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Apple Just Announced A New iPhone

by April Siese

The tech world was abuzz on Monday, eagerly anticipating the unveiling of key Apple devices and their newer iterations. Apple CEO Tim Cook took the stage at the company's headquarters in Cupertino. Through a detailed late morning speech complete with a slideshow deck, Cook revealed small changes like new Apple Watch bands as well as major upgrades, including the newly unveiled iPad Pro. What truly got the attention of everybody was the latest iPhone, however. Now that the device has been revealed, many are wondering: When the iPhone SE will come out? It will start at $399, and will be "in more than 400 countries by the end of May," Greg Joswiak explained onstage. Orders will begin on March 24.

Similar in size to that of the iPhone 5, the smartphone sacrifices little in its lithe design. Though the iPhone SE lacks 3D touch capabilities, it slightly makes up for the missing feature with an impressive front and back-facing camera similar to that of the iPhone 6. Its lightning fast A9 processor packs a powerful punch in just a four-inch package, as does its micro coprocessor.

A similarly small design was unveiled for the iPad Pro, which includes a faster processor with additional RAM as well as the option for larger storage. "Some people asked us, some people even pleaded with us, to please keep the four-inch products in our lineup," Joswiak explained onstage.

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"The iPhone SE has the same processing power as the iPhone 6S," he continued. "It also allows you to use 'Hey Siri.'" Joswiak utilized the feature onstage, asking Siri how it feels about being environmentally friendly. The voice recognition software cracked a joke about recycling robot Liam before Joswiak went on to describe additional features to the iPhone SE.

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In addition to a beefed up and always on-call Siri, Apple has also boosted its LTE capabilities for the iPhone SE. Joswiak stated that wireless capabilities and global roaming have all been enhanced by the update.

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It also delivers "incredible battery power across the board," he went on to say.

Apple Pay is also built into the model, along with Retina Flash and other key features of the iPhone 6S. Touting its affordability, Joswiak revealed the starting price for the device. The 16GB iPhone SE starts at $399, which can also be paid via installment plan, starting at just $17 per month over the course of 24 months. Users with 2-year wireless contracts may have the option to receive the phone for free, according to Joswiak. The device is also available in a 62GB model, starting at $499. The iPhone SE will be widely available March 31.