; with touch ID (e.g. paying with iPhone SE) touching the home button is enough to accept the transaction. For me it sounds simpler and more convenient.
Bezels and home button – the common, vintage features of both iPhone SE’s generations
It would be nothing but perfect compromise if the new SE shared all important hardware with its top notch siblings from Apple stable. It is not the case, though. The major compromise on quality and performance was made with built-in cameras. There is no multiple cameras in iPhone SE. There is no chance that photos made by the device were as good as pics made by iPhone 11. This is potentially off putting feature for those, who requires ever better quality of smartphone pictures and videos. The other discouraging feature is the size of the screen and display quality. There is consistent Apple policy not to offer the best available display technology in its entry level devices. Otherwise the new iPhone SE should be as good as iPhone 11, with a hint of legacy linked to home button and fingerprint reader. From the perspective of more diversified customer choice it is for sure good device, offering real alternative to today mainstream trend in smartphone design. I am always the fan of more choices, and I still miss the options which vanished with the Blackberry few years ago.
I mentioned that introduction of iPhone SE hasn’t get too much attention. One of the reason is that Apple announced the smartphone without much celebration. Anyway, it is not the flagship device and there is nothing here to push boundaries of innovation ahead, toward the future. However, there is many reasons for silent start of new SE which get nothing to do with the device. The whole world is much in shut off, idle mode, due to safety constrictions related to Covid-19 pandemic. There are more important issues round here than premiere of the new phone. We could say that there were always serious political, health related or security problems, however the world of economy news always paid attention to new products of Apple. The difference today is, that also economy got much more tremendous challenges than reception of iPhone SE. The upcoming global recession, which is likely to look like lethally hard impact rather than benign slowing down, occupies business narrative. One can say that at least mobile industry should make some noise related to the new device released by one of the most important producer. Nevertheless, Apple accounts for 20% of global smartphones sales, and in some markets (like in America) that share is much bigger. However, the hottest subject in mobile industry is currently the adoption of 5G technology. The uncertainty about the future of 5G began with American actions against Huawei, the Chinese technology company, which is the major 5G vendor and proponent. What was supposed to be an intermediate, manageable hurdle turned into some internationally sensitive subject, which is still unsolved. However, the most surprising and unexpected hit came from the common folk in some countries believing in negative impact of 5G high frequency radiation to human health. Some groups on social media claimed there is a link between introducing the technology and spreading of the virus. Due to that kind of conspiracy theories some countries (like UK) recently experienced phone masts setting alight. The future of mobile industry depends on the 5G implementation, not on the next version of any smartphone, including iPhone SE. Altogether it is enough to make the new iPhone launch practically unnoticed, even by mobile professionals.
I wrote a few posts about different mobile devices, you can find them here, on my blog:
iPhone X and the strategy behind it
More about Apple impact on the financial sector and the company itself you find on my digital bankology blog.
For having a good time with iPhone SE look at this unboxing movie of the devices in all available colors on youtube: https://t.co/tUN2ZE0W1j (4’14’’ of watching).