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

[DanMannyMan]

Call it an iPhone 9 and I'm in.

Yeah, it's bigger than I want; but the combo of low price and up to date hardware sounds great. The possibility of filling in that missing iPhone number makes my brain happy too.

 

[harriska2]

i just will never understand the "its too big" crowd...how is an iPhone 8 (not plus) too big? It's pretty small..besides an SE design is super outdated

Because we want something that fits in our pocket and bend over without jabbing us. The smaller the better. The 8 isn’t smaller? Shall I go on?

 

[Sasparilla]

So it would be better than iPhone 8, but with a similar design. What's the point in having both? If they just want to sell a "cheap" iPhone they can cut the price of 8 and call it a day.
It would be great to have a true SE 2, either with the old chassis or with a new notch design with a smaller display.

Because the 8 is using a 2 generation old CPU / camera setup. And the new one will presumably use the current A13 and base camera - just like the SE did at its time. This is a much better phone. They should go to 4GB on the memory but whatever.

 

[mattopotamus]

Just to mimic others, this is not the SE we want. While it is smaller than the current offerings, it's not that smaller than the X. I still want the SE form factor just with better specs. I would pay $1000+ for a SE that is given the X treatment (OLED, FaceID, etc). What happened to the 5.4" display rumor? I would still take that over an 8 being the new SE. Ideally it is still the SE body though with upgraded specs and display.

 

[manu chao]

Beyond that, iPhone se and iPhone 5s parts aren't interchangeable. The points of attachment and how the things come together are differently. It's undoubtedly going to be the same here. Even if they did have a bunch of iPhone 8 shells laying around, the SE successor likely wouldn't boil down to dropping the innards into an old chassis and calling it a day.

The SE got a better rear camera than the 5s but it kept the same display and 'iSight' camera (while the 6s, released before the SE, got a better iSight camera).

 

[mattopotamus]

i just will never understand the "its too big" crowd...how is an iPhone 8 (not plus) too big? It's pretty small..besides an SE design is super outdated

I don't know if I would call the design outdated. The latest rumors suggest Apple is going back to the squared sides, similar to the SE and new iPad Pro.

 

[Juicy Box]

besides an SE design is super outdated

Outdated doesn't mean inferior.

I prefer the pre-iPhone 6 design, especially the squared versus rounded edges.

 

[agsystems]

A no home-buttoned design with a thinner bezel would be nice but guessing they just want to keep the same case tooling.

sure but then Apple wouldn't be able to sell it at $349 (with a 38% gross margin)

 

[sunapple]

iPhone 9: The missing link. Cheaper than keeping both 8 and 8 Plus in production I guess.

 

[BlowAway]

Must be too hard for Apple to understand. The 8 is already too BIG.

Most customer is forced to buy a bigger phone and removing the iPhone 8 bezel will still make it look big without feeling too BIG.

 

[cocky jeremy]

Now you people can finally shut up.

The people with tiny burger king commercial hands finally have a reason to live.

 

[woodlandtrek]

It's kind of ironic that apple has consistently trended toward smaller, thinner computers as users are clamoring for better performance, thermal design, and modularity. On phones, though, they are trending larger and larger for a device that by necessity must be very portable.

 

[Falhófnir]

I'm guessing 'iPhone 9'? Probably ditching 3D touch as well and hopefully that will allow just a smidgen more battery life. I would be seriously interested in this if they can close the battery life gap on the iPhone 8 plus to at least a meaningful degree. The 4.7" screen is a little on the small side coming from a plus, but I think I'd be satisfied with it as an interim until Touch ID 3 returns on the 2020/21 phone models.

 

[DeltaSVO]

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

It quickly became about size, once the other phones got bigger and bigger. That is the reason why most people on here loved the SE.

 

[redheeler]

My SE purchase was all about the size for me! Price was never considered.

Also, wouldn't it be TE instead of SE 2. SE stood for Second Edition, how can you have a Second Edition Two? It would be the Third Edition.

SE = Small Edition (or Special Edition, whichever you prefer). Apple never made clear an official meaning for it.

 

[Sensa2004]

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

Not true.

The first priority for me in buying an SE was the form factor (i.e, size).

The 2nd was the price which was related to the fact I have almost no use for most of the additional features the other models have.

I have a 16 gb SE with 7.10 GB free - simply want to use it as a phone, text messages and checking email/web when on the road.

I just want a quality product within the Apple ecosystem with basic functionality that maintains the SE 4 inch form factor.

I may have to break down at some point and buy the "new" larger SE but only when my SE dies. If the new SE retained the 4 in form factor I would buy it the day it was released.

 

[D.T.]

I think a lot of that projection has to do more with the phone meeting a price point than a size requirement.

and that's really my point all along. A lot of folks (on here) are arguing that the SE was all about size. Imo it was All about hitting a price point for Apple. Size was just a bonus, for some.

Right, we don't/won't know the percentage of size vs. cost in terms of SE sales (and buyers). Clearly there are some folks here, that are vocal about it being just the form factor, some saying it was a little of both, I think at least one person that indicated it was cost motivated, and then the vast majority of owners that will remain a mystery. Still, I would assume Apple understands some of its non-Domestic markets where cost __is__ the single factor, what those sales look like in terms of overall SE sales, and it must have some perspective on that revenue vs. potential lost revenue for not serving those "we want small" customers.

 

[cocky jeremy]

How I imagine the SE fans when they read this news.

 

[BlowAway]

In no way is an iPhone 8 at all small.

It will be absolutely ridiculous if the new SE morphing into iPhone 8 with just an update on SoC.

 

[elv]

I think the small form factor of the SE was merely a coincidence and not a decision to serve a niche market. It simply shipped when the next generation of iPhones became bigger. The SE remained small because the iPhone 5 was the previous "normal" size. Apple has many reasons to re-use the iPhone 8 form factor now: existing tooling and factories, and all the supply chain…

 

[majkom]

Hej stupid apple, is that really that hard to copy paste samsung s10e? Really?

 

[tobefirst ⚽️]

My ideal phone: premium specs, ~4.7" full screen phone, wireless charging. I'd love an updated SE, but not in the 8 form factor. My X is barely bigger than the 8. I want something physically smaller.

 

[BlowAway]

I have a range of devices as an app developer. The plus size iPhone sits on my desk for testing. The SE is the one I use as my phone. I use it because it is the best size for me.

p.s. there are already more than 5 people saying they want this size.

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

 

[reallynotnick]

I have an iPhone 8, and while I too think it is slightly too big for my taste, I will likely upgrade to this because it will be the smallest iPhone Apple makes and it being cheap also doesn't hurt.

Personally I'd really love a 4.8-5.1" edge to edge iPhone 11 style phone, but that doesn't seem like it will happen.

 

[lordofthereef]

Not true.

The first priority for me in buying an SE was the form factor (i.e, size).

He said "sold". And not "purchased". The implication here is that Apple's goal here was to hit a price point. Buyers, such as yourself, may have found others bonuses, such as size. Nobody is really contesting that. What we are saying is that the size wasn't the main factor in Apple's design and launch of the product.