Siliconrepublic.com’s editor John Kennedy gets his hands on the new iPhone SE, Apple’s 4in smartphone that packs the guts of an iPhone 6s into the “beloved” body of an iPhone 5s.

Reinvented from the “inside out”, the iPhone SE is powered by a 64-bit A9 processor and also features an M9 chip for motion tracking.

Featuring the same aluminium design as the iPhone 6s, the device comes in four metallic finishes, including rose gold.

It boasts a 12MP iSight camera and a new image signal processor that is capable of capturing panoramas up to 63MP.

What Apple has done with the iPhone SE is restore choice to the market without surrendering quality.

Pros:

* All the power of an iPhone 6s in a 4in frame

* Advanced 64-bit A9 chip

* M9 motion co-processor

* Longer-life battery

* 12MP camera

Cons:

* Looks identical to the iPhone 5s

Verdict: 4/5

Price and availability: The iPhone SE will be available in space grey, silver, gold and rose gold metallic finishes in 16GB and 64GB models starting at €499 (inc VAT) from early April 

Words by John Kennedy