Apple launches smaller, cheaper iPhone, wants 5C market share back

Cape Town – Apple announced a new smaller, cheaper iPhone as well as a larger iPad on Monday.

The iPhone SE takes Apple back to a smaller 10.1cm (4 inch) display wrapped in an aluminium case.

Apple said the new device will have the same A9 processor as the iPhone 6s, a 12 megapixel main camera capable of shooting 4K video and Touch ID.

Pricing for the iPhone SE will start at $399 but Apple is not bringing the smartphone to South Africa in its initial rollout plan.

The iPhone SE will come in 16GB and 64GB flavours and will go on sale in the US, UK, Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, New Zealand, Puerto Rico and Singapore on March 24.

The SE fills the gap left by the lower priced iPhone 5c and the US company is under pressure to produce a hit despite a record 74.8 million iPhones sold in the last three months of 2015.

Read also: Apple sales to drop first time in 13 years as iPhone uptake slows

Apple also unveiled a new iPad Pro with a 24.6cm (9.7 inch) display that will also go on sale on March 24.

The company said the tablet is shipped in 32GB, 128GB, 256GB capacities, and powered by an A9X processor “that rivals most portable PCs”.

Apple said the display on the latest device is 25% brighter and 40% less reflective than the display on the iPad Air 2.

The 24.6cm iPad will cost $599 and a larger 32.6cm (12.9 inch) version will retail for $799; SA is not on the initial list of release countries. – Fin24

Source: http://www.fin24.com/Tech/Gadgets/apple-launches-cheaper-iphone-larger-ipad-20160322