The UK government has ordered 11,000 new iPhone SE models for employees working for the country’s Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). The devices, ordered through reseller XMA, are being sold at £380 per device instead of the regular retail price of £399 in a deal worth around £4.1 million ($5.7 million US).
As reported by Public Technology, the devices will be the entry-level 64GB models that will come supplied with “waterproof and tamper-evident asset tags holding bar codes and numbers, with XMA providing the details of the tag number, IMEI identifier and serial number of each phone issued.”
The DWP, the department responsible for welfare, pensions and child maintenance policy in the UK, is also spending £4.25 with Bramble Hub to access IBM’s enterprise iOS support.
It’s not known why the UK isn’t purchasing the devices directly, but the deal marks the second time in less than 12 months that the country has placed a significant order for Apple devices. In September, the UK announced up to 11,000 free iPads would be distributed to care homes for elderly citizens across England to allow residents to keep in touch with relatives amid a surge in coronavirus deaths in the country, that resulted in families being unable to visit their loved ones at their care facilities.