If you're thinking of placing your pre-order for the newly announced iPhone SE 2022, be prepared to wait a little longer for it to turn up on your doorstep. Apple has opened pre-orders for the third-generation of its new budget-friendly phone on Friday, but it looks like U.S.-based customers are now facing delayed estimated delivery dates for all available configurations.
That's according to the official iPhone SE product page on Apple's website, which indicates that the next available delivery date is estimated to fall on the 28th or the 29th of March at the earliest.
When we tried entering different details at checkout, we found that it appears to be the case regardless of your zip code and the chosen configuration as well as the color of the phone. The free standard delivery estimates that your iPhone SE should arrive by the 29th, but if you pay an extra $8 for express delivery, it should get to you a day earlier.
When the iPhone SE pre-orders first went live, users were getting an estimated delivery date of March 18, meaning those who are placing their pre-orders now might receive their phones 10 days later. The reason behind the delay is unclear, however, we did just recently report on the fact that iPhone production could be hit by new COVID-19 lockdown in China, so it's possible that the newly unveiled iPhone SE could also be affected.
The iPhone SE was announced nearly a week ago during the Peek Performance Apple event, which also saw the introduction of the new iPad Air, Mac Studio and more. Starting at $429, the iPhone SE offers a 4.7-inch LCD display and packs the same A15 Bionic chip that is seen in the iPhone 13 lineup as well as 5G connectivity. Apple offers three storage configurations: 64GB, 128GB and 256GB. Camera-wise, the phone packs a 12MP (f/1.8) rear camera and a 7MP (f/2.2) front camera. You can pick between three different color options: Midnight, Starlight and the iconic (PRODUCT)RED.
Our global editor in chief Mark Spoonauer already had a chance to go hands-on in his iPhone SE 2022 review, where he praised the phone's fast performance and strong camera quality. Admittedly, the iPhone SE misses out on some useful features, including the Night mode on its camera system and lack of support for mmWave 5G. But overall it's the best cheap iPhone yet, so it's easy to see why demand is high for this phone.
