What's New With the iPhone SE 2022?

When Apple announced the new iPhone SE last March 8, 2022, the tech giant called it "a powerful smartphone in an iconic design."

As with any Apple release, the announcement of the iPhone SE 2022 has sent sets of tongues wagging. But is it much ado about nothing?

The iPhone SE 2022

The iPhone SE 2022 is the third generation of its kind, a follow-up to the release of the second-generation iPhone SE almost two years ago in April 2020 — and a step up. It boasts of some nifty upgrades here and there, such as better battery life, a new camera system, and other advanced features.

“This year we’ve built the most powerful and durable iPhone SE yet..." said Kaiann Drance, Apple’s vice president of Worldwide iPhone Product Marketing, in its release. “Delivering the latest generation of technology and performance at this price is something only Apple can do.”

In Hong Kong, the new iPhone SE starts at HK$3,699, making it the most affordable among Apple's new iPhone models. For context, the iPhone 13 mini starts at HK$5,999, the iPhone 13 at HK$6,799, the iPhone 13 Pro at HK$8,499, and the iPhone 13 Pro Max at HK$9,399.

It also comes in three capacities (64GB, 128 GB, and 256GB) and three colours, namely Midnight, Starlight, and (PRODUCT)RED.

Its Upgrades

Off the bat, the iPhone SE gives an air of nostalgia. It's the only new iPhone that still carries the familiar Home button with Touch ID, which the tech company ditched in 2017 in favour of the Face ID. (And depending on what kind of iPhone user you are, you either hate the absence of the bezel or love it). The body also retains its 4.7-inch retina HD display, and features aerospace-grade aluminum and the toughest glass on the front and back.

Two main upgrades of the new iPhone SE are its 5G cellular connectivity and A15 Bionic chip, with the former promising faster uploads and downloads, lower latency, and better experiences for users. The A15 Bionic chip is a step up from the second-generation iPhone SE's A13 chip; iPhone 13 models carry the same A15 chip, which boasts of a new six-core CPU with two performance and four efficiency cores, a new four-core GPU, and a new 16-core neural engine (versus the A13's eight-core neural engine).

The new iPhone SE also allows up to 15 hours of video playback from the second generation's 13 hours, 10 hours of video playback (streamed) from the second generation's eight, and up to 50 hours of audio playback from its predecessor's 40 hours.

The new A15 Bionic chip has also given way for an all-new camera system for the iPhone SE 2022. As per Apple, the system comes with a 12-megapixel ƒ/1.8 aperture wide camera that offers incredible computational photography benefits, including Smart HDR 4, Photographic Styles, Deep Fusion, and Portrait mode.

So, is it for you? It’s not really a hard decision to make. Are you looking to upgrade to a more powerful smartphone but don’t want to spend a fortune? If the answer is yes, then we think the new iPhone SE is worth checking out.