New iPhone SE Could Launch in May With Touch ID and A10 Fusion, Without 3.5mm Headphone Jack

[nt5672]

Same design from 2012? Ugh. That's just lazy. They could have easily updated the body to a more current design.

There are some of us that don't judge our self worth and popularity by the style of our phone. The SE feels better, is easier to handle without dropping, fits in a pocket better, and is generally a better phone. Now, I do understand that some people spend most of their waking time on their phone taking selfies, tweeting, showing off, being popular, etc., but some of us have real work to do and just need a phone with the occasional need to visit the internet, checking with contacts, etc.

So for us it's just a phone, not a fashion statement. Yes we want it fast, the best graphics, and we want the latest security.

 

[Falhófnir]

That would be extremely nice but I wonder if it fits Apple's price point and internal feature set expectations for the SE line? Consistent with keeping the SoC at least a generation behind current phones, I wonder whether they'd go for 3D Touch. (There was a rumor that the least expensive of the phones for 2018 was going to be released without 3D Touch.)

That is a good point it’s probably not an inexpensive feature to add... I wonder if they wouldn’t be better off making the SE a little more expensive and keeping the 6s as the new cheapest option iPhone - like they have done with the iPad mini. A 4.7” for the price the SE currently retails at would probably be tempting to a wider audience, and the SE would become the device for those who really want the 4” or something a little more up to date than the 6s.

 

[currentinterest]

Apple used the A10 for the new iPad and every review praised its performance. With the small display of the SE my guess is that real world performance will be as good or better than most other manufacturers’ flagships. Further, the A9 was essentially used for two years. An A10 phone with largely the same form factor will likely be a place holder until Apple moves to Face ID for the entire line in 2019. With a better camera and a glass back this will be a nice update. They may even lower the price to $329.

 

[thadoggfather]

Apple used the A10 for the new iPad and every review praised its performance. With the small display of the SE my guess is that real world performance will be as good or better than most other manufacturers’ flagships. Further, the A9 was essentially used for two years. An A10 phone with largely the same form factor will likely be a place holder until Apple moves to Face ID for the entire line in 2019. With a better camera and a glass back this will be a nice update. They may even lower the price to $329.

Thats a good point

iPad 2018 education model kinda set the stage for SE2 to be a lackluster update too

so much for people holding out on SE1, but I understand the reasoning too given its 2 years old.

maybe one day they'll go all out on a premium SE-sized phone. that day may not be this year

 

[KPandian1]

Stop including chargers . . . no thanks.

I need the chargers - once every four years is not a bad burden.

I prefer Apple upgrade the quality of its Lightning cables; as with all the Apple cables before, they are crap. Within six months, the outer sleeve frays at the 1mm point outside the harder tube. The conducting cables follow soon after. MFI cables are better, while the original cables are $25 at Apple!

Wonder how many iPhones were lost to the short-circuit at the Lightning port from these cables. Those unexplained errors (Apple code 2001-2009 and more) that fry the capacitor that powers the MotherBoard, leading to entire loss of the phone across several year models (iPhones 4S to 7).

 

[baryon]

Can't wait to get rid of this horrible headphone jack, I hate it so much, being able to connect to every headphone ever made by mankind in the past 100 years, I wish I could only ever connect to expensive, low quality adapters and expensive headphones!

 

[BMcCoy]

A modest update would certainly fit with a non-keynote refresh in May.

A more significant upgrade to the SE would see it announced in the WWDC keynote in June.

Probably.

 

[Juicy Box]

Considering the 6S+ has a better display, 3D touch, 2nd gen touchid, OIS, better front facing camera I’d say it was a downgrade in terms of features

While all true, the only thing I end up missing from the iPhone 6s Plus was the 2nd Gen TouchID. Going back to the 1st Gen was very noticeable.

Everything else really didn't matter to me. I hated 3D touch, and I had it disabled after a few months using it.

 

[bodonnell202]

They did it before. And did it sooner. But I agree they will dial it back this time. They don’t want anyone feeling like they get a good deal at low list price on an Apple product.

