DigiTimes: Apple Could Launch Two 'iPhone SE 2' Models in 2020

[manu chao]

Except it isn't. It looks the same size but the X/Xs/11 Pro is larger in every dimension. The 11 Pro is now 22.5% larger by volume and 27% heavier than the 8 and a whopping 30.4% larger by volume and 45.7% heavier than the 6 was (since the 6s was larger than the 6, and the 8 was larger than the 6s). it makes a huge difference in one handed operation.

The most important measure for one-handed operation is width and height (though it depends on where the height was increased).

iPhone 6: 67.0 x 138.1 mm
iPhone 6s: 67.1 x 138.1 mm
iPhone 7: 67.1 x 138.3 mm
iPhone 8: 67.3 x 138.4 mm

That increase is imperceptible. What might be perceptible is the increase in thickness: 6.9 to 7.1 to 7.3 mm. What probably is perceptible is the increase in weight: 129 to 143 to 138 to 148 g.

It’s the iPhone X/Xs where the actual jump happens: 70.9 x 143.6 x 7.7 mm and 174 g (plus the screen goes to the top of the device). The iPhone 11 extends on that in regard to mainly thickness and weight (71.4 x 144 x 8.1 mm and 188 g).

The ~4 mm increase in width (8 vs 11 Pro) and the much taller screen do affect one-handed usage noticeably.
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How would a 5.5" or 6.1" iPhone qualify as an "SE"? The whole idea behind the SE was a smaller form factor with current tech for those of us who don't want phablets in our pockets.

Really? The whole idea? Recycling an older design to save money, which also protected the status of the 6/7 range by clearly being identifiable as looking like an older gen iPhone, plus other lesser components like the FaceTime camera which were matched by a significantly lower price weren’t part of the concept of the iPhone SE?

 

[manu chao]

My suspicion is that Apple simply does not care about the user base that would buy such a device.

You mean the part of the user base for whom the 11 Pro and Xr/11 are too large and who want something about the size of an iPhone 8 (much smaller than Xr/11, still noticeably smaller than 11 Pro, in particular in regard to screen height and thus one-handed reachability) but with updated internals?

Apple doesn’t care about that part of the user base? Or the part who want a new/current CPU iPhone for $400-500?
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We need fewer phones but with the right specs, not more phones all of which have the wrong specs. Simplicity is what makes Apple stand out. Fewer phones means less deliberation on which to get.

You mean the simplicity when Apple sold three subsequent generations of iPhones at the same time (still sort of does, though the lineage isn’t as direct)?

Why has Apple done this? To hit price points. Imagine a $400 iPhone 9, $500 iPhone 9 Plus, $700 iPhone 11, $1000 11 Pro and $1150 11 Pro Max after the release of the iPhone 9. There are still some big gaps in there.

 

[Juicy Box]

No its not dude, its physically smaller and the screen is smaller so if you add all of it up the experience is like using a much smaller device.

I would agree with the in-use experience being different, but the size difference between the iPhone 8 and X is tiny compared to the size difference between the SE and 8 or SE and X.

While they all have a similar thickness, the iPhone 8 is 15% wider than the SE, and 12% taller. The iPhone X is only 5% wider and 3.7% taller than the 8.

So, there is a tiny difference between the physical sizes of the 8 and X, while the SE is much smaller than both of them.

So, getting back to this:

The iPhone 8 is basically the same physical size of the X, but with a smaller screen, so why would anyone want that?

@allenvanhellen is correct by saying that that there is little difference in size between a iPhone 8 and X, except that the iPhone 8 has a smaller screen.

You saying this doesn't really make much sense because I don't think the smaller screen is the feature that people want:

Precisely because of the smaller screen. Do you read what you write?

I don't think that people love the smaller screen.

The smaller screen is a consequence of the smaller form factor, which is one of the most liked thing about the SE.

Now, if you would have said that the experience of the X would be very different than the iPhone 8, and that the experience using the iPhone 8 would be closer to the experience of the SE, this could have been a better argument.

Price would probably be the best argument and it would be what I would counter the post made by @allenvanhellen or maybe Touch ID.

 

[splitpea]

The reason you see women with large phones is that if you’re going to have to use your phone two-handed anyway and can’t put it in your pockets (because the smallest size sold any more is too big for one hand or the travesty they call pockets on women’s clothes), you might as well go as big as you can.

