Details of Apple’s Affordable New iPhone Emerge

Apple’s been rumored to bring back its iPhone SE handset this year. And a new report has shed some more details on what Apple is planning for its next affordable iPhone.

According to Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo (via 9to5Mac), Apple is planning to introduce an iPhone 8-looking device with the next iPhone SE. The new device, possibly called iPhone SE 2, is expected in the first quarter of 2020, with a 4.7-inch LCD display.

Design-wise, the iPhone SE 2 will feature Apple’s design on the iPhone 8. But on the inside, it will include almost the same power as the iPhone 11, thanks to an A13 processor and 3GB of RAM. Apple will likely cut down on other features like battery and display to save costs, however.

The device will obviously not include some of the more modern features of the iPhone 11 like Face ID. It will still include Touch ID, though. And that might be a perfect device for those who have been using an iPhone 6 for a while and need a new upgrade but aren’t too willing to empty their wallet on an iPhone 11.

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  • justme

    Premium Member
    04 October, 2019 - 5:25 am

    <p>As the user of a perfectly good 6S Plus, I cannot justify an iPhone 11. I cant even really justify upgrading to an XR. I tend to watch what my trade in value is worth, so maybe if they ran a "sale" where my 6S+ brought down the cost more.</p><p><br></p><p>It will be interesting to see if this is real, and what the price point is.</p>

    • Skolvikings

      04 October, 2019 - 9:23 am

      <blockquote><em><a href="#476463">In reply to JustMe:</a></em></blockquote><p>The reason I upgraded is because of the camera. It's always because of the camera.</p>

  • obarthelemy

    04 October, 2019 - 6:44 am

    <p>For people around me it's not so much about the phone being cheap it's about the phone being small which is a rarity these days</p>

    • Thomas Parkison

      04 October, 2019 - 10:40 am

      <blockquote><em><a href="#476500">In reply to obarthelemy:</a></em></blockquote><p>I find that the iPhone 11 Pro is a perfect size device. I used to have an iPhone 7 Plus but like a lot of people, the Plus became too big and bulky. I felt like a brick in my pocket. So far the 11 Pro is the perfect size, I can do a lot of things with one hand whereas with my old iPhone 7 Plus I had to do things with the second hand out of fear of dropping it.</p>

  • RobertJasiek

    04 October, 2019 - 8:18 am

    <p>The interesting questions are:</p><ul><li>price</li><li>IPS</li><li>16:9</li><li>display 4" (iPhone SE) or 4,7" (iPhone 8)</li><li>size 59x124mm (iPhone SE) or 67x138mm (iPhone 8)</li><li>without (iPhone SE) or with (iPhone 8) camera bump</li><li>15 (iPhone SE) or 24 (iPhone 8) LTE bands</li><li>dramatically reduced battery life due to some future iOS update (like a report for iPhone SE with iOS 13)</li></ul>

    • Daishi

      Premium Member
      04 October, 2019 - 8:47 am

      <blockquote><em><a href="#476595">In reply to RobertJasiek:</a></em></blockquote><p>The rumours are quite clear. This article is quite clear. It’s an iPhone 8 with a chip bump to the A13. So we know the answers to almost all of your questions except for the price.</p>

      • RobertJasiek

        04 October, 2019 - 10:40 am

        <blockquote><em><a href="#476620">In reply to Daishi:</a></em></blockquote><p>You might be right but then the rumours calling it SE 2 are misleading. We might rather say that SE would be discontinued.</p>

        • Chris_Kez

          Premium Member
          04 October, 2019 - 11:49 am

          <blockquote><em><a href="#476778">In reply to RobertJasiek:</a></em></blockquote><p>All we have to go by with regards to naming is the quote from Ming-Chi Kuo, who wrote "iPhone SE2", and presumably he is getting that from those in the supply chain. SE (or "Special Edition") could mean anything, though Apple said it was popular among people who wanted a smaller phone and people looking for their first iPhone (I think this was Apple-speak for "cheaper" because they would never say in a keynote that what people want is a cheaper device). Well, fast-forward to 2019 and phones have gotten even bigger and more expensive. So what is smaller and cheaper than the new iPhone? An iPhone based on prior chassis/design (just as the original SE was based on the 4/5 design and was smaller and cheaper than the then-current iPhone 6 design).</p>

          • RobertJasiek

            04 October, 2019 - 12:03 pm

            <blockquote><em><a href="#476879">In reply to Chris_Kez:</a></em></blockquote><p>Ok.</p><p>Regardless of your explanation, there are a market for an 8 successor and another market for an SE successor. Unless Apple creates a hybrid, it should provide both successors. Otherwise, quite a few choose a different ecosystem rather than what they consider a too large, too expensive iPhone.</p><p>Apple has learned this (hardwarewise) for iPads. It is an open question whether it has for iPhones.</p>

