Like I said last month, it's always nice to just talk about gadgets again. With that in mind, let's turn our attention to the Bizarro World scenario that played out in the smartphone realm last week.

Starting with the big news, Apple announced a $400 iPhone called the iPhone SE. If that sounds familiar, it's because Apple used to sell another cheap phone under the same name. But while the original SE was modeled after the iPhone 5S, the new version looks more like an iPhone 8, with a 4.7-inch screen and a TouchID fingerprint reader underneath. Internally, it has the same A13 Bionic chip as Apple's flagship iPhone 11 range, and its single-lens, 12-megapixel camera with f/1.8 aperture is on par with 2018's iPhone XR. (The faster A13 chip does allow for some extra camera features, such as smart HDR lighting correction.)

To put the pricing in perspective, the iPhone SE costs $300 less than an iPhone 11, yet it runs the same iOS 13 software on the same A13 chip, making it similarly future-proof. It's even $50 less than what Apple has been charging for the iPhone 8, an objectively inferior phone from 2017. It's hard not to see the iPhone SE as direct shot at every Android phone that compromises on speed or camera quality in pursuit of lower prices.

That brings us to the other big smartphone news from last week: While Apple was announcing a cheaper iPhone, the Android phone maker OnePlus announced its most expensive phone yet, the $900 OnePlus 8 Pro. All the things people knocked OnePlus from omitting from its previous phones—wireless charging and waterproofing, most notably—are present here, and it sounds like the triple-lens camera system can keep pace with the likes of Apple's iPhones and Google's Pixels. (For that perspective, I defer to Input's Ray Wong, whose customary camera shootout is already live.)

The geek in me loves to some new competition at the high-end. With the exception of Samsung and its Galaxy S and Note ranges, Android phone makers have largely banked on cheapness, with the most successful brands packing better specs into ever-less-expensive phones. OnePlus was a quintessential example, having built its reputation on selling decent phones at unbelievable prices. (Here's me reviewing the original OnePlus One for Time.com back in 2014.) The OnePlus 8 Pro takes a different approach of sparing no expense, and that's exciting.

But if you ask me which of these two phones better fits for our current moment, the answer is obvious. With the iPhone SE, Apple has brought its supply chain efficiencies and design expertise to bear on exactly the kind of budget phone that Android vendors have been trying to make for years, and it happens to arrive just as folks may have less money to spend on new gadgets. Every Android phone maker must now reckon with the question of why their cheap handset is worth buying over an iPhone.

This might sound like I'm cheering for Apple, but I'm really doing the opposite: Without cheapness to lean on, Android vendors will have to find new ways to stand out, whether that means more innovation at the high end or previously unthinkable prices at the low end. Excited as I am about the OnePlus 8 Pro, I'm more looking forward to what comes next.
 

Yahoo and AOL email antics: If you use either Yahoo Mail or AOL email, you might soon see more marketing messages atop your inbox. Thanks to a new tool from corporate owner Verizon, marketers will be able to withhold their emails until the exact moment that users check their messages, The Verge reports. The idea is that people are more likely to click on emails that appear at the top of the list.

Verizon says it's not sharing information about users' email habits with marketers, nor is it sending new emails that users didn't sign up to receive. This is less about sending more glorified spam and more about optimizing the delivery of it. Still, if the idea of an email provider arranging your inbox to put marketing on top isn't creepy, it is, at the very least, kind of sleazy.

Ecobee tries home security: As a mostly-happy owner of an Ecobee smart thermostat, this new Ecobee security system is exactly what I don't want to see. The world is already awash in smart security cameras and sensors, including ones that process motion data offline like Ecobee claims to be doing. Moving into a crowded field where tech giants like Amazon and Google already excel seems like a risky move, and unlike Ecobee, those companies even offer home monitoring service.

I'd love to see Ecobee lean into climate control and energy conservation instead. Why not offer smart vents or mechanized blinds that could help adjust the temperature in each room? How about air purifiers that operate based on your schedule, or an HVAC monitoring system that can detect issues before they snowball into expensive repair jobs? I'd even settle for Wi-Fi-based presence detection that works with more than just one user's phone, so my wife and I can dial back the heat or A/C when we're both out of the house. There's a clear opportunity for Ecobee to build an ecosystem around its core competencies; the fact that it's doing otherwise should be a red flag for anyone figuring out how to build a long-lasting smart home.

Logitech turns more iPads into laptops: Apple isn't the only one launching keyboard and trackpad cases for the iPad. Logitech's latest Combo Touch keyboard cases have trackpads on board, allowing them to take advantage of mouse support in iPadOS 13.4, and there are versions for either the 7th-generation iPad from 2019 or the third-generation iPad Air. (The latter is also compatible with the 10.5-inch iPad Pro from 2017.) They're half the price of Apple's own Magic Keyboard as well, though they're not exactly cheap at $150.

