I disagree. They've released an iPhone SE before, at the same price point. And the development of this surely has been in the works for some time, likely before the coronavirus took a hit to the economy.
The iPhone SE seems to be a way for Apple to make the most out of the existing supply chains from older devices (same body as the iPhone 6S, 7, and 8 for the most part). They did it for the previous SE (iPhone 4, 4s, 5, 5s models were very similar). They just slap some updated components from the newer models into it and it's a perfectly capable smartphone. It is also probably relatively cheap for them to create an iPhone using older parts compared to the R&D involved for entirely new devices and components.
It just so happened that the release of a budget iPhone coincided with a global crisis impacting the economy.
It’s also the same pricing strategy Apple did with the iPod, whereby they find a point of entry by price they’re comfortable offering, then they go up from there, presenting loads of increments. The latest iPhones—to say nothing of old models still available nor refurbs—present these prices:
iPhone SE: $399/$449/$549
iPhone 11: $699/$749/$849
iPhone 11 Pro: $999/$1149/$1349
iPhone 11 Pro Max: $1099/$1249/$1449
That’s four models from $399–$1449 with 8 price points within that $1050 range. If a customer is set on some feature that’s at an undesirable price with current models, prior generations of phones are there to offer alternative compromises.
The iPhone SE seems to be a way for Apple to make the most out of the existing supply chains from older devices (same body as the iPhone 6S, 7, and 8 for the most part). They did it for the previous SE (iPhone 4, 4s, 5, 5s models were very similar). They just slap some updated components from the newer models into it and it's a perfectly capable smartphone. It is also probably relatively cheap for them to create an iPhone using older parts compared to the R&D involved for entirely new devices and components.
It just so happened that the release of a budget iPhone coincided with a global crisis impacting the economy.