A lot of men can still manage the 8/X with one hand and men’s pockets are roomy enough for those, so there’s reason to stick with the smaller available size.

 

[manu chao]

I would agree with the in-use experience being different, but the size difference between the iPhone 8 and X is tiny compared to the size difference between the SE and 8 or SE and X.

While they all have a similar thickness, the iPhone 8 is 15% wider than the SE, and 12% taller. The iPhone X is only 5% wider and 3.7% taller than the 8.

The device height is not the critical measure, it’s the height of the screen measured, eg, from the position of the Dock (in addition to the extra 4 mm in width).

 

[Juicy Box]

The device height is not the critical measure

It is when you are trying to fit the phone in your pocket, which is bascially the point of the post.

 

[SHirsch999]

In my normal day to day life I never hear people screaming for a smaller phone. I never hear anyone complaining their phone is too big. Not being sexist but even woman and small kids I see use the big plus size phones...

Its all about price!
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Its all about price these days, price and features. Never do I hear people, except on MR beg for a small smart phone.

You’ve never had to listen to my wife and daughter complain about more more small smart phones.

 

[kpeex]

Personally, I don't understand cases. It seems that -- at least the functionality -- should be built into phone design. So, understanding the heresy and the outlier nature...I would prefer a modernized no bezel iPhone 5c, that weighs in around iPhone 7, available at an SE2 price point.

 

[PastaPrimav]

The obsession with small is simply because Apple doesn't prioritize small any more. The obsession was with big before Apple moved to big.

I'm unmoved by the repetitious faux sentiment surrounding small.

For a lot of reasons, it no longer makes sense to produce 'small' iPhones. The iPhone 8 mold is the smallest you'll see Apple continue to produce.
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Personally, I don't understand cases. It seems that -- at least the functionality -- should be built into phone design.

....that couldn't possibly make any less sense. Cases are how people personalize the device at its most basic level: how it looks and how it feels to hold it and how much protection it needs.

These points vary wildly from one person to the next, which is why Apple makes the phones' exterior as slim and minimal as possible to accommodate the modification of cases.

 

[thejadedmonkey]

In real life

Never heard of it

*shrug*

 

[lkalliance]

Way back when the SE first came out, I was hoping for a refreshed 5c (my all time favorite!). When the 6 came out I immediately didn't like the size, and was less than thrilled with the design. The 5S wasn't my favorite design, either, but it was OK. So when the SE came out and it was essentially an upgraded 5S...well, then, OK.

Close to four years later I'm still using that SE, and I'm about ready to move on to my next phone. It wasn't that long ago that I felt that if whatever new SE didn't come out or didn't have this size...that I'd just replace the battery and keep on plugging (that's still an option).

Reading over the thread...

ON THE "PURPOSE" TO THE SE:

Though I believe a real positive outcome to the SE is (was) the smaller size, I do believe that the real reason was to offer a less expensive phone. There was no new design, so they had the parts, they had the machined tools, they had many things already in place that they didn't have to redo. That enabled them to continue using the parts they already had, to some extent.

ON THE DESIGN EXPECTATIONS:

That's why I do believe in the iPhone 8-based rumors. And, for that matter, I find it perfectly reasonable to believe there would be another SE based on the 8 Plus, for the same reason. I do not expect an external design any different than the 8. I frankly expect an 8 with an A13, essentially. I would love a more updated camera, and I don't know how reasonable that is to expect, but essentially an A13-based 8.

ON THE SIZE OF THE PHONE:

Each time I go to the Apple Store, which is every so often, I play around with the phones and get a feel for their heft. Several posters have legit points here, even if they don't seem to agree with each other: the 8 *is* definitely smaller than the X family. At the same time, it *is* much closer to the X than it is to the 5S. It may be the current smallest phone Apple offers, but it definitely crosses a threshold. I actually usually use my phone two-handed anyway...but I do sometimes like doing it one-handed, and I cannot do so on the 8 without Reachability, which is going to take some getting used to.

ON THE DECISION TO MOVE FORWARD:

I think one of the things that has changed for me is that I spend far less time in front of my Mac than I used to. I actually think that compared to five years ago, I do far less on any of my technology than I used to, but a higher percentage of what I do is now on the phone. So I find myself more and more often thinking that a larger phone would be better for me. This is a new feeling for me. Would the benefit of a larger phone be worth the tradeoff of usability? Is it really usability, or is it just muscle memory I'm used to? These are the questions I'll have to come to grips with.

