iPhone SE 2 will launch in the first few months of 2020, reliable Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has reported. Kuo has incredibly solid sources within the supply chain that feed him with (more often than not) reliable information about future products planned by the iPhone manufacturer.
According to Kuo, the new iPhone SE will follow in the footsteps of the March 2016 original – leveraging an older industrial design, but cramming in the latest silicon.
While the first-generation iPhone SE, which purportedly stood for Special Edition although this was never confirmed by Apple, took the shell of the iPhone 5S and poured in the internals of the iPhone 6S and 6S Plus, the new model will seemingly use the body of an iPhone 8.
Meanwhile, it will boast the same A13 Bionic chipset found inside the iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro and iPhone 11 Pro Max.
That means the iPhone SE 2 should be able to keep up with the latest iOS features for years to come. Apple is much better than most companies when it comes to rolling-out new software and features to its ageing hardware, but having the latest system-on-a-chip from the firm should mean this more affordable iPhone is a much better option than buying a second-hand smartphone or older iPhone model, which will be powered by older silicon and are therefore much more likely to be dropped from future updates sooner.
Unlike the A13-toting iPhone 11 and 11 Pro models, the new iPhone SE will keep the Touch ID fingerprint scanner seen on older iPhones, so you won’t be able to send videos of your MeMoji character mimicking your facial movements and speaking with your voice. Touch ID is still available on a number of iPad models, older iPhones and MacBooks, so the technology hasn’t been completely phased out of Apple’s portfolio, it’s just not the latest and greatest biometric system on offer.
And how much is all this going to cost?
Well, Ming-Chi Kuo has some information on that too. According to the analyst, the iPhone SE 2 will start from $399. That’s roughly £310 converted, although it’s possible that Apple keeps the numerical value the same and simply swaps the dollar symbol for a pound in the UK store – something it has done with previous hardware launches.
For content, Apple currently charges £479 for a new iPhone 8 in the Apple Store. Given that handset launched back in September 2017, this new iPhone SE 2 seems like a real bargain.
If Ming-Chi Kuo is correct, there isn’t long left for iPhone fans to wait. His sources suggest we’ll see the second-generation iPhone SE on shelves in the first few months of the year.