            • 02nz

              04 October, 2019 - 8:01 pm

              <blockquote><a href="#476900" target="_blank"><em>In reply to RobertJasiek:</em></a></blockquote><p><br></p><p>"Otherwise, quite a few choose a different ecosystem …" Really? Which Android phone with a 4-inch screen would those people choose? Hard to find any Android phones these days with a smaller screen than 5.5 inches, so even the 4.7-inch screen of the 8 is quite a bit smaller than the competition.</p>

  • Pbike908

    04 October, 2019 - 10:18 am

    <p>It will be interesting to see if they bring back the headphone jack. One would think customers for this type of device would prefer being able to buy any old earbuds as opposed to proprietary conndctor or carrying a dongle. </p>

    • Thomas Parkison

      04 October, 2019 - 10:41 am

      <blockquote><em><a href="#476711">In reply to Pbike908:</a></em></blockquote><p>Doubt it. What with how many people I see with Bluetooth earbuds, even cheap ones, I seriously doubt it. The headphone jack is dying, Bluetooth is taking over the place that it once had.</p>

  • Chris_Kez

    Premium Member
    04 October, 2019 - 10:32 am

    <p>The iPhone 11 is the new "normal size". The iPhone 8 is roughly 20% shorter, 10% narrower and 25% lighter. These are comparable to the gap between the iPhone SE and the iPhone 7/8, which was the "normal size" when the SE was introduced.</p>

  • Chris_Kez

    Premium Member
    04 October, 2019 - 10:39 am

    <p>If you want to have a laugh, go to the original 9to5Mac article and read the comments debating whether the SE was about size or price; what was in the hearts &amp; minds of SE buyers; and whether this rumored device is a "true" successor to the SE. </p>

    • jimchamplin

      Premium Member
      05 October, 2019 - 10:47 am

      <blockquote><em><a href="#476777">In reply to Chris_Kez:</a></em></blockquote><p>I don’t think it really is. Everyone who I’ve ever known or interacted with re: the SE said that it was the size that mattered most to them.</p><p><br></p><p>Almost all of them used the SE as their main device when out, and then as a companion to an iPad at home. None of them treated it as if it were a “weak” device. </p><p><br></p><p>They’d load it up with apps and games and data. It’s a full fledged phone but tiny.</p><p><br></p><p>If it’s not tiny, it’s not SE. If Apple believes the size is relative to the current flagship, then by the time we get to SE 4, it will be an 11 Pro Max because that’s half the size of the iPhone 15 Fold.</p><p><br></p>

  • bob_shutts

    04 October, 2019 - 11:27 am

    <p>I like the 4.7 inch form factor. I'll probably take a close look at this.</p>

  • MikeGalos

    04 October, 2019 - 12:45 pm

    <p>Sure, this has been rumored for several months now as only for the Chinese market and is supposed to be cheaper to produce by not having the FaceID camera and, instead, has the underscreen (meaning no-notch) fingerprint reader. The underscreen TouchID sensor will be introduced to the main product line in the iPhone 12 in addition to the new, small, no-notch FaceID camera for the premium devices markets like the US and Europe.</p><p><br></p><p>As long as we're discussing rumors.</p>

  • red.radar

    Premium Member
    04 October, 2019 - 4:03 pm

    <p>If I could pre-order this device today I would. </p><p><br></p><p>The Iphone 6 architecture was just fine by me. </p><p><br></p><p>Apple is just trying to squeeze out some more sales of its Iphone 6 – 8 manufacturing tooling. Which is what the SE was always about. relatively low investment for apple and they can present a lower price point to cost sensitive customers. Apple still makes the same profit if you order a Iphone SE or Iphone 11. </p><p><br></p><p>It was never about designing a new architecture for lower price points and that is ok with me. </p>

  • mike2thel73

    04 October, 2019 - 10:59 pm

    <p>What I want to know is if it does come to the US how much are they going to sell it for and is it going to replace both the 8 and 8+ in the lineup or just the plain 8?</p><p><br></p><p>Right now the base iPhone 8 is $329 and the base 8+ is $449.</p><p><br></p><p>When the iPhone SE came out in march 2016 the 16GB cost $399 and the 64gb cost $499. and the refresh changed the 16gb to 32gb and the 64gb to 128gb</p><p><br></p><p>Are they only going give a 64gb option or a 256gb as well?</p><p><br></p><p>I'm interested for someone in my family.</p>

  • evilstewie

    06 October, 2019 - 11:52 pm

    <p>please be true, i have an aging 6 that i want to upgrade but i just cant bring myself to pay 600 for a 2 year old device…. (and please dont say, get an android, because thats not happening )</p>

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