One especially nice thing about Logitech's keyboards: They use the same Smart Connector as Apple's keyboard case, so you don't have to fiddle with Bluetooth or charge a separate battery. The tradeoff is that you can't easily slip off the entire cover to use the iPad au naturel, though that might be a benefit if you prefer an encased tablet or want to use the cover's built-in kickstand without the keyboard attached. As a 2017 iPad Pro owner, this is tempting, but not so tempting that I won't wait for a price drop.
 

Beautify your desktop:The best thing about Microsoft's Bing is definitely not the search engine itself, but rather the beautiful nature photos on its home page. Now, you can send those photos straight to your desktop without even having to visit Bing in the first place. Just download the official Bing Wallpaper app for Windows, and you'll get a colorful new wallpaper every day. You can also click the Bing logo in your icons menu to learn more about the image or switch between wallpapers. (One word of caution, though: Make sure to uncheck the "Set Bing as my homepage" and "Set Bing as my default search provider" boxes in setup screen before installing.)

While Bing Wallpaper comes straight from Microsoft, unofficial versions have been floating around for years, including this $2 version for MacOS.

Want even more wallpaper options? Check out John's Background Switcher, which is free for Windows and an $8 download for MacOS. By default, it pulls in nature photos from a bunch of sources, including Flickr and Pixabay, but you can also hit the "Add" button to connect other sources, including your personal Google Photos, OneDrive, or Dropbox collections.

The Google Photos integration is particularly slick, letting you select any album including ones that are auto-generated through face recognition. That means you can regularly refresh your desktop with new pictures of friends and family. There's even a "Collage" option that fills your screen with lots of photos side-by-side.
 

Apple Music on the web: The Apple Music website is now out of beta at music.apple.com, so you can now use it with confidence over unofficial clients such as Musish. If you're on a Windows PC, it beats having to open up iTunes.

Spotify's playlist tweaks: Got Spotify instead of Apple Music? A new feature lets you hide songs from playlists. Next time someone shares a mix with a song you don't like, just tap the "..." button next to the offending tune, then select "Hide Song." They'll be none the wiser to you questioning their tastes.

Plex's new music player: I, on the other hand, stopped subscribing to music services about five years ago and went back to buying music for a variety of reasons. But instead of lugging all my files from one device to the next, I stream them, using either Google Play Music's free MP3 locker or my Plex Media Server (which hosts my collection in the lossless FLAC format). If you're a weirdo like me, you might love Plexamp, a new standalone app for playing music through Plex.
 

For one thing, the app is just gorgeous, with backgrounds that adapt to your album art and a variety of visualizers, but what I most appreciate compared to other music apps is the focus on your own library. With no promotional clutter, it's easy to access recent albums and playlists, and there are a bunch of neat shuffle options such as "Time Travel Radio" and "Mix Builder." My only wish is that it would support Chromecast for my Google Home audio setup, similar to the Plex app proper.

Sounds of the office: Okay, here's one more audio-related tip. If you're working from home and longing for that office ambiance—warts and all—head to imisstheoffice.eu. Hit the play button at the bottom of the screen, and you'll be treated to the steady drone of muffled discussions and industrial A/C, occasionally interrupted by clacking keyboards, potato chip chomping, burbling water coolers, and other assorted aural annoyances that you so recently took for granted.
 

• The latest iPhone 12 rumors indicate an iPad-like redesign.
• T.C. Sottek pays homage to the "deep forums" we've all had to scour at some point.
• Intel's modular mini-PC looks exciting and expensive.
• Why you can't buy a Nintendo Switch: Bots are snatching them all up.
• Google temporarily reduces the quality of Nest camera videos and Chromecast slideshows.
• If you've shared coronavirus misinformation, Facebook might tell you.

With the aforementioned iPhone SE launching on Friday, a bunch of retailers and wireless carriers are offering pre-order discounts. Here's a rundown:

• Walmart is taking $200 off with activation on AT&T or Verizon, bringing the price to $200 even for existing lines. (This has gone out of stock since last night, but Walmart says it will run the deal until July.)
• Xfinity Mobile is also offering $200 off when you activate a new line.
• Best Buy has it for $300 on Sprint with a new line and includes a $50 store gift card.
• Red Pocket Mobile, which uses AT&T's network, has it for $350 with six months of prepaid service with unlimited talk, unlimited text, and 3 GB per month of 4G LTE data. (The code CHEAPSKATESE, via CNet, will take another $25 if you order by today.)

In other Apple deal news, Google Shopping has the AirPods Pro for $220 when you use the code JEZGSJ, and second-gen AirPods for $117 with the code UVZVEE. And over at Best Buy, you can the latest iPad Mini for $330 with 64 GB of storage, or for $450 with 256 GB of storage. Those are all record low prices.
 

This week's feature topic was a bit more analytical than usual, so if you enjoyed it (or didn't), I'd love to hear your feedback!

It's live chat week, so if you'd like me to help you with any tech issues in real-time, plan to convene in this chat room at 2 p.m. Eastern on Friday. You can get an email reminder beforehand by clicking here. Emailing your questions is also fine, of course, though it make take me a bit longer to respond.

Until next week,
Jared