Kuo: Apple to Launch 'iPhone SE 2' in Early 2020 With Similar Design as iPhone 8, A13 Chip, and 3GB RAM

[Moonjumper]

I saw many people who bought the plus-size device complaining about it and wonder what the hell is wrong with Apple.

I don’t wonder what is wrong with Apple for offering the plus size, that is the right phone for a lot of customers. But I do wonder why they don’t offer the small size anymore when they extolled the virtues so grandly at the time.

Anatomy hasn’t changed, so the small size is beneficial to some. The variety of uses has expanded, and so screen size is more important to others. Apple has multiple offerings for one end of the spectrum, but none at the other, even though that was their focus previously.

 

[futurist101]

I'm glad most of you make stupid assumptions. Says a lot about you.. but whatever. You mean nothing to me, so do whatever gets you off, I guess.

I love the SE for the small size and I got a chuckle off the picture you posted. However, if you're going to post borderline obnoxious posts in the name of humor it would be best to add some note that you are just kidding around. And if you're not, you shouldn't take it personally when people are offended and respond in the same manner.

I am not a psychologist but I did stay at a Holiday Inn

 

[BuddyTronic]

I feel like comments like these miss what people, at least those I speak to, like about the SE...the fact that it’s small, not that it’s cheap! An SE based on an iPhone 8 is just a cheap big iPhone. If I wanted that I’d buy the iPhone 8 that’s already on the market.

How about iPhone X or 11 pro?. Those are pretty ideal small size.

 

[Zaft]

It has always seemed a bit weird to me that Apple seems to assume buyers of small phones are looking for something other than a premium experience. Why not make something in a format similar to the existing SE, but with an edge-to-edge screen?

because people that want small phones are a minority.

 

[whatta]

It seems 3GB ram is future proof for iOS. The 10.2 iPad also has 3GB ram..

(if brand new products have 3GB, then it has to be supported for 4-5 years).

 

[Brien]

They should call it the iPhone 9.

 

[cecil444]

SE was always sold from a price perspective, not size.

You’re mistaken. Rewatch the original keynote. Their whole intro to the SE is literally about users asking them for a smaller device.

 

[Ralfi]

This is another punch in the guts to those who prefer the 5.8” sized iPhone - it’s rumoured to be getting downsized to a 5.4” iPhone Pro next year to accomodate the iPhone SE market.

But now we here of this, an actual SE re-release.

So that means the 5.8” is getting killed off for nothing...

Apple’s “vision” was for the 5.8” iPhone X to be their future direction & now it’s just nothing to them...

Why?...

 

[tyelrx]

Next years phone will take on the iphone4/5 design with the hard edges and metal band ... iPhone SE will use the old iPhone 8 rounded corners and molds still around. It just saves Apple money. I’m happy because I love the iPhone 5/4 design.

 

[justdefend]

By the time the iPhone SE2 comes out, the iPhone 8 specs will be 2.5 years old, so it makes sense that Apple wants a cheaper, smaller, updated device to fill that space.

To invest in the latest A13, one would have to buy the iPhone 11, which is large at 6.1-inches. To get a smaller device, a customer would have to spend $999 for the iPhone 11 Pro, which is too expensive to many.

An iPhone SE2 will allow Apple to keep up with current specs, phase out the iPhone 8, and drive the price-conscious consumer into the iOS ecosystem.

In the next few years, Apple's revenue will depend heavily on services rather than hardware. The SE2 at around $400 will be a great option for the masses, and more importantly a budget entry point to subscribe to Apple TV+, Apple Arcade, Apple News+, and Apple Music.

 

[ersan191]

because people that want small phones are a minority.

Yep, and people that want cheap phones are a majority. They’re trying to make a cheap phone not a small one.
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This should be called and iPhone 8S or iPhone 8SE. I'm pretty sure at least 70% of SE buyers buy it for the form factor and the other rest for price.

I know small phones are niche right now but I don't know any other company making a phone at this size so at least Apple could own this niche market with very little competition. If no new iphone comes out with a similar footprint to the SE it will be a little disappointing.

