I think that depends what defined the original SE as an SE:
--4" size? Then this is clearly not an SE2.
--Re-use of previous-generation components with updated chip for lower cost? Then this *is* an SE2.
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'iPhone SE 2' Said to Have Entered Final Production Verification Stage Ahead of Launch
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--4" size? Then this is clearly not an SE2.
--Re-use of previous-generation components with updated chip for lower cost? Then this *is* an SE2.
Smart move for Apple.
You get a lot of hooks on this one. The first is the entry level crowd who can't afford the "big guns". The second are the folks who like the retro design (I could be lured in) and/or would rather a home button. Third are those people who's phones are reaching the end of their useful life without a battery change, etc. The units are usually all ready scratched up, beat up, and sent home wet so to speak. So instead of plowing $100 some odd into a new battery for yesterday's tech, get the newest chip and all that for a little more and a new phone.
Probably the smartest marketing move Apple has made in a while....
You get a lot of hooks on this one. The first is the entry level crowd who can't afford the "big guns". The second are the folks who like the retro design (I could be lured in) and/or would rather a home button. Third are those people who's phones are reaching the end of their useful life without a battery change, etc. The units are usually all ready scratched up, beat up, and sent home wet so to speak. So instead of plowing $100 some odd into a new battery for yesterday's tech, get the newest chip and all that for a little more and a new phone.
Probably the smartest marketing move Apple has made in a while....
Boy, I sure hope they were able to correctly make...
(checks notes)
..a spec bumped iPhone 8
(meh - smh)
(checks notes)
..a spec bumped iPhone 8
(meh - smh)
When the SE released, it was using the components of the then most recent iPhone 6S in a smaller form factor, the main appeal was not a cheaper phone (it was only $150 less at launch than the 6S), but a smaller phone with flagship specs.
It makes more sense to call this new phone the iPhone 9, since they skipped 9 and it is a replacement for the 8 as the low cost, older spec option. It isn't going to be a small flagship level phone like the SE.
I think you're glossing over something: when the SE was released, it wasn't just in a smaller form factor, it was in the exact same form as the iPhone 5S: same chassis, which meant a significant number of the same parts, the same machine tooling in the factories, the same packaging design. We can't really know one way or another, but I think that was a bigger deal for Apple than having a phone in a smaller form. Now replay that script but with parts and machine tools for the iPhone 8.
Apple has a history of this on both the developer and user side. The first few releases of OS X had a Classic Mode, which allowed Classic Mac applications to run. Until, at one point, Classic Mode was ended. Then with the Intel transition, we had Rosetta, which for a few OS X releases would allow PowerPC applications to run. Until, at one point, Rosetta was removed. Now we've had the same thing with 32-bit apps on OS X. For a while they've been supported...now, that's ended.
This is the same thing, more consumer-facing. They supported a 4" form factor for a while. They stopped making new phones of that size, but the SE was there to use up back inventory and to coincidentally come in a smaller form factor. But the time has, evidently, come to fully switch over to the larger screens. One could argue the original SE filled two roles: smaller handset, lower-cost handset. One of those roles has been deprecated. I'd still say from where I sit this is an SE 2: old chassis, upgraded chip (and camera, maybe?), in some ways on par technologically with the flagship phones (for a few months, anyway). That, to me, is an SE.
I got my SE about a year ago and it is about 92% capacity now so yeah the battery life stinks. During the year, it has seen light to medium use so I am not sure what to expect for another year.
The iPhone was a repackaging of the then-current iPhone in a 4" casing.
If this iPhone isn't a repackaging of the iPhone 11 in a 4" casing, it isn't an iPhone SE.
It wasn't just any 4" casing...it was specifically the casing that already existed, the 5S. If this iPhone isn't a placement of the A13 chip into the about-to-be-deprecated form factor (in this case, the iPhone 8), then it isn't an iPhone SE.
EDIT: The iPhone SE also was not a fully "repackaged" 6S. The 6S had second-generation Touch ID (SE had first-generation, like the 5S), and I believe the SE had the 5S's camera, and not the 6S's. I'm not positive about that last bit, however.
As someone who's done repairs on both 5S and SE (and as such knows them inside and out)... a lot of the SE2/9 rumors are making me think this isn't as much of a tooling reuse as the original SE was. This might be a more serious staple in the iPhone line.
Specifically I'm intrigued by the rumor it'll be called "iPhone" like the base model iPad. That means this model is branching off from the regular line (like the regular SE), but also implies Apple is planning on updating this new line in the future..?
Not to mention rumored additional .5mm of thickness (probably for improved battery) and the thinner display panel (because lack of 3D touch) means quite a bit of tooling had to be redone or modified.
Specifically I'm intrigued by the rumor it'll be called "iPhone" like the base model iPad. That means this model is branching off from the regular line (like the regular SE), but also implies Apple is planning on updating this new line in the future..?
Not to mention rumored additional .5mm of thickness (probably for improved battery) and the thinner display panel (because lack of 3D touch) means quite a bit of tooling had to be redone or modified.
