iPhone SE release date: New phone and iPad Pro open pre-orders ahead of 31 March launch

Both of the new products feature the insides of their bigger siblings, but shrunk down into a familiar box

An attendee inspects the new iPhone SE during an Apple special event at the Apple headquarters on March 21, 2016 in Cupertino, California (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

The new iPhone SE and iPad Pro are now available for pre-order, ahead of their full release in a week.

The new phone was hailed by Apple as its cheapest ever and features most of the features of the iPhone 6s, inside the familiar case of the iPhone 5s. The iPad Pro has almost all of the features from the big tablet released late last year, but in the 9.7-inch size that came with the first iPad and has been seen in the iPad Air.

Both are now available for pre-order. The devices will be launched on 31 March, in the UK, US and a range of other countries.

The Apple Store website indicates that devices bought today will be dispatched for that same date, arriving at the same time as their release. They will also be available from Apple Stores and phone networks on the same date.

In the UK, the iPhone SE begins at £359 for the 16GB model, in each of the four colours that it is offered in. The 64GB version costs £439.

In the US, the phone starts at $399, and can be bought from $13.30 per month through networks.

The iPad Pro’s new smaller size starts at £499 in the UK, or $599 in the US. Prices start there and go up for extra connectivity options or more storage space.