Roger Fingas
Apple is reportedly planning to ship a second-generation iPhone SE in the first of half of next year, assembled by Wistron at facilities in Bangalore, India.
Apple is going ahead with an "SE 2" because of the success of the original and its desire to target both low- and high-end markets, China's Economic Daily News said on Wednesday. While more expensive than some smartphones, the 4-inch SE is still the cheapest iPhone, starting at $349.
Wistron is already manufacturing SE units in India, in part because of Apple's desire bring the cost of the product down in the country. Over 75 percent of smartphones sold there cost less than $250, and Apple has regularly offered iPhone models considered outdated in other markets.
In August a report claimed that Wistron would be expanding Indian production in advance of a second-generation SE launching in the March quarter. The original debuted in March 2016.
Rumors have claimed than "SE 2" could sport an A10 Fusion processor, and other upgrades like a bigger 1,700 milliamp-hour battery. The phone is unlikely to have any of the distinguishing features of the iPhone 8 or X, such as wireless charging, Face ID, or an edge-to-edge display.
Andrew Orr
Amber Neely
William Gallagher
Christine McKee
AppleInsider Staff
74 Comments
Wish everyone would stop calling it the budget iPhone. For most of us, it's the size that counts, not the cost - if it were specced and priced the same as the iPhone 8, similar to what Sony did with they're Z range, I'm sure it would still sell in the millions.
Battery upgrade is a welcome boost, I've been impressed by my wife's iPhone 8 battery life so if it's at least on par with that I'd be delighted.
SE 2 will continue ride onto the success of SE in that market, India and surrounding nations. For western world, current SE is pretty much least of choice in iPhone lineup unless in future takes iPhone X characteristic. What Phone user's like ? More screen real estate(thin bezel,edge to edge screen,as little top/bottom space for camera/sensors,etc) in whatever frame put into is everyone's desire. Hoping for next year's LCD iPhone 8S / Plus have same/similar frame size but reflects iPhone X characteristic. When you put iPhone X next to 8 and 8 Plus; that top/bottom large spaces hits you in decision making with less desire to buy 8 / Plus over perfect iPhone X. Someday, Apple's dream of one slab of glass iPhone will come to fruition/realization.
I still like that design. For Halloween, I decorated using a HDTV connected up to my old iPhone 5 (running an older iOS, but still works). I put some YouTube videos on there to play for the kids who came to visit. I hadn’t used the 5/5s/5c/SE form factor in a long time, and I marveled at how useable, light, and slim that model was. And I know people who still use 5s models, despite the Internet trolls spinning the “disappointed” narrative when it was introduced.
Rather than paint it as out of date, I consider it one of Apple’s best designs: the quintessential iPhone. The refinement of Apple’s original design.
I wouldn’t mind if Apple introduced an updated iPod Touch with A10 and upgraded cameras and wireless.