Apple already has the money of the die hards who absolutely must have the latest and greatest and they know that those people will not be spending money on another iPhone until the next gen debuts in the fall. If it was only about making a cheap iPhone sticking with an A10 makes sense (really why upgrade at all, the A9 is still fine) since some people will buy the cheapest iPhone no matter what. By sticking in an A11 and (probably) a half decent camera upgrade they are making it a compelling upgrade to the folks who like the smaller form factor and aren't as sensitive to price. Two birds with one stone and Apple bolsters their iPhone sales a bit during their off season.

That and considering how much smaller the A11 is than the A10 I doubt the cost difference is much (and with presumably good yields by now on the 10 nm process the A11 might actually be cheaper to make than the A10 now.)

 

[deckard666]

If Apple believes in a wireless future, they have to include a pair of wireless headphones at some point.

You do know you can connect any normal headphones via the Lightning port ?

 

[thadoggfather]

it might even be cheaper for them to put a10 in than keep manufacturing a9 at this point, and remove headphone jack to usher in wireless beats and AirPod sales and adapters

 

[dannyyankou]

You do know you can connect any normal headphones via the Lightning port ?

But then you can’t charge at the same time. An unnecessary inconvenience.

 

[44267547]

I think my wife would like one, but I won't get it for her unless it has at least an A11 chip.

Highly doubtful it would have the A11 Bionic processor. The A11 Bionic really is more so intended for Face ID with the machine learning process and Animoji's with the neutral engine. Even if the SE was equipped with the A10 Fusion from the iPhone 7, Thats still more than enough power, even the current A9 still performs decent through iOS 11. I understand the SE/6S share the same processor when they released separately, but saying you won’t buy a revised SE if it doesn’t have the A11 doesn’t mean its any less capable either if it has the A10.

 

[ftaok]

At least? The A11 is the newest processor out right now. It won't have an A11 chip.

Dang, someone has high exceptions. Apple has to keep the cost down somehow. A10 would be fine for this particular device, though.

That will the the SE3, expected in 2021. No A11 in this one.

I guess a lot depends on when the device ships. Mainly, I was going by how the original SE came with the latest and greatest CPU (the A9).

If the SE2 came out today and followed the formula of the SE, it would have an A11. However, if the SE comes out in the fall with the rest of the new phones, then the A11 would be an even likelier choice, as the flagships would have the A12.

All in all, I have no idea what it'll have. I just won't buy it unless it has the A11. No point in buying a new phone with a 2 year old chip in my situation. I'll just get her an iPhone with the A12 then.
[doublepost=1524242307][/doublepost]

Highly doubtful it would have the A11 Bionic processor. The A11 Bionic really is more so intended for Face ID with the machine learning process and Animoji's with the neutral engine. Even if the SE was equipped with the A10 Fusion from the iPhone 7, Thats still more than enough power, even the current A9 still performs decent through iOS 11. I understand the SE/6S share the same processor when they released separately, but saying you won’t buy a revised SE if it doesn’t have the A11 doesn’t mean its any less capable either if it has the A10.

Yeah, I don't care about whether the A10 has enough power or not. For me (my wife really), I just won't buy it. I'll get her the X2 or 9 or whichever she wants that has the A12 then.

EDIT - Of course, I'll get myself the X2. haha

EDIT2 - Forgot to mention that we hold onto our phones for as long as we can. We're still on iPhone6. So I want to make sure I have the latest processor so that I can have a halfway decent experience in year 4. No point in getting a device that won't age into year 4 that well.

The ony reason she'd want the SE2 is for the iPhone5 form factor. If it (IMO) can't handle year 4 well, then I'll just get her the X2/9 which should handle year 4 ... although our the iPhone6 has been absolutely crappy this last year.

 

[deanthedev]

Do you buy something because it fits your own user profile/patterns or because most people do?

I buy things that fit my use cases and do what I feel is important, not what the vocal monitory who whine online think is important. And this is really the crux of the matter - most people don't care about the headphone jack. Yet a few people continue to endlessly complain about it with the supreme arrogance that their opinion is somehow more important than the majority who don't care.

