Apple announced a new iPhone yesterday called the iPhone SE. If you have avoided purchasing an iPhone X, iPhone XS, iPhone XR, or iPhone 11 because you prefer having a button on your iPhone that uses Touch ID (fingerprint recognition) instead of an iPhone with Face ID (facial recognition), then this is the iPhone for you. The second generation of the iPhone SE gives you most of what you get with an iPhone 11 and puts it in the body of an iPhone 8. Moreover, if you have avoided purchasing the iPhone 11 and similar devices because they are too expensive, the new iPhone SE is the iPhone for you. The new iPhone SE is available starting April 24, 2020, and it starts at only $399 for the 64GB model.
The button
The single button at the bottom of the screen was the iconic feature of the original iPhone in 2007, and that button remained on all models of the iPhone until the iPhone X was announced in 2017. As much as I loved using that button, I prefer the new design that was first introduced with the iPhone X. By eliminating the button, there is space for a larger screen. Thus, you can get the biggest screen possible in the smallest amount of space — a feature that I prefer on both the iPhone and the iPad (and hence my love of the iPad Pro).
But I know that not everyone feels that way. My wife has been using an iPhone 7 for years. Even as I upgraded from an iPhone X to and iPhone XS to an iPhone 11 Pro and thus had an extra one-year-old model in the house that she could use at no cost, she declined to upgrade. (My son was delighted by my wife's decision and quickly took advantage of the situation.) Something about Face ID has never appealed to her, and she prefers using the button to unlock the phone or go to the home screen. And my wife is not alone. I've talked to many attorneys at my own law firm who have told me that they prefer having a button, so I'm sure that there are countless others out there.
And recently, even I joined that club — at least for a short period of time. A few days ago, I made a temporary exit from my exile at home to go to the grocery store ... which, as you know is a very different activity because of the COVID-19 pandemic. I wore a cloth mask while I was in the store, and I quickly noticed that it severely interfered with my using the Notes app on my iPhone as a grocery list because you cannot use Face ID with a cloth mask. Every time I looked at my iPhone and it was locked, it would not unlock automatically, so I needed to type in my passcode. And because I use a passcode with more than 10 characters, it was incredibly inconvenient to enter that passcode many, many times while I was shopping. Ugh. As I left the store, I found myself longing for an iPhone with Touch ID instead of Face ID for the first time in many years.
If you prefer having a button and Touch ID on your iPhone, the new iPhone SE is the only new iPhone being sold by Apple that still has a button. This is the iPhone for you.
Size
The new iPhone SE is pretty much the same size as the iPhone 6, iPhone 6s, iPhone 7, and iPhone 8. In fact, it is almost exactly the same size as the iPhone 8, and cases that work on the iPhone 8 should also work on the iPhone SE. Thus, if you are upgrading from one of those models, the new iPhone SE will feel like it is the right size.
If you used one of the "Plus" models of those phones, the iPhone SE is smaller. Perhaps Apple will announce an iPhone SE Plus at some point, but for now, that is not an option. For now, if you want a larger screen, you will have to give up the button and get the iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro, or iPhone 11 Max, all of which are larger than the iPhone SE and all of which cost much more.
If you are upgrading from the first-generation iPhone SE or an iPhone 5s or an older model, then the second-generation iPhone SE is going to feel like a larger phone to you. But it is also such a better phone than those older models that hopefully you won't mind.
Colors
The iPhone SE comes in black, white, and red.
Speed and other features
Even though the new iPhone SE has a button and thus shares a trait with the 2007 version of the iPhone, this is still a very modern iPhone. It uses the same A13 chip as the iPhone 11 and the iPhone 11 Pro, both of which were just released a few months ago. The iPhone SE only has a single camera, but it is the same excellent camera that is on the iPhone 11 and iPhone 11 Pro. The iPhone SE simply lacks the additional wide-angle camera and the telephoto camera that you can get on those more expensive models.
The new iPhone SE also has a dual-SIM, which can be especially useful if you do a lot of international travel. Not that you are likely to do much of that in the next few months, but when the world starts to get back to normal, your iPhone SE will be ready.
The screen is not quite as nice as what you get on the other iPhones that Apple is now selling as new, but the screen on the iPhone SE is still very nice. And my guess is that the iPhone SE is at least as good and probably much better than whatever older iPhone you are upgrading from.
Put it all together, and you have all of the features that most lawyers need in an iPhone. It is fast enough to be super-responsive as you are working with emails and attachments. It will work great for phone calls and video conferences. It runs the latest operating system, and it has the power necessary to continue to be a great iPhone for many years to come. And it will run all of the latest apps that you use to manage your tasks, calendar, contacts, etc.
Price
The iPhone 11 starts at $699 and the iPhone 11 Pro starts at $999. In contrast, the new iPhone SE starts at only $399. I love my iPhone 11 Pro, but unless you are a power user, I suspect that you won't find the iPhone 11 Pro to be worth an extra $600. And if you don't care about the larger screen and second camera, you may consider the additional $300 for an iPhone 11 to be wasted money. Starting at $399 is a great price for many people.
Having said that, I strongly encourage you to spend an extra $50 to get the 128GB model instead of the 64GB model. As you take pictures and video and as you store documents and other files, you will definitely appreciate the extra space. For $549 you can get the 256GB model of the iPhone SE.
Conclusion
When Apple introduced the iPhone 11 last year but didn't update the iPhone 8, I was afraid that Apple was giving up on iPhone with a button and Touch ID. I'm glad to see that Apple didn't do so. The second-generation version of the iPhone SE is going to be the perfect iPhone for many attorneys and many others. If you want to have a powerful iPhone but don't want to spend a lot of money, and/or if you want to use a button with a fingerprint sensor instead of a buttonless phone that uses facial recognition, this is the iPhone for you.