4 Things Apple Did Not Tell You About the iPhone SE
Earlier this week, Apple held a special press event at its HQ in Cupertino and, among plenty of other things, it introduced the new iPhone SE, touting it as the company’s “most powerful phone with a four-inch display.”
Apple explained that the SE comes with a compact aluminum design and color-matched stainless steel Apple logo, that it features the powerful A9 processor from the iPhone 6S, that it has an advanced 12MP iSight camera, and plenty more. What Apple did not say is that...
1. The SE Stands for Special Edition
Apple presented the new iPhone SE, but forgot to say what SE stands for. Simply Excellent, Something Else, Secure Edition perhaps? Fortune’s Jason Cipriani managed to grab two-seconds of Phil Schiller’s attention on the demo floor and asked him about this.
Turns out that the SE stands for Special Edition. It’s an homage to the Macintosh SE, the computer released back in 1987.
2. The iPhone SE has 2GB of RAM
Apple talked about how much memory the new iPhone SE has to offer, mainly 16GB and 64GB of storage space, but it did not say how much RAM memory the new iPhone has. That isn’t surprising, not in the least.
For some unknown reason, talking about RAM is taboo. Apple never says anything about RAM during media events and it doesn’t list RAM along the official specs on its website. How much RAM an iPhone has remains a mystery – but not for long, because once someone gets their hands on one, that detail soon comes to light.
Turns out that the new iPhone SE has 2GB of RAM, the same as the iPhone 6S and 6S Plus.
And the new 9.7-inch iPad Pro, it also has 2GB of RAM.
3. Your old iPhone 5 (or 5S) case will fit the new SE
The phone pictured above is not the old and now-discontinued iPhone 5, it is the new iPhone SE. Apart for a few subtle design differences, the two look exactly alike. What Apple basically did with the new iPhone SE is it took the innards of an iPhone 6S and it stuck them inside an iPhone 5 case.
And that is good news. It means you have a powerful phone in a compact design, and it also means that the iPhone 5 or iPhone 5S case that you threw in your junk drawer and forgot all about, will fit the new iPhone SE.
That is, unless you can resist the urge to purchase a new case, like this $39 Leather Case that Apple designed specifically to accompany the new 4-inch iPhone SE.
4. The iPhone SE is not as cheap outside the US
The 16GB iPhone SE is priced at $399, while the 64GB model is priced at $499. That’s actually pretty cheap, by Apple standards. Is it just as cheap outside the US? The quick answer is no.
In Australia for example, the 16GB iPhone SE is priced at $679 AUD (even though $399 USD is around $525 AUD, based on the current exchange rate). Before GST, Australia’s goods and services tax, the iPhone SE’s price is about $617. This means that Apple is charging a premium of about $62 on top of the exchange rate and Australian sales tax.
Something similar can be seen in the UK, Europe, China, Hong Kong, Japan, New Zealand, Singapore, and India.
In related news...
It didn't take long for parody videos to show up an make fun of Apple's iPhone SE. Here are 3 of them.
Apple explained that the SE comes with a compact aluminum design and color-matched stainless steel Apple logo, that it features the powerful A9 processor from the iPhone 6S, that it has an advanced 12MP iSight camera, and plenty more. What Apple did not say is that...
1. The SE Stands for Special Edition
Apple presented the new iPhone SE, but forgot to say what SE stands for. Simply Excellent, Something Else, Secure Edition perhaps? Fortune’s Jason Cipriani managed to grab two-seconds of Phil Schiller’s attention on the demo floor and asked him about this.
Turns out that the SE stands for Special Edition. It’s an homage to the Macintosh SE, the computer released back in 1987.
2. The iPhone SE has 2GB of RAM
Apple talked about how much memory the new iPhone SE has to offer, mainly 16GB and 64GB of storage space, but it did not say how much RAM memory the new iPhone has. That isn’t surprising, not in the least.
For some unknown reason, talking about RAM is taboo. Apple never says anything about RAM during media events and it doesn’t list RAM along the official specs on its website. How much RAM an iPhone has remains a mystery – but not for long, because once someone gets their hands on one, that detail soon comes to light.
Turns out that the new iPhone SE has 2GB of RAM, the same as the iPhone 6S and 6S Plus.
And the new 9.7-inch iPad Pro, it also has 2GB of RAM.
3. Your old iPhone 5 (or 5S) case will fit the new SE
The phone pictured above is not the old and now-discontinued iPhone 5, it is the new iPhone SE. Apart for a few subtle design differences, the two look exactly alike. What Apple basically did with the new iPhone SE is it took the innards of an iPhone 6S and it stuck them inside an iPhone 5 case.
And that is good news. It means you have a powerful phone in a compact design, and it also means that the iPhone 5 or iPhone 5S case that you threw in your junk drawer and forgot all about, will fit the new iPhone SE.
That is, unless you can resist the urge to purchase a new case, like this $39 Leather Case that Apple designed specifically to accompany the new 4-inch iPhone SE.
4. The iPhone SE is not as cheap outside the US
The 16GB iPhone SE is priced at $399, while the 64GB model is priced at $499. That’s actually pretty cheap, by Apple standards. Is it just as cheap outside the US? The quick answer is no.
In Australia for example, the 16GB iPhone SE is priced at $679 AUD (even though $399 USD is around $525 AUD, based on the current exchange rate). Before GST, Australia’s goods and services tax, the iPhone SE’s price is about $617. This means that Apple is charging a premium of about $62 on top of the exchange rate and Australian sales tax.
Something similar can be seen in the UK, Europe, China, Hong Kong, Japan, New Zealand, Singapore, and India.
In related news...
It didn't take long for parody videos to show up an make fun of Apple's iPhone SE. Here are 3 of them.
