Apple's most affordable and most popular iPhone just got a major facelift.
A new, third-generation of the iPhone SE will come with Apple's new powerful and fast A15 Bionic silicon chip, which it first rolled out to the iPhone 13 last year, the company said Tuesday.
That'll make the new smartphone, which starts at $429 — significantly cheaper than other models, 1.8 times faster than the iPhone 8, Apple said.
The new SE will come with also Smart HDR 4, improved camera capabilities, and the "toughest glass in a smartphone," the same kind of sturdy encasing that comes with the iPhone 13, Apple said.
The new phone will still have a home button with Touch ID, 5G capability, and will come in three colors: black, white, and red.
Apple first rolled out the iPhone SE in 2016 with an affordable $400 price tag, and a second-generation followed in 2020. Prior to that, the lowest cost options for an Apple smartphone was the $450 iPhone 8 from 2017 and the $600 iPhone XR.
The iPhone SE has since competed with similar low-budget options from competitors like Google and Samsung.
2022 iPhone SE price, release date, and how to preorder
The new 2022 iPhone SE starts at $430, which is $30 more than 2020's iPhone SE. Now that Apple has discontinued selling the 2020 iPhone SE, the new 2022 iPhone SE is the cheapest iPhone that Apple sells.
The next most affordable model is the iPhone 11, which starts at $500. Preorders started on March 11, and the phone will be available generally in stores and online March 18.
Apple's smallest model, the third-generation iPhone SE, runs on the same A15 Bionic processor as the iPhone 14, and it's the cheapest current phone you can buy for access to Apple's ecosystem of software and devices.