 

[Icaras]

In my normal day to day life I never hear people screaming for a smaller phone. I never hear anyone complaining their phone is too big. Not being sexist but even woman and small kids I see use the big plus size phones...

Its all about price!
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Its all about price these days, price and features. Never do I hear people, except on MR beg for a small smart phone.

I counter your anecdote with my anecdote: because I actually have heard from people in real life outside of Mac rumors wanting a smaller sized iPhone.

 

[decisions]

No one wants a big SE. Please just get rid of the bezels on my current SE and give it an OLED display.

 

[pray2crom]

if it doesn't have a physical home button then no thanks. Notice how I have given up on the headphone jack....

 

[iapplelove]

I counter your anecdote with my anecdote: because I actually have heard from people in real life outside of Mac rumors wanting a smaller sized iPhone.

I highly doubt it

 

[jscooper22]

I will upgrade -- or even side-grade to any phone that's at least as powerful as my XR but with fingerprint ID. It took me about two days to figure out I absolutely loathe Face ID.

 

[Icaras]

I highly doubt it

Doubt it then. I’ve spoken to people who have wanted the small form factor SE to continue. See, that’s the problem with anecdotes. You can think it fake just as I think yours is made up.

 

[manu chao]

No one wants a big SE. Please just get rid of the bezels on my current SE and give it an OLED display.

No one wants an iPhone 8 with updated SoC (A13 instead of A11)?

 

[lkalliance]

No one wants a big SE. Please just get rid of the bezels on my current SE and give it an OLED display.

There is zero chance of this happening.

 

[ignatius345]

The initial model of the so-called iPhone SE 2 is expected to resemble the iPhone 8,

so why show that picture of the original SE every single time?

 

[TracesOfArsenic]

If there were as many SE2's as there are SE2 rumors, we'd be buried in SE2's by now.

We might actually have a decent one too. I'm not convinced this iteration of the "SE" is going to be what the SE fans actually want. It'll be another case of Apple misreading the room.

 

[RealityM]

Apple has to eliminate the square edge SE design in 2020 so that in 2022, an all-new iPhone design will feature square edges for all models. The clue is the square edge design of the iPad Pro.

My only phone is a 128GB SE purchased last year $299 when Apple drained retail store inventories. I can't image having to carry both a personal phone and a business phone without one of them being a small form factor phone like the SE.

 

[sdf]

The initial model of the so-called iPhone SE 2 is expected to resemble the iPhone 8, including a 4.7-inch display with bezels and a Touch ID home button, but with a faster A13 chip and 3GB of RAM. The device will continue to have a single-lens rear camera, according to Kuo, like the original iPhone SE and the iPhone 8. Similar to DigiTimes, Kuo believes that a larger "iPhone SE 2 Plus" is also in the works, but he predicts it won't arrive until 2021.

I wonder if one of those is an iPod touch.

 

[PickUrPoison]

If they don’t make an iPhone5-sized SE phone they are missing a huge opportunity!

No, they’re missing a small opportunity. Few want small iPhones 🤷‍♂️
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Until the iPhone Mini and Mini Pro are released I'll stick with my SE. The iPhone Mini Pro costing over $1000 means it will have flagship specs with a miniaturized design. I'll be getting that Mini Pro thanks.

I've noticed when I'm serving customers that the MAX and Plus sizes are typically used by women and teenage girls. I personally see the bigger size option is about 80% female. Not being sexist of course, just an observation.

What’s the iPhone mini and iPhone mini Pro and why would it be over $1,000? That’s the Pro Max, isn’t it? I’ve never heard of iPhone mini, where did you hear about that?

 

[iapplelove]

Doubt it then. I’ve spoken to people who have wanted the small form factor SE to continue. See, that’s the problem with anecdotes. You can think it fake just as I think yours is made up.

lol so I made up the fact that I hear no one in my day to day life that begs for a smaller smart phone? You’re joking right?

No one wants a small smart phone, no one accept for the few on MR forums with obviously small girlish hands
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Never heard of it

*shrug*

post makes lots of sense, good job.