Apple Sunset

iPhone SE (2nd generation)

Discontinued 8 Mar 2022

Released

24 Apr 2020

Announced

15 Apr 2020

Pre-orders opened

17 Apr 2020

Launch price from

$399

Discontinued

8 Mar 2022

Lifespan

1 year, 10 months

Category
iPhone SE/e
Status
Discontinued
Apple support status
Discontinued, not yet Vintage
Release type
Refresh of an existing model
Previous model
iPhone SE (1st generation)
Replaced by
iPhone SE (3rd generation)
Official Apple page
No longer available on Apple’s website
Tech specs
Apple specs ↗
Press release
Apple Newsroom ↗
More information
iPhone SE (2nd generation) on Wikipedia ↗

Notes

The iPhone SE (2nd generation) was Apple's cheap iPhone at $399, and it repeated the trick of the first: a current processor inside an old body. This time the shell came from the iPhone 8 of 2017, with a 4.7-inch screen, thick bezels and a home button.

Every other iPhone had moved to Face ID by 2020, and this was the only new model Apple was still selling with a fingerprint reader on the front. The iPhone SE (3rd generation) kept the same arrangement two years later.

Inside was the A13 Bionic, the same chip as the iPhone 11 Pro, which cost $600 more. For everyday use the two phones felt much the same, and the SE comfortably outran Android phones at its price.

A single 12MP camera on the back did more than its hardware suggested. Portrait mode worked through software rather than a second lens, and the chip handled Smart HDR and 4K video at 60 frames a second.

Three colours were offered: black, white and (PRODUCT)RED, with storage at 64GB, 128GB or 256GB.

It was announced on 15 April 2020, with pre-orders from 17 April, and reached customers on 24 April 2020 at $399.

iPhone SE/e release history

  1. 2026

  2. 2 Mar 2026

    iPhone 16e Discontinued

  3. ↑ about 1 year later
  4. 2025

  5. 28 Feb 2025

    iPhone 16e Released

  6. 19 Feb 2025

    iPhone SE (3rd generation) Discontinued

  7. ↑ about 3 years later
  8. 2022

  9. 18 Mar 2022

    iPhone SE (3rd generation) Released

  10. 8 Mar 2022

    iPhone SE (2nd generation) Discontinued

  11. ↑ 1 year, 10 months later
  12. 2020

  13. 24 Apr 2020

    iPhone SE (2nd generation) Released

  14. ↑ 1 year, 7 months later
  15. 2018

  16. 12 Sept 2018

    iPhone SE (1st generation) Discontinued

  17. ↑ 2 years, 5 months later
  18. 2016

  19. 31 Mar 2016

    iPhone SE (1st generation) Launch

More in iPhone SE/e

All iPhone SE/e →

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