In the middle of a global pandemic that is keeping most people inside, Apple today introduced the second-generation iPhone SE. As expected, the phone looks like an iPhone 8 right down to the 4.7-inch LCD display (no 3D Touch though), Touch ID, the 7MP front-facing FaceTime camera and the 12MP camera on the rear panel. Apple did update the rear panel moving the iconic Apple logo midway down the back glass like it did with the iPhone 11 series.

As we have already pointed out this morning, Apple did add some new features that were not offered on the iPhone 8; it is obvious that the manufacturer is going after the mid-range Pixel 3a series, which was a big hit for Google. In fact, thanks to an updated image signal processor (ISP) and the new chipset, Apple says that the 12MP rear-camera delivers the best single-camera experience ever, a shot across the bow of the SS Pixel 3a.

Today, Apple dropped an ad for the second-generation iPhone SE that shows the handset in all available colors (White, Black, and Product (RED). It also reveals an IP67 certification rating for the device; this means that it can survive being submerged up to 3.28-feet in water for as long as 30-minutes.

The tag line? “Lots to love. Less to spend.” Apple is charging $399 for the variant with 64GB (which, by the way, was the original price point for the 64GB Pixel 3a). The 128GB and 256GB models are priced at $449 and $549 respectively. Pre-orders begin this coming Friday, April 17th and the second-generation iPhone SE will start shipping on the following Friday, April 24th.

The original iPhone SE was released on March 31st, 2016 in 16GB and 64GB variants. Almost exactly a year later, Apple upgraded the storage options to 32GB and 128GB. The OG iPhone SE shipped 30 million units in its first year and reliable TF International analyst Ming-Chi-Kuo originally called for 40 million units of the new units to be rung up in 2020. But Kuo later revised his forecast and now expects a minimum of 20 million units to be sold with the possibility that sales will hit 30 million handsets this year.