The iPhone SE 2 rumors have been circulating on the Internet for the last several months. Apple hasn’t updated the 4-inch iPhone SE since introducing it in March 2016. Last year, the tech giant merely doubled the storage options from 16GB and 64GB to 32GB and 128GB while keeping the same price. A plethora of iPhone SE 2 rumors and leaks suggest that Apple will soon update its 4-inch phone.
Despite the vast number of leaks, it’s still unclear whether Apple will only upgrade the internals or launch it with an entirely new design. Often reliable KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has told clients that it will bring only minor internal upgrades such as a faster processor and an improved camera. However, Japanese blog Mac Otakara has learned from supply chain sources that the iPhone SE 2 would get a dramatic design overhaul to offer new features such as wireless charging.
Sources told Mac Otakara that Apple hasn’t asked its manufacturing partners to start producing the iPhone SE 2 yet. It means the tech giant won’t be able to launch the iPhone SE successor until September. Apple hasn’t yet “made a final decision” on the iPhone SE 2 design. It is testing multiple prototypes, and any of them could make it to final production.
According to Mac Otakara, one of the prototypes looks like the current iPhone SE while another has a giant 6-inch screen. There is also a prototype with an iPhone X-like top cutout to accommodate the front camera and other sensors. It has a bezel-less design with no physical home button or Touch ID. At least two of the prototypes have a glass back to support wireless charging.
Previous iPhone SE 2 rumors have claimed that the device could be unveiled at the WWDC event in June. Apple’s WWDC event usually focuses on software such as iOS, macOS, tvOS, and watchOS. Twitter tipster Benjamin Geskin recently shared pictures of a display glass that had an iPhone X-like top notch, but he said in a follow-up tweet that the iPhone SE 2 would have the same design and display as its predecessor.
I have to say, that my main source is saying that SE2 will have the same design (and display) as the first SE, but with a glass back.
— Ben Geskin (@BenGeskin) May 10, 2018
Folks at MacRumors also recently obtained case renders from the accessories maker Olixar. The renders depicted the second-generation iPhone SE with an iPhone X-like front panel and a notch. It had an aluminum frame. Olixar’s renders indicate that the device might not feature the Face ID camera system because the top cutout is only half as wide as that of the iPhone X.
If the iPhone SE 2 arrives with a bezel-less display and without Face ID, it is unclear what security method Apple would use on the device. There is no room for a Touch ID button on a bezel-less device.
Mac Otakara says Apple is also testing a 6-inch prototype. If the company chooses to release this model with Face ID technology without any major price hike, it could significantly cannibalize the sales of Apple’s premium smartphones. Since Apple hasn’t yet decided on which prototype would enter mass production, it’s difficult to say what the device would look like. The iPhone SE 2 rumors are to be taken with a pinch of salt.
The device will likely be powered by the A10 processor that was found in the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus. There have also been rumors that the upcoming model could ditch the 3.5mm headphone jack. Removing the audio jack would allow Apple to make the iPhone SE 2 water-resistant. We can expect the handset to run iOS 12 out of the box if it is released in September.
It’s also possible that the iPhone SE 2 could be the LCD iPhone that Ming-Chi Kuo claims Apple will launch in September alongside the iPhone X Plus and second-gen iPhone X. It is said to have a 6.1-inch LCD screen with an iPhone X-like design. Mac Otakara’s sources might be talking about the LCD iPhone, which would hit the store shelves in September, rather than the iPhone SE 2. The 6.1-inch LCD iPhone would feature Face ID, but lack the OLED panel and 3D Touch functionality to achieve a lower price point.
Referring to the LCD iPhone as iPhone 8S, Rosenblatt Securities analyst Jun Zhang told investors that the device would revive the color scheme of the iPhone 5C to attract the younger consumer market. Zhang predicts the iPhone 8S (the LCD model) will launch in blue, pink, and yellow colors. The iPhone 8S could cost as low as $799, much lower than the second-gen iPhone X and 6.5-inch iPhone X Plus.
Zhang estimates that Apple will produce 120 million iPhone units in the second half of this year. Of them, at least 60 million units will be the LCD iPhones and 50 million will be the OLED iPhones.
