iPhone SE 2020- Apple’s Knockout Punch To Budget Android Phones

It’s quite rare when Apple comes out with a product that rattles the cages of consumer technology. The company first did it in 2016 and now, they have done it again. In April 2020, Apple launched the new iPhone SE. It is the successor to 2016’s iPhone SE that took the market by storm. The latest device promises to carry its torch by providing amazing performance for a fraction of the price (when compared to $1000 phones). Let’s find out more details about the product.

Design

2020 calls for a modern design and Apple didn’t fail to disappoint us. Wait, not so easy. iPhone SE  is a glass sandwiched body that comes in at 5.45 x 2.65 x 0.29 inches. It is a sleek device that won’t pop out of your pocket. It carries a smaller footprint like iPhone 8, which makes one-hand navigation a delight. However, huge and chunky bezels are visible from a foot away, which are not so appealing when compared with other $399 smartphones. Thankfully, the iconic touch id sensor is back, which also acts as a home button.

Display

It rocks a 4.7 inch LCD display with 1334 x 750 pixels. It can shine at 625 nits and comes with true tone and haptic touch. Yes, the figures are not so exciting on paper, but it gets the job done. You will get a decent experience while viewing content, but Pubg/Call Of Duty players will have a hard time to locate their targets because of the smaller screen. Perhaps, their money is better spent on a larger AMOLED display.

Camera

iPhone SE is equipped with a 12-megapixel shooter in the back and 7-megapixel shooter in the front. It is the same configuration that is found on iPhone 8, but it comes with a twist. The A13 Bionic processor leads to better image processing, which allows iPhone SE to click good pictures. They are clean, vibrant and colour-accurate, all that you would expect from an iPhone. 

Apart from it, you can make full use of portrait mode and 4K video recording at 60 frames per second whenever the need be.

Processor

This is perhaps the most talked-about feature of iPhone SE. Apple has armed the device with A13 bionic processor, which is found on the iPhone 11 series. According to the company, it is the fastest chip available in a smartphone to date. So, iPhone SE will allow you to edit a video or play a graphic intensive game without breaking a sweat.

Battery

With 1821mAh in the bank, iPhone SE is not designed for power users. If you are someone who likes to game or watch loads of content, you will have to charge this device more than once in a day. Luckily, iPhone SE supports 18W fast charging, which will give you 50% battery within 30 minutes of charge. However, you have to buy a fast charger separately, which is a bummer.

Audio

A small phone like iPhone SE is not expected to deliver a great audio experience. Wait, let’s correct this statement. To our surprise, this device managed to fill the entire living room with enough bass and hip-hop beats that forced us to jump on the dance floor. If you rock the old iPhone SE, you will definitely feel a huge difference in the audio quality.

Price

With a starting price of $399, iPhone SE will go head to head with Pixel 3a and other budget-friendly phones. In India, the device will cost Rs.42,500 for 64 GB variant.

Other Add-ons

iPhone SE comes loaded with wireless charging, Bluetooth 5, IP67 water resistance, WiFi 6 support, NFC, three colour options (black/red/white) and Gigabit-LTE, which will allow the device to regain its position of ‘Budget King’.

In the end...

iPhone SE was never meant to be the ‘Star’ of the smartphone industry. Superb camera, massive battery and the bezel-less display are not its cup of tea. If you are someone who wants to buy a small phone with the latest internals at a wallet-friendly price, iPhone SE will bring a smile on your face.

AirPods 2- Everyone wants it, but everyone doesn’t need it

In 2016, Apple retired the famous ‘headphone jack’ and replaced its memory with AirPods- a device that instantly connects with your iPhone with the help of Bluetooth. The idea behind it was to step in the era of wireless earbuds, which can kick away the pain of tangled earphones. For a while, Apple faced the heat of the standard earphone lovers who were just not ready for the change. But soon as the dust settled, AirPods became the fashion statement. Even though they were pricy and had a sluggish design, almost every pocket was a home for it. After witnessing such a response, Apple decided to make some tweaks and launched AirPods 2 in 2019.

If AirPods and AirPods 2 were in the same room, 90% of the people won’t be able to recognize the elder brother. Why so? Well, there are no significant changes to the design of AirPods 2, but we do seem to witness a few interior changes. Let’s take a look at it.

AirPods Design

Coming in at 0.7 x 0.7 x 1.6 inch and 0.14 ounce, there are no visible changes to the design of AirPods 2. It is the same plastic long stem in glossy white colour. Here, Apple has followed a simple ideology- what isn’t broken shouldn’t be fixed. But yes, Apple did bring a new wireless charging case, which is a little heavy than the standard AirPods 2. To differentiate the two, you can find a small led light in the front of the wireless charging case.

AirPods Pairing

With Apple’s new H1 chip, AirPods 2 can connect with your iPhone in 3.2 seconds, surpassing its younger brother’s pairing connection (5.1 seconds). And that’s not its only superpower. Now, AirPods 2 have longer talk time, greater battery life and faster switching between Apple devices (2.8 seconds vs 4.3 seconds).

AirPods Love for Siri

In winters, it is pain for your hands to leave the shelter of your pockets and reach your iPhone to launch Siri. That’s about to change with AirPods 2. With the help of hands-free Siri, you can launch Apple’s digital assistant without touching your iPhone. That’s neat and comfortable.

AirPods Sound

Let’s just accept a simple fact- sound quality is not AirPods strong suit. Don’t get me wrong. AirPods 2 delivers a decent sound, but there are way better options out there that deliver a great mixture of bass and lows which AirPods 2 can’t seem to master. In short, music junkies will be disappointed with this product.

AirPods Bluetooth 5.0

AirPods 2 comes with Bluetooth 5.0 technology which increases the range to 50 feet. In layman terms, you can leave your phone in one room and roam around the house (within 50 feet of distance) with a solid connection of AirPods 2.

AirPods Battery

Thanks to H1 chip, the AirPods roughly provide 4 hours 50 minutes of playback on a single charge. That means four episodes of Grey’s Anatomy (40 minutes each) and a 45 minutes call with your friend will still leave some charge in the Airpods. And to top it up, the case itself offers 24 hours of additional charge. That’s too much generosity from Apple.

AirPods Call Quality

Apple has done wonders with the call quality of AirPods 2. With dual mics and H1 chip, the receiver can clearly hear your voice in a busy environment. For example, the call from the metro ride was so clear that my friend was able to detect a baby crying who was sitting 5 seats away from him. That’s weird but brilliant.

To sum it up...

Apple products are not known to offer great battery life and value for money. Sadly, AirPods 2 are not so different. But people buy Apple products for their superior performance and high level of comfort. AirPods 2 come at a starting price of $159 and can go up to $199 for the wireless charging case. They are not cheap from any angle but with the twin package of comfort and brilliant features, AirPods 2 is here to stay in the market for a long time.