Apple’s iPhone SE is its latest phone, but it’s not a new phone, considering the fact that the Cupertino-based company made it with familiar components. Chipworks tore open one of the phones and found that what’s inside the device is rather familiar.
Apple’s iPhone SE – mashup of 5s and 6s
Apple’s iPhone SE runs on the A9 chip, the processor used in the iPhone 6s. It also has 2GB of RAM and the NFC controller we have seen in the company’s flagship phone. The screen size is the same as that of the iPhone 5s, and like the 5s, the SE also lacks 3D Touch. The touch-screen controller in the device is the same as what was in the 5s.
Apple’s iPhone SE boasts an NXP 66V10 module just like the iPhone 6s. The SE’s InvenSense 6-axis inertial sensor was also used in the iPhone 6s, according to Chipworks. The device has a separate chip which is unidentified as yet, but it is believed that it is a new power management IC Apple designed in cooperation with Dialog Semiconductor.
There are a few new things as well. To start with, the 16GB flash is Toshiba-made and the power management system had a complete overhaul. This gives hope that the battery life of the device will be better than that of the 5s.
Lack of innovation but still a great phone
Overall, the device is exactly as per expectations. It can be said to be a smaller version of the iPhone 6s, with the only difference being in the port from where a 5s piece from the inventory slots in. This is no innovative device, but people were looking for a small, fast iPhone, and it appears Apple has delivered exactly that.
“While there is still much to discover about this new iPhone, what is becoming clear is that this is not your typical Apple release. There are very few new parts, but that hardly means there is no innovation…. Finding that just-right balance of old and new, and at such a low cost, is no easy feat,” says Chipworks.
Apple held a special event to take the wraps off its new entry-level handset. It is believed that this smaller iPhone will target burgeoning markets, Android switchers and users preferring smaller form-factor devices. Though Apple has not revealed the official first weekend sales numbers as yet, reports indicate that preorders for the device surpassed 3.4 million units in China alone.