 

[44267547]

it might even be cheaper for them to put a10 in than keep manufacturing a9 at this point, and remove headphone jack to usher in wireless beats and AirPod sales and adapters

I agree. If Apple tweaks the casing, the 3.5 Jack would likely be deleted. The Airpods are their focus and they have shown to be extremely popular. I believe if a revamped SE does launch (Which I am skeptical of), it will have the A10 Fusion and no 3.5 Jack.

 

[Falhófnir]

Apple already has the money of the die hards who absolutely must have the latest and greatest and they know that those people will not be spending money on another iPhone until the next gen debuts in the fall. If it was only about making a cheap iPhone sticking with an A10 makes sense (really why upgrade at all, the A9 is still fine) since some people will buy the cheapest iPhone no matter what. By sticking in an A11 and (probably) a half decent camera upgrade they are making it a compelling upgrade to the folks who like the smaller form factor and aren't as sensitive to price. Two birds with one stone and Apple bolsters their iPhone sales a bit during their off season.

That and considering how much smaller the A11 is than the A10 I doubt the cost difference is much (and with presumably good yields by now on the 10 nm process the A11 might actually be cheaper to make than the A10 now.)

I wonder if it won’t be the A11 just so they can more or less leave it alone for another 3 years? An A10 is still flagship grade at this point (compared to what android are using) but in 3 years time? I think this might have been a factor in why the iPod touch got the A8 rather than the A7 and the SE got the A9 rather than the A8 (in both cases those were the latest available processors). In the case of the latest iPad, I guess because that’s likely to be refreshed next year it’s not an issue.

 

[interessiert]

Believe not every fairy tale...

Never A10 fusion!

 

[Misuteri]

It would have to be so cheap that it's only real use is landfill. Apple should stop including chargers and wired headphones and lower their retail price to the cost of manufacturing +10%. How many 5w iPhone chargers have passed thru your hands and into the recycle bin?

We have like 4 sitting in drawers. We give them to guests.

 

[neoelectronaut]

I figured the headphone jack would be coming off, so no surprise there.

Hopefully that extra .2 inches isn't noticeable.

I only bought my SE last year when the 128GB model dropped so it's a bit too soon to replace it, but I'll probably give this a long, hard look this time next year.

 

[ftaok]

I just begrudgingly* updated from my SE (A9) to the red iPhone 8 (A11). Honestly see no difference in anything cpu/performance related. Note that I do not game on my phone though, which is probably the only thing that needs cpu boosts at this point (and AR gimmicks).

That said, it does seem kind of silly to ship an SE2 with a 1.5 year old cpu, even if it's perfedtly viable.

* My SE was only 16GB, and that was killing me. And I couldn't seriously convince myself to "upgrade" to a 64GB SE.

Yeah, the A10 will be 2 years old in September. Not liking the thought of using an A10 in 2020. It'll be 4 years old by then and the phone will only be 2 years old.

 

[jclardy]

Hmm. $399 for 64GB and it might be an interesting option. Getting rid of the headphone jack is pretty lame though, considering they aren't upgrading the display.

 

[jonnyb098]

If they slap a glass back on it, put an A10 and give it the iPhone 7 or 8 camera, then it’s very very tempting. Basically it would be the iPhone 4, which was in my opinion the best design they ever did. The prices of iPhones keep going up and up every year when people are starting to greatly slow their upgrade cycles. Phones are just good enough now.

I use my iPad Pro for so much I just want a nice one handed iPhone with a good camera since I don’t live on my phone. I’m still debating the iPhone 8 but even 699 for what is to me just a camera upgrade feels a bit steep....I know the 8 offers a lot more obviously but for me the most tangible upgrade from my 6S would be the camera.

 

[BMcCoy]

I would like the headphone jack to persist.
- my use is in car, daily, with lightning port charging from my car charger(usb), and headphone jack to audio-in of my car stereo.

It won’t surprise me if the headphone jack does indeed disappear; in which case is there any such thing as a lightning-to-lightning-AND-headphone jack adapter splitter thing?

 

[Mr. Donahue]

The original SE got the most up to date chip. iPhone 6s had the A9, the SE got the A9 six months later.

Right!!!!!!! I don’t know why people find that so surprising.
They did it before