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New iPhone SE Announced: What This Means for App Developers

April 16th, 2020

New iPhone SE Announced: What This Means for App Developers
David Quinn

by David Quinn

VP of Strategy & Partnerships at Gummicube, Inc.

The new iPhone SE has been announced, bringing upgraded capabilities and processors to a familiar device design. When any new Apple device is announced, app developers should assess how their apps will run on it, how they can make the most of the new phone’s functionality and how it may impact their App Store Optimization.

New iPhone SE

The new iPhone SE is a lower cost iPhone, starting at $399 for 64GB of storage. The device features a 4.7-inch screen with IPS LCD Retina display. This makes it the same size as the iPhone 8 (although not the 5.5-inch 8 Plus) and slightly larger than the current iPhone SE.

More notably, the new iPhone SE uses Apple’s A13 Bionic chip, as introduced in the iPhone 11 and 11 Pro. It also includes Gigabit LTE and dual-SIMs, with the second being an eSIM. The new iPhone SE supports Haptic Touch, Apple’s replacement for 3D Touch.

Recent iPhone models have put an emphasis on their camera features, and the new iPhone SE is no exception. It has a 12-megapixel camera lens and uses the A13 Bionic chips to improve its Smart HDR photography. The camera includes “monocular depth sensing” to detect depth and faces, as well as optical image stabilization that can work for videos as well as photographs.

What Developers Should Do

The first thing app developers should do is determine how well their apps will perform on the new device. The new iPhone SE has the same screen size as the iPhone 8, but the resolution and processing power of the iPhone 11 series.

It may require testing and updates to ensure the app continues to perform properly on the new device. If an app is not up-to-date or encounters errors, users may uninstall it and find a replacement app on their new phones. Not only would the loss of users hurt the income for an app developer, it would also negatively impact the positioning of the app in the App Store.

Additionally, developers should ensure they have screenshots optimized for the new iPhone SE screen. While the size is the same as the iPhone 8, the graphics may be different between devices. The SE screenshots should reflect the resolution and quality of the device to provide an impressive and accurate impression to users.

Photography app developers should also consider the iPhone SE camera when updating their app and screenshots. The depth sensing features and image stabilization on the camera may present new opportunities for screenshots, features in descriptions or value propositions. The same can be said for any apps that use the iPhone camera, such as augmented reality apps or video apps.

New devices present new opportunities for app developers. In order to make the most of them, developers should understand how to best update their App Store listings for the new devices and incorporate new features into their App Store Optimization strategy.

Want more information regarding App Store Optimization? Contact Gummicube and we’ll help get your strategy started.

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