Half true. Original SE had the 6S's rear camera, but the 5S's front camera. I'm ***really*** hoping this new rumored device will have an improved camera over the 8, like the original SE did 😅
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Finally, the truth is out.
SE stands for “Special Edition”, not “Small Edition”.
I personally don’t care what they call this new product as long as it’s good, but I just don’t get why some OG SE fans (being a fan myself) insist on monopolizing the name.
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Thanks for the insight and the clarification!
I, too, was confused by reports of the rumored change in thickness, which suggest that machine tooling needs to be redone. For that reason (and that reason alone, no little birdies as if I have little birdies besides the finches at my feeders out on the deck and I also have bigger birdies there but the finches and chickadees and the siskins are the littlest birdies), I think that rumor is the least likely to be true.
If in fact they ARE true...well then throw my whole analysis out (or, most of it, anyway).
I, too, am hoping for the best camera possible, even if a better one comes out in six months. I'm going to be upgrading from my four-year-old SE, so even if they put in the 8's camera, then it'll be an improvement over what I have. But the X or XS or 11 camera? Swell!
What I would really like is Night Mode. Someone else (or maybe it was you, I have a terrible memory except for the little birdies and the big birdies and the medium sized birdies that come to the feeder and what food they like to eat at what times of the year and what their calls and songs sound like because sometimes you can only hear them and not see them though that can be just as rewarding) mentioned that Night Mode was dependent more upon the A13 chip for computations than on the sensor. Whenever I want "good" photos I take my DSLR, which does anything my phone camera does (as far as stills) but better; Night Mode would be the first feature that truly allows my phone to eclipse my DSLR in casual use.
I don't believe they'd be so stupid to call it an SE. With how all the rumours are shaping up it'd just end up being a disappointment for too many SE fans and causing bad press. (Yet people will buy it anyway because of how expensive their "flagship" phones are and so they'll call it a success.)I hope Apple hasn't decided to call it the SE 2.
Sounds about right and very Apple. Kuo also mentioned another budget phone with a bigger screen and touch id in the power button is coming in 2021, it would be the “iPhone Plus” then (now that the Plus moniker is free after being phased out from the main lineup).
These “default” iPhones will likely take after Google’s Pixel A line: everything that you need is there and everything that you don’t is not. No fancy gimmicks, just great software, long support, reliable hardware and one but supremely capable camera.
The SE was shared basically all it's parts with the 5S except the motherboard (A9 chip, 2GB ram and cellular modem) and the rear camera.
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I hope the iPhone 9 comes in some different colors (i.e. the blue example in thus article would be great), but rumors are pointing to space grey, silver and red.
Finally!
I’ve been watching the insanely SLOW development of this model more closely than any other iPhone Apple has released. I’ve also hung on to my iPhone X longer than any previous iPhone because Apple appears to have caught up to themselves as far as tech is concerned? Asking for over a grand to update to the iPhone XS or 11 was a HUGE ask considering how little that cash got you.
I’d love a 120 Hz or even a 144 Hz OLED, but I’m not keen on paying an extra $600-$750 for one.
Apple needs to consider that the iPhone they’re offering for well over a $1000 has NOT fundamentally changed in years. They need to add features or reduce cost and I’m reasonably sure they’re aware of this.
The iPhone 9/SE2 could be the most important iPhone release in a decade considering how much more interest there is for this model vs. the original iPhone SE.
I’ve been watching the insanely SLOW development of this model more closely than any other iPhone Apple has released. I’ve also hung on to my iPhone X longer than any previous iPhone because Apple appears to have caught up to themselves as far as tech is concerned? Asking for over a grand to update to the iPhone XS or 11 was a HUGE ask considering how little that cash got you.
I’d love a 120 Hz or even a 144 Hz OLED, but I’m not keen on paying an extra $600-$750 for one.
Apple needs to consider that the iPhone they’re offering for well over a $1000 has NOT fundamentally changed in years. They need to add features or reduce cost and I’m reasonably sure they’re aware of this.
The iPhone 9/SE2 could be the most important iPhone release in a decade considering how much more interest there is for this model vs. the original iPhone SE.
iPhone 8R? Eh, maybe not since it's not consistent with what the XR was.
Someone on here suggested iPhone CE (classic edition) -- that seems like a good one to me.
Someone on here suggested iPhone CE (classic edition) -- that seems like a good one to me.
Correct. SE was not a 6s repackaged into a smaller size. It was a spec. bumped 5s. Some components that were already in 5s, were upgraded to 6s specs, and some were not.
Expect same with SE2. Spec. bumped 8, but not all specs will be bumped.
You'd be surprised how many people don't need any more than 32GB. Some people just use it as a phone and not much else. Regardless, the cost in production to Apple between 32 and 64 would be $0.08 vs $0.10 or something similar.
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I think you're onto it. An 11R seems much more likely to me than SE or 9. I think Apple has successfully kept the naming of this model secret so far.
I bet they just call it the iPhone, whereas the new one will be iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro etcI hope Apple hasn't decided to call it the SE 2