Apple has officially opened up preorders for the 4-inch iPhone SE and smaller, 9.7-inch iPad Pro they announced at their event this past Monday. The devices will begin to ship next Thursday, March 31st, to Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, New Zealand, Puerto Rico, Singapore, United Kingdom, and, of course, United States.
Here’s everything you need to know about the preorder launch!
iPhone SE
What is it: Apple saw a market for 4-inch phones because of the nice, compact size, one-hand-ability, and constant want from customers as they sold over 300 million 4-inch phones just last year, so they decided to revamp the previous 4-inch phone they offered, the iPhone 5s, by upgrading the specs of the device while still maintaining the comfy 4-inch form factor the 5s had. They also decided to call it the iPhone “SE”, which presumably stands for “special edition”.
What are the specs: Apple basically packed the iPhone 6s’ specs into the body of the 5s. The new iPhone SE sports a 4-inch 1136×640 Retina display, an A9 processor with an M9 motion co-processor embedded inside the chipset, 2GB of RAM, a 12MP camera capable of shooting 4K video, Live Photos, a Retina Flash for taking selfies with the front camera, a larger battery, Apple Pay support, and iOS 9.3.
Where can I get it: Right now, the iPhone SE is available from Apple directly on their website, however T-Mobile, AT&T, Sprint, and Verizon are all taking preorders for the device as well.
How much will it cost: The iPhone SE off-contract with 16GB of space will run you $399, while 64GB of storage costs $499 which is a decent price when considering the specs of the device. When locked to a two-year contract on any of the carriers above, you can get the handset for free, however that’s with 16GB of space, while for 64GB, you’ll be paying around $49 which, again, isn’t bad at all.
You can preorder the iPhone SE straight from Apple on their website here.
9.7-inch iPad Pro
What is it: Last year, Apple announced and released the 12.9-inch iPad Pro which they targeted to people who wanted to replace their current laptop or desktop, and while some people now simply use it as their main machine, a gigantic iPad, in most cases, wasn’t the answer they were looking for when it came to portability, which ultimately lead to some customers steering away from Apple and headed to somewhere like Microsoft. And once Apple recognized that, they decided to make a smaller, more portable version in their world-famous 9.7-inch form factor that they hope will attract those could’ve-been-customers.
What are the specs: The new iPad Pro sports an A9X processor with an M9X motion co-processor embedded inside alongside a Smart Connector for connecting accessories such as a Smart Keyboard which has been optimized for the smaller 9.7-inch form factor the new Pro features, Apple Pencil support, a 12MP rear camera which is capable of shooting 4K video (which actually protrudes a bit which will no doubt cause some new controversy), a 5MP front camera, and a True Tone 9.7-inch display which Apple says can automatically adjust tones and colors displayed depending on the room environment. The display is also 40% less reflective when compared to the Air 2 alongside being 25% brighter, making it “the brightest tablet ever” according to Apple. The screen also works very well with iOS 9.3’s Night Shift mode.
The new Pro also packs in quad-sterio speakers, making it one of the best tablets out for listening to music, watching a movie, or playing a game. And interestingly enough, the new tablet also comes with always-on “Hey Siri” detection, something I wasn’t expecting personally.
Where can I get it: As of now, Apple’s the only one taking preorders for the new iPad Pro, however we’ll let you guys know if anyone else like Best Buy starts accepting orders for the tablet.
How much will it cost: For WiFi-only, the 9.7-inch iPad Pro starts at $599 for 32GB of storage, while 128GB will run you $749 and a whopping 256GB will cost $899. For WiFi + cellular, the tablet starts at $729 for 32GB, while 128GB costs $879 and 256GB runs for a hefty price of $1,029.
You can preorder the 9.7-inch iPad Pro straight from Apple on their website here.
Will you be preordering the new iPhone SE or 9.7-inch iPad Pro? Let us know in the comments!
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