Apple Could Release ‘iPhone SE 2’ In Early 2020, New Report Claims
A new research note suggests that Apple could have several things planned for its 2019 and 2020 iPhone releases, including the potential arrival of a new version of the lower-priced iPhone SE.
As explained by MacRumors, the research note came from Barclays analyst Blayne Curtis, who, together with his colleagues, based their information on a recent trip to Asia where they met with some of the companies in Apple’s supply chain. According to these suppliers, consumers shouldn’t expect too many changes on Apple’s new iPhones for 2019 beyond the frequently rumored rear camera upgrades for all three devices. Apple’s 2020 iPhones, on the other hand, are likely to come with “more significant” updates, such as support for 5G connectivity and “acoustic” fingerprint technology that could mark the return of Touch ID, this time with full-screen functionality.
In between these two release cycles, Apple is also expected by a “few suppliers” to release a device referred to as the “iPhone SE 2,” Curtis’ research note added. This device is expected to be released sometime early next year, with the same internal specifications as 2017’s iPhone 8. It was also noted, however, that some of the other suppliers Curtis and his team spoke to were not aware of the rumored iPhone SE successor.
Should the new iPhone SE 2 rumors be accurate, the device will be powered by an A11 Bionic chip and 2GB RAM, with the option of 64GB or 256GB storage, as shown on this iPhone 8 spec sheet from Digital Trends. As the aforementioned research note only mentioned “internals,” it isn’t clear whether the purported iPhone SE 2 is expected to come with the iPhone 8’s 4.7-inch display and 12-megapixel rear/7-megapixel front camera setup.
2020 iPhones May Have Full-Screen Touch ID, New iPhone SE Based on iPhone 8 Also Possible Next Year https://t.co/AZV76nAJYj by @rsgnl pic.twitter.com/PWoIaW4WDz
— MacRumors.com (@MacRumors) May 24, 2019
The original iPhone SE was released in March 2016 and, per Apple‘s official press release, was described as the “most powerful phone with a four-inch display,” with its basic specifications and features also including an A9 chip, a 12-megapixel rear camera, and Touch ID. The phone’s compact dimensions and affordable starting price of $399 were hailed as its biggest selling points at the time of its original launch, though it was officially discontinued more than two years later, in September 2018. This was around the same time Apple launched its current iPhone lineup — the iPhone XS, XS Max, and XR.
Despite its recent discontinuation, the iPhone SE has popped up from time to time in the clearance section of the Apple Store, as reported previously by The Inquisitr. The iPhone SE’s 32GB and 128GB variants were most recently sold on clearance in March, where they were respectively priced at $249 and $299.
