Hands-On With iPhone SE, 9.7" iPad Pro, and New Apple Watch Bands

Following today's Apple event that saw the 4-inch iPhone SE, 9.7-inch iPad Pro, and new Apple Watch bands and pricing announced, members of the press have been invited for hands-on time with the new products.

iPhone-SE-hands-on-1
The new iPhone SE looks almost identical to the iPhone 5s, beyond the switch to matte-chamfered edges and a color-matched stainless steel Apple logo on the rear.

The new 4-inch smartphone retains a 3.5mm headphone jack, despite rumors that Apple will switch to an all-in-one Lightning connector on the iPhone 7 due later this year.

iPhone-SE-matte

A closer look at the iPhone SE's new matte-chamfered edges (Image: The Verge)

iPhone SE is available in the same four colors offered across most of Apple's newer product lineups: Gold, Silver, Space Gray, and Rose Gold.


16GB and 64GB models can be purchased for $399 and $499 respectively. The 16GB model is also free when subsidized with a two-year carrier contract. Financing plans are available from $17 per month.

The new iPad Pro also looks virtually identical to its larger 12.9-inch sibling, with the only noticeable difference being the tablet's smaller 9.7-inch screen akin to iPad Air.

ipad-pro-12-vs-9-side-by-side

A side-by-side comparison of the new 9.7" iPad Pro (right) and 12.9" iPad Pro (left) (Image: The Verge)

The smaller iPad Pro has adopted many of the same pro-level features, including an Oxide TFT display, Smart Connector, Apple Pencil and Smart Keyboard support, and the same positioning of other ports and buttons.

The new 9.7-inch iPad Pro comes in four colors: Silver, Gold, Space Gray and Rose Gold. Pricing starts at $599 for 32GB of storage with Wi-Fi only, while 128GB and a new 256GB option will be available for $749 and $899 respectively. Pre-orders begin March 24 and shipments to customers will start March 31.


Meanwhile, new Apple Watch bands and finishes were announced at today's event. Apple introduced new Woven Nylon bands in a variety of colors, a Space Black Milanese Loop, and new colors for the Leather Loop, Modern Buckle, and Sport bands.

Apple-Watch-new-bands-March-2016

New woven nylon, leather, and sport Apple Watch bands (Image: The Verge)

Apple Watch now starts at $299, and the new bands can be ordered from Apple's website starting today for $49 and up. Orders placed today currently have estimated shipping times of late March for most new bands.

Related Roundups: Apple Watch 10, iPad Pro
Related Forum: iPhone

Popular Stories

iPhone 17 Pro Blue Feature Tighter Crop

iPhone 17 Pro Launching in Three Months With These 12 New Features

Saturday June 14, 2025 5:45 pm PDT by
The iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are three months away, and there are plenty of rumors about the devices. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models as of June 2025:Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro models have a titanium frame, and the iPhone X through iPhone 14 Pro have a...
iPadOS 26 App Windowing

Apple Explains Why iPads Don't Just Run macOS

Friday June 13, 2025 7:46 am PDT by
iPadOS 26 allows iPads to function much more like Macs, with a new app windowing system, a swipe-down menu bar at the top of the screen, and more. However, Apple has stopped short of allowing iPads to run macOS, and it has now explained why. In an interview this week with Swiss tech journalist Rafael Zeier, Apple's software engineering chief Craig Federighi said that iPadOS 26's new Mac-like ...
Logitech Logo Feature

Logitech Announces Two New Accessories for WWDC

Friday June 13, 2025 7:22 am PDT by
Alongside WWDC this week, Logitech announced notable new accessories for the iPad and Apple Vision Pro. The Logitech Muse is a spatially-tracked stylus developed for use with the Apple Vision Pro. Introduced during the WWDC 2025 keynote address, Muse is intended to support the next generation of spatial computing workflows enabled by visionOS 26. The device incorporates six degrees of...
iphone 16 pro models 1

17 Reasons to Wait for the iPhone 17

Thursday June 12, 2025 8:58 am PDT by
Apple's iPhone development roadmap runs several years into the future and the company is continually working with suppliers on several successive iPhone models simultaneously, which is why we often get rumored features months ahead of launch. The iPhone 17 series is no different, and we already have a good idea of what to expect from Apple's 2025 smartphone lineup. If you skipped the iPhone...
iOS 26 Feature

Apple Seeds Revised iOS 26 Developer Beta to Fix Battery Issue

Friday June 13, 2025 10:15 am PDT by
Apple today provided developers with a revised version of the first iOS 26 beta for testing purposes. The update is only available for the iPhone 15 and iPhone 16 models, so if you're running iOS 26 on an iPhone 14 or earlier, you won't see the revised beta. Registered developers can download the new beta software through the Settings app on each device. The revised beta addresses an...
Mac Studio Feature

Apple Begins Selling Refurbished Mac Studio With M4 Max and M3 Ultra Chips at a Discount

Thursday June 12, 2025 10:14 am PDT by
Apple today added Mac Studio models with M4 Max and M3 Ultra chips to its online certified refurbished store in the United States, Canada, Japan, Singapore, and many European countries, for the first time since they were released in March. As usual for refurbished Macs, prices are discounted by approximately 15% compared to the equivalent new models on Apple's online store. Note that Apple's ...
m4 macbook air pink

Apple Now Selling Refurbished M4 MacBook Air Models

Friday June 13, 2025 3:34 pm PDT by
Apple today added M4 MacBook Air models to its refurbished store in the United States, making the latest MacBook Air devices available at a discounted price for the first time since they launched earlier this year. Both 13-inch and 15-inch MacBook Air models are available, with Apple offering multiple capacities and configurations. The refurbished devices are discounted by approximately 15...

Top Rated Comments

hspace Avatar
121 months ago
Who came up with the "brilliant" idea of a camera bump on the iPad - the device that you are more likely to use on a flat surface than any other device!?!?!? Dumb beyond belief.

They are basically forcing you to get a case for it.
Score: 22 Votes (Like | Disagree)
nviz22 Avatar
121 months ago
Anyone find it stupid how Apple makes a great looking SE device w/ no protruding camera, yet the 6S/6S Plus have a protruding camera?
Score: 17 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Bentron Avatar
121 months ago
I want to know what impact the protruding camera has on stability when on a flat surface.
Score: 16 Votes (Like | Disagree)
iThingsGurl Avatar
121 months ago
Those edges... Still look so elegant

Score: 15 Votes (Like | Disagree)
SSD-GUY Avatar
121 months ago
Download that App that tells us the RAM!
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
indiekiduk Avatar
121 months ago
Anyone else sick of having the useless iPad shoved down our throat? Where are the new laptops? People are on 2 or 3 year old ones now.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)