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CUPERTINO: Apple released a smaller iPhone priced at $ 399 (S $ 568) on Wednesday (April 15), lowering the starting price of the company’s smartphone line in a move to broaden its appeal to consumers. Budget-conscious customers as the coronavirus affects the global economy. .
The new iPhone SE will be available in Singapore starting at S $ 649 in 64GB, 128GB and 256GB models in black, white and (PRODUCT) RED variants.
The lower-cost model could also attract more consumers to Apple’s services, a growing revenue engine.
The iPhone SE, available April 24, is the second generation of a previous value model. It will start at $ 50 less than what was previously the cheapest iPhone available, the $ 449 iPhone 8, which will be retired.
The SE comes with a 4.7-inch display and the same processor chip as Apple’s most advanced phone, the 11 Pro. The SE lacks Apple’s 5G capability and facial recognition system to unlock the device, rather than rely on a fingerprint sensor similar to older models.
Apple presents its new iPhone SE. (Apple via AP)
The announcement comes as the United States and much of the world are recovering from the new coronavirus, although US political leaders. USA They have begun talking about ending orders to stay home and restart the economy, hoping that record deaths and falling hospitalizations will be a peak.
All of the older iPhones have been featured in a slick presentation in front of fans, but major events remain banned at Apple’s base of operations in Santa Clara County, California, where public officials ordered the first blockades in the United States. to stop the spread of the new coronavirus. .
Apple’s cheapest phone reflects the coronavirus-driven economic downturn and job losses.
The cheapest phone enters a fierce market for value phones, especially in China, where Apple gets about 17 percent of sales.
While the new iPhone adds features like wireless charging and a high-end camera, it lacks connectivity for 5G, the next generation of mobile data networks. In China, rivals like Xiaomi last month announced models with 5G features starting at around $ 425.
With faltering hardware sales, Apple has been investing in subscription services, such as its Apple TV + television streaming service, Apple Music, and iCloud. The new SE will come with a free year of television streaming service, similar to Apple’s flagship devices launched last fall.
Apple said in January that it had 1.5 billion active devices installed and 480 million subscribers to proprietary and third-party paid services, compared to 1.4 billion devices and 360 million subscribers a year earlier.
The company also set a goal of reaching 600 million paid subscribers by the end of the 2020 calendar.
The coronavirus has created a volatile start to the year. Sales in China, the first nation affected by the virus, plummeted and then recovered when the country began to reopen. Sales of 500,000 phones in February increased to 2.5 million phones in March, according to government sales data there.
Apple will begin selling the new model online while its stores worldwide are closed, except for those within its largest sales region in China. Apple will begin receiving orders for the phone on its website on Friday, with device delivery expected to begin on April 24.
Apple gets about 31 percent of its sales from its fancy stores and website, and 69 percent comes from partners like mobile phone operators and other retailers.
