iPhone SE (2022) was finally launched at the virtual Apple event on Tuesday (March 8) as the company’s latest budget iPhone model, after being a part of the rumour mill for months. The new iPhone SE is an upgrade to the iPhone SE (2020) that was introduced in April 2020. In terms of an upgraded experience, the iPhone SE (2022) offers 5G connectivity and is powered by the A15 Bionic chip that was introduced last year. The previous model, in contrast, came with 4G support and an A13 Bionic chip. The iPhone SE (2022) also features an improved rear camera. Alongside the three major hardware-level upgrades, the new iPhone SE shares the same design language that was introduced almost two years back.

iPhone SE (2022) price in India, availability

iPhone SE (2022) price in India starts at Rs. 43,900 for the base 64GB model. The new iPhone also comes in 128GB and 256GB variants.

In the US, the iPhone SE (2022) starts at $429 (roughly Rs. 33,000).

The new iPhone SE comes in Midnight, Starlight, and (PRODUCT) RED colours and will go on pre-orders in markets including India starting this Friday, with its availability starting from March 18.

The iPhone SE (2020) was launched at a starting price of Rs. 42,500 for the 64GB storage model. It also came in the 128GB option at Rs. 47,800 and the 256GB storage variant at Rs. 58,300. The last model also debuted in the US with a starting price of $399 (roughly Rs. 30,700).

Along with the new iPhone SE (2022), Apple also introduced a new green colour option for the iPhone 13 and Alpine Green for the iPhone 13 Pro families.

iPhone SE (2022) specifications

The iPhone SE (2022) runs on iOS 15. It features a 4.7-inch Retina HD display. Overall, the display on the iPhone SE (2022) seems identical to the one featured on the previous iPhone SE model. The company has, though, claimed that the new iPhone SE carries the “toughest glass in a smartphone” on the front and back. The glass protection is the same as on the iPhone 13 and iPhone 13 Pro. The new model also comes with an IP67-certified build.

Under the hood, the iPhone SE (2022) carries the A15 Bionic chip that is also available on the iPhone 13 series. The presence of the A15 Bionic chip on the new iPhone SE is claimed to deliver up to 1.8 times faster CPU performance over the iPhone 8. It also brings features including Live Text. The new iPhone also comes with a single 12-megapixel camera sensor on the back with an f/1.8 lens — just like the previous iPhone SE. However, the rear camera sensor includes improvements — including an improved visual processing.

The rear camera on the iPhone SE (2022) supports features including Deep Fusion. It also supports 4K video recording at up to 60fps and Smart HDR 4 for still shots. The camera is also protected by a sapphire crystal lens cover.

For selfies and video chats, the iPhone SE (2022) offers a FaceTime HD camera at the front.

The iPhone SE (2022) comes with connectivity options including 5G, 4G VoLTE, Wi-Fi 5, Bluetooth v5, GPS/ A-GPS, NFC, and a Lightning port. Sensors on board include accelerometer, ambient light sensor, barometer, three-axis gyroscope, and proximity sensor.

Similar to the last model, the iPhone SE (2022) comes with a Touch ID button that includes a fingerprint sensor for biometric authentication. The new iPhone SE is touted to deliver an “all-day battery life”, though Apple is yet to reveal precise details. In contrast, the iPhone SE (2020) was rated to deliver up to 13 hours of video playback time and 40 hours of audio playback time on a single charge.

The new iPhone SE comes with Qi standard-based wireless charging support. It also includes fast wired charging.