Apple this week announced a new iPhone SE for 2020, which serves as a sequel to its 2016 budget iPhone. With a four-year gap between the new iPhone SE and the older one, Apple included many welcomed upgrades, including wireless charging, better camera specs and water resistance. But for wired headphone users, another change may be more of a drag: The new iPhone SE doesn't have a headphone jack.
Since 2017 and starting with the iPhone 7, Apple began to leave out the audio port from its handsets and it hasn't looked back. This is unlike, for example, Google, which didn't equip its 2019 Pixel 4 flagship with a headphone jack but included the port in its budget Pixel 3A phone. If you don't want to listen to music or calls through the phone's speaker, you'll either need to use wireless Bluetooth headphones, attach a dongle or use headphones that connect via the phone's Lightning port.
The 4.7-inch iPhone SE starts at $399, £419 or AU$749 and goes on sale April 17. For more information, read CNET's iPhone SE 2020 first-take here
The new iPhone SE has arrived, effectively packing the guts of an iPhone 11 into a smaller, more pocket-friendly frame. At $399, it's the most affordable model in Apple's lineup -- but allow me to blow your mind with a considerably better deal.
For a limited time, Red Pocket Mobile is offering the new iPhone SE for $324, along with six free months of service. Just apply promo code CHEAPSKATESE at checkout. That's not only $75 off the regular price of the phone, but a $90 savings on the plan. Update: This deal has seen several changes throughout the day. First the Red Pocket site crashed, then the carrier ran out of its initial inventory of phones. As of this afternoon, there's more stock available -- but the prices are $50 higher than they were initially. It's still a good deal, especially with my promo code knocking that extra $25 off, just not as good as it was.
Given that most other iPhone SE discounts require you to either trade in a phone or sign up for an extended contract (or both), this is an unusually good deal. Although the phone arrives locked, Red Pocket will unlock it for you after six months, as stated in the carrier's unlocking policy (and confirmed by a company representative).
The free plan affords you unlimited calls and text messages, plus 3GB of high-speed data per month on a GSM network (which, although Red Pocket doesn't explicitly say so, is AT&T). If you want to continue on that same plan, you can do so for a very reasonable $15 a month. Red Pocket also sells 360-day service plans via eBay, including this 5GB option for $240 -- which works out to $20 a month.
As for the iPhone itself, the "SE 2" comes in three colors and offers various iPhone 11-class features, including an A13 Bionic processor, Qi wireless charging and a 12-megapixel rear camera with optical image stabilization. Read CNET's iPhone SE preview to learn more.
Not everyone wants a huge phone, and not everyone can afford to pay $1,000 for a flagship model or even $600 for a midrange phone like the iPhone XR. At $399, the new iPhone SE was already pretty appealing. At $324 with six months of service? That's pretty sweet.
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