Most rumors and supply chain leaks have called Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s next-gen smartphones iPhone 7 and 7 Plus. But there have been a handful of reports indicating that Apple could call the device iPhone 6SE as it will retain the design elements of the iPhone 6 and 6S. A new leak coming out of China also points to the name iPhone 6SE. Someone in China obtained a prototype of the upcoming iPhone and ran Geekbench on it.
iPhone 7 / iPhone 6SE Geekbench score
The benchmark refers to the device as iPhone 6SE. It runs the iOS 10 operating system. The phone scored 3,042 in the single-core test and 5,210 in the multi-core test. The same source added that Apple’s upcoming smartphone won’t feature the much-rumored pressure-sensitive home button as the prototype still has a physical home button. This is not the only leak pointing to the name iPhone 6SE.
Folks at TechTastic.nl and Priceraja have obtained images of product packaging with the name iPhone 6SE. But the images don’t look legitimate. As 9to5Mac points out, the photos look like doctored images of the iPhone 6 and iPhone SE packaging blended using Photoshop. Even though the upcoming iPhone will look a lot like the iPhone 6S, Apple has strong reasons not to call it iPhone 6SE.
‘iPhone 6SE’ would downplay the new features and upgrades
Calling it iPhone 6SE would hurt the device on the marketing front because consumers would confuse it with the SE, which was a budget, mid-range offering. Attaching the ‘SE’ moniker would downplay all the new features and upgrades the new iPhones will have. The new iPhones are rumored to be unveiled on September 7, and will be available for pre-order on September 9.
The iPhone 7 and 7 Plus are said to have redesigned antenna lines, an A10 processor, and 32GB of base storage. With new iPhones, Apple is widely expected to ditch the 3.5mm headphone jack. While the 4.7-inch model will get a new camera with Optical Image Stabilization, its bigger sibling would feature a dual-camera setup. It means the iPhone 7 Plus will combine the images taken by two cameras to create richer, sharper images.