I think your estimations are incorrect. Or maybe you’re just including the US - which is not the target market of the SE anyway.

 

[GuruZac]

It’s too bad Apple can’t offer something close to the physical size of the 5/5s/SE chassis but full screen and Face ID. Basically a XR/11 shrink. Single lens from iPhone 11, A13, 3GB Ram, but 5” display so in a full screen layout.

 

[cecil444]

It's astounding that:

1. Apple still doesn't get why people loved SE.
2. People here still don't get it as well.

Apple thinks that SE is a phone for those on the budget. A lot of people here probably agree.. What SE fans wanted was a SMALL, premium phone. iPhone 8 form factor is NOT small. That's why we complain. Just go to previous articles and try to find one SE fan saying: man, I wish they did SE in 8 form factor. Nobody EVER said that.

Exactly! The SE haters love to say that it was only budget, not size that drove SE sales. But they ignore (or don’t care to look up) that the *first thing* Apple said when introducing the SE was that they were releasing this in response to users who were clamoring for a return to a smaller form factor, only with the same power as the top iPhone!

Apple could have chosen to price it higher, but they made a strategic decision to leave out some of the premium features like 3D Touch and to price it low to make it more appealing for emerging markets. Now for those markets (China & India) it’s clear that the preference for cheaper phones has superseded their preference for a smaller form factor, hence the success of Xiaomi and Huawei and all the other large and cheap Chinese phones that flooded those markets. But this *does not preclude* the fact that the original buyers of the SE — those in mature markets like the U.S. and Europe who kept the phones sold out for many months throughout spring and summer 2016 — did then and still do prefer a premium device in a smaller form factor.

This is to say, while the latest “SE2 rumor” may sound like a return to the SE — modern internals in an old form factor — it ignores the central selling point of the device: its smaller size. Jumbo-sized iPhones (and yes, the 6/6S/7/8 form factor was and is considered jumbo to SE users) just don’t fit the SE audience. If this rumor is true, then Apple is using this new device to target a different group than the original SE audience. And so we will continue waiting and pestering Apple, impatiently, until a proper SE successor comes along.

 

[Kurotenshi]

I have to agree with most people here, my wife was hoping for a small phone with edge to edge display and now this?
It getting harder and harder to maintain brand fidelity in my house...
Also, am I the only one that thinks the more square design of older phones like 4S and SE is more appealing than the current round?

 

[TracesOfArsenic]

If it happens, people here will still find a way to complain.

For good reason. A lot of what people like about the SE is nothing an "8 style phone" sounds like it would deliver. For me personally, the SE's class came from the chamfered edges (therefore increased grip), lack of camera bump, the small size, and feather weight (particularly compared to current phones). IMO it was the pinnacle of iPhone hardware design.

 

[JGIGS]

With this rumor, hopefully the 5.4" premium phone rumor is real. If I cannot have a true SE successor, that is the next best thing. I do see a trend back to smaller phones, not quite 4", but any direction down is better than larger and larger.

Yup, wouldn't mind a phone basically, exactly in between the size of an iphone 6/7/8 and the 5. It's all about easy one handed use for me.
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Funny that nobody so far suggested iPhone 9 as the name. It probably doesn't make sense to give it that much of a marketing position (it shouldn't distract too much from the iPhone 11 generation) and it could be awkward to release an iPhone 9 after an iPhone 11 has been released. But a two-generation newer system-on-a-chip plus possibly a better camera isn't that different to the advances the iPhone 8 had over the iPhone 7.

iPhone 11 mini? or micro? I mean we do have the Pro max.

 

[femike]

Hope Apple just doesn't go all cheapo and lazy and just because its a smaller phone. I'm certainly interested in this as I prefer bezels and the home button... A13, BT 5, prefer 4gb ram, wifi6 and I hope other general improvements in mobile reception, camera low light, battery, brightness, speakers.

