New iPhone SE 2 release date, price & specs rumours
Apple's new budget iPhone for 2020 looks set to arrive very soon indeed - but it won't be called the iPhone 9 after all, but simply 'iPhone SE'. We predict its release date, price, tech specs, design and new features
In this article we collect and analyse the clues pointing to the new iPhone SE's release date, tech specs, design, new features and price, and gather the best and most interesting leaked images and videos making the rounds on the internet.
In brief, current rumours predict the following iPhone SE 2/iPhone 9 launch details:
Launch announcement 15 April 2020
4.7in display
A13 Bionic processor chip
3GB of RAM
64GB baseline storage, with options for 128GB and 256GB
Updated LCP antenna for improved wireless performance
White, black and red colour finishes
iPhone 8-style design
Touch ID not Face ID
Price from $399
Release date: When will the iPhone 9 come out?
iPhone 9 release date: 15 April 2020 (tentatively)
We know that a new iPhone SE exists, following the leak (to 9to5Mac) of an early build of iOS 14 which mentions the device in its code. This indicates, incidentally, that the iPhone 9 will support Transit Express, and 9to5Mac believes this will be used to encourage owners of the iPhone 6 (which does not) to finally make the upgrade.
And multiple sources now point to a launch in April - although they are split over which day will see the announcement.
A tip from a "highly trusted" 9to5Mac reader on 2 April suggests it would arrive within days. This is backed up by an amazing gaffe on Apple's own website: a screen protector for iPhone 8 and iPhone SE was available for a short time, indicating that a new SE would shortly appear with the same screen dimensions (4.7in) as the 8.
What will the next iPhone SE be called?
Throughout this rumour cycle the three favourites have been iPhone SE 2, iPhone SE Pro and iPhone 9. The latter jumped to the front of the pack in December 2019, when a Macotakara source predicted that Apple would use the oddly neglected number nine for its next petite smartphone, after jumping from the iPhone 8 to the iPhone X (pronounced ten) and then 11.
But it looks like all of those theories were so much hot air, and based on the screen protector leak shown above, Apple is going to confound us all by calling it simply iPhone SE. Which, let's be honest, is quite confusing. Here at Macworld we will call it iPhone SE (2020) to differentiate it from its 2016 namesake.
Price: How much will the iPhone SE 2 cost?
TF International Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo is estimating $399 (which we'd translate to £399 or slightly above, based on Apple's usual formula).
Until September 2018 the iPhone SE cost £379/$399 for the 32GB version, and £479/$449 for 128GB; it was then discontinued. Those prices are comparable to the iPhone 8 (Apple's current cheapest phone), which starts at £479/$449 for 64GB.
Note that if the SE 2 is launched, it may not launch where you live. Some reports back in 2018 suggested that a new SE handset might launch, but not be available everywhere.
Why Apple needs a new iPhone SE:-
Apple still sells a lot of iPhones, but by the company's stellar standards sales have taken a dip in recent quarters. Is this down to the lack of a small and affordable handset in Apple's range?
Maybe. Tim Cook suggested that China was key to Apple's reduction in estimates for Apple's Q1 2019, blaming trade wars and the economic downturn in that part of the world. But the current iPhone range doesn't seem well-suited to this huge and largely untapped market, which is amply supplied with cheaper phones from the Far East's own manufacturers.
Assuming that China doesn't ban Apple in retaliation for the (seemingly temporary) Huawei ban, the appears ripe for the launch of a low-priced Apple handset that would appeal to fashion-conscious consumers who don't want to settle for a phone that's more than two years old. It's possible that Apple saw the iPhone XR (and its successor the non-Pro iPhone 11) as fulfilling these criteria: at a launch price of £749/$749 the XR was cheaper than the XS, and the iPhone 11 has been announced at $699 in the US. But these are still higher numbers than what the SE cost when brand new.
Interestingly, during the first few months of 2019 Apple started selling off some stock of the SE in surprise sales. Stock cleared quickly, suggesting that there is both demand for an iPhone that size (4in) and that people are desperate for a low-cost iPhone. Having established the level of demand, could Apple now determine that it is time to launch a new iPhone SE?
In what could be seen as an attempt to disguise the high price of the XR Apple has advertised the handset as if it cost £499/$499 - but that is only as a trade-in if you have a reasonably new handset to swap. What Apple needs is a phone that actually costs £499/$499.
Source: Macworld (Rumour)
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