New iPhone SE and 9.7-inch iPad Pro

On 21st March 2016, Apple launched the new iPhone SE and the 9.7-inch iPad Pro. So what’s all the hype about?
Let’s take a look at the specs and see what we can expect from Apple’s latest creations:

Claimed to be the “most beautiful and powerful phone with a four-inch display in the world.”

Display: 4-inches
Apple have reverted back to the same display size as the iPhone 5s from 2013, in the hope that this will offer an alternative for people who are turned off by the larger sizing of recent phones, and potentially boost slowing iPhone sales.

Resolution: 640 x 1136
Same as the iPhone 5s.

Camera: 12MP
That’s 4MP more than the 5s.

Processor: A9 64 bit
Same processing performance as the 6s, offering faster processing, longer battery life and faster wireless.

Battery Life: 12 hours of video and 50 hours of audio
Much improved, compared to the 5s (which is 10 hours of video and 40 hours of audio).

Storage: 16GB, 64GB versions available

Price: From £359
This makes it Apple’s most affordable iPhone yet.

When is it available?
Pre-order from 24th March, available to purchase from 31st March.

Overall: It seems like Apple have pulled it out of the bag and provided a stylish solution for people who are fed up of the super-sized versions of the more recent iPhones. It comes in four colours (space grey, silver, gold and rose gold) with the inset stainless steel Apple logo, giving it the luxurious look and feel you’d expect from an Apple product.

At a starting price of £359, it’s a more affordable option for people who want the Apple technology without the hefty price tag of the larger models. The high-quality processing performance means that users will enjoy faster connectivity and a longer battery life.

iPad Pro

At 437g (for the Wi-Fi version), the 9.7-inch Pro weighs exactly the same as the iPad Air 2. It is louder, however. According to Apple the Pro can pump out twice as much volume as the iPad Air 2.

Display: 9.7-inches
Smaller alternative to the 12.9-inch version unveiled in November 2015.

True Tone Display
Changes colour to match ambient lighting. Apple claims that the display is the brightest of any tablet on the market.

Camera: 5MP front-facing camera
Also has a Retina Flash for more evenly-lit selfies.

Processor: A9X 64 bit.

Storage: 32GB, 128GB and 256GB versions available
This is the first iPad to be sold with a 256GB hard drive.

Price: From £499

When is it available? Pre-order from 24th March, available to purchase from 31st March.

Overall: Another great alternative to the larger products Apple currently offers, and this one packs some powerful tech under the hood, despite its smaller size. It’s available in four colours: space grey, silver, gold and rose gold.

It comes with “Night Shift” mode, which reduces the amount of blue light emitted from the display at night, making it easier for people to get a good night’s sleep.

So what do we think? Both the iPhone SE and the 9.7-inch iPad Pro seem like great little alternatives to their larger brothers and sisters in the Apple family, but only time will tell if they’re enough to boost slowing iPhone/iPad sales.