 

[nt5672]

If I had wanted a phone the size of the 8 I would have bought one. I want a phone the size of the SE. Period. Don't understand what is so hard to understand. I don't care to have it feature limited either. This is not about cost, but about size.

 

[nt5672]

The people that want a small phone like the SE are the people that have lots of other Apple devices. I have and use an iMac, MacBook Pro, iPad, etc. I don't need a large phone. Now if one only has one portable device and it needs to be used for computing, game playing, or watching video, then they probably want a huge phone.

But me, I can afford many Apple devices and don't need a huge phone, but I do want the latest performance, best screen, etc. But here is the rub, if Apple does not provide the phone in the size I need, I will start moving to other manufacturers. Have already done that by replacing multiple Mac Minis with Linux boxes and will continue doing so as Apple moves away from me.

Now if the SE size also overlaps for people that cannot afford an expensive phone, then so be it, but don't dumb it down just to get the cost down for me. People that can't afford Apple products, can't afford them. Me I can, but Apple needs my other discretionary spending more than I need Apple.

 

[JPack]

You’re mistaken. Rewatch the original keynote. Their whole intro to the SE is literally about users asking them for a smaller device.

The fact that Apple is introducing a 4.7" device and not 4" for 2020 tells you you're wrong.

The keynote is a marketing presentation for journalists. Apple is trying their hardest to convince the audience the iPhone SE is not an assembly of parts from the recycle bin. Notice no one claps when Apple introduces the iPhone SE as a 4" device? They only clap when they hear the price, $399, the most affordable iPhone ever.

Do you think Apple suddenly "forgot" that iPhone SE was a small device when planning the SE2? The small form factor was a compromise because of the target price.

If iPhone SE was popular because of size, don't you think Apple would have continued that form factor for 2020?

 

[EM2013]

So...an iPhone 8S

 

[EM2013]

The fact that Apple is introducing a 4.7" device and not 4" for 2020 tells you you're wrong.

The keynote is a marketing presentation for journalists. Apple is trying their hardest to convince the audience the iPhone SE is not an assembly of parts from the recycle bin. Notice no one claps when Apple introduces the iPhone SE as a 4" device? They only clap when they hear the price, $399, the most affordable iPhone ever.

Do you think Apple suddenly "forgot" that iPhone SE was a small device when planning the SE2? The small form factor was a compromise because of the target price.

If iPhone SE was popular because of size, don't you think Apple would have continued that form factor for 2020?

You’ll never convince these diehard 4” device fans.

 

[JPack]

Exactly! The SE haters love to say that it was only budget, not size that drove SE sales. But they ignore (or don’t care to look up) that the *first thing* Apple said when introducing the SE was that they were releasing this in response to users who were clamoring for a return to a smaller form factor, only with the same power as the top iPhone!

Apple says they sold 30 million 4-inch iPhones in 2015. In that year, Apple sold 231 million iPhones.

That represents 13% of unit sales.

If 13% of iPhones sold in 2018 had a headphone jack, does that mean people were "clamoring" for a return to the headphone jack?

Learn not just watch a marketing keynote and take things at face value.

 

[ActionableMango]

What "small phone" extremists fail to understand

Small phone extremists? It's quite the opposite. We aren't asking for all phones to be compact, we are asking for one more option added to the lineup.

The anti-SE people are literally arguing against consumers having an additional size to choose from. What is it to you if there's another size? Why do you want us to be left out? Why the need to insult hand sizes and belittle personal preferences?

If you are simply sick of us complaining about wanting an SE-sized phone, then guess what...the solution to that is Apple selling an SE-sized phone.

 

[CrazyForCashews]

This is another punch in the guts to those who prefer the 5.8” sized iPhone - it’s rumoured to be getting downsized to a 5.4” iPhone Pro next year to accomodate the iPhone SE market.

But now we here of this, an actual SE re-release.

So that means the 5.8” is getting killed off for nothing...

Apple’s “vision” was for the 5.8” iPhone X to be their future direction & now it’s just nothing to them...

Why?...

Talk about a drama queen.