It's been rumored that Apple is going to be updating the iPhone SE, which was released in March of 2016. The SE stands for Special Edition, though an article from Forbes names off 25 other possibilities for what the letters stand for.
Over the past few months, there has been a huge amount of information rumored regarding the new SE, but much of it is conflicting, and it is impossible to know whether any of it is true. Here are some of the rumors:
The Title
The new SE may not be called the SE 2. Apple might adopt the naming system they use for the iPad's and MacBooks for iPhone's. The SE, rather than being named the SE 2, would be called the SE (2018) or simply SE. It has also been rumored that Apple will use this naming scheme for the premium models that will be released in September.
The only negative would be that people wouldn't associate higher numbers with better phones, which would mean that people wouldn't feel as much pressure to upgrade for the same reason that you wouldn't upgrade a laptop every year or two.
The Display
Some sources say that the new SE will have an edge-to-edge display similar to the iPhone X, while others say that it will keep the 4-inch display that the previous model had. The edge to edge display would give the phone a much larger display, similar to the size of the iPhone 8, with the same footprint.
Headphone Jack?
Other reports have said that the new SE may have a headphone jack. This would make sense considering that the SE is a budget phone, and those that buy it may be more concerned with saving money than using wireless headphones.
There have been reports that claim that there won't be a headphone jack and the new SE would have stereo speakers like the 2017 premium handsets.
The Processor
The new SE will hopefully have an upgraded processor, but there is debate on which processor would be used.
If the SE comes with Apple's newest A11 Bionic chip, it would cost more, but it would also be faster.
If Apple is trying to make a budget phone, they would more likely use the A10 CPU. This would also ensure that the SE doesn't match the specs of the 2017 premium phones, as that could jeopardize sales of those devices.
Release Date
The original SE was released in March, 2016, but obviously that date is passed, and the new SE will not be released then. The next date would be when Apple releases the upgraded iPad's and MacBook's in June, as they have the past few years, but there hasn't ever been a phone released at one of these events.
Apple will release the dimensions of the phone several weeks in advance in order to give case manufacturers a head start to get cases ready for the release date of the iPhone's. Thus far, no dimensions have been released, which most likely means that there won't be a new SE unveiled in June.
The most likely date then, would be when the 2018 iPhone's are released in September.
The Price
Right now, the SE starts at $349, while the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus start at $699 and $799 respectively. Hopefully the new SE wouldn't exceed $400, if it is to be a budget phone.
Concept Models
Apple hasn't released any images so far, not even dimensions for case manufacturers. Because of this, nobody really knows what lays in store for the new SE.
Martin Hajek, who is a renowned concept designer, developed a render of the new SE which is similar to the previous model, with the exception of a glass back and a small camera bump. It doesn't show an edge to edge display, but it does show the phone lacking a headphone jack and adding stereo speakers.
YouTuber EverythingApplePro has also created a concept model. His model doesn't have a camera bump, and also removes the headphone jack.
A video that was posted on the social network Weibo showed the new SE having design cues strongly resembling the iPhone X's. This concept showed a slim camera bump on the rear that contained the dual camera configuration of the iPhone X. This concept was backed with a report that claimed the SE would include Face ID.
Benjamin Geskin, a well known mobile leaker, shared an image on Twitter that showed the iPhone SE with a glass back and wireless charging capabilities.
The Camera
It has been suggested that the new SE will ship with a major camera upgrade. The current SE model has a 12-megapixel rear camera, which is an upgrade from the 8 megapixels that the camera on the iPhone 5s has. If it is going to be able to be marketed as a budget phone, it will not have dual rear cameras, though.
Hopefully the front facing camera would get an upgrade from 1.2 megapixels. The iPhone 8 and X have a 7 megapixel front facing camera that makes for really good selfies, and other features that use that camera. Again, though, Apple might opt for a lower resolution in order to make the new SE more affordable.
A Budget Phone
In my opinion, Apple should leave out some of the premium features in order to release a phone that is affordable. While it would be awesome to have an edge-to-edge display, those screens are very expensive, and would drive up the price substantially, just like it did on the iPhone X. Having that type of display would make it mandatory to include Face ID, which would also drive up the price.
Having wireless charging would be a convenient feature, but personally, if it is going to drive up the price, I think it would be better to ditch that feature. Especially if the headphone jack would be coming back, it wouldn't be an issue to charge your phone while using wired headphones.
The headphone jack would make it so you don't have to purchase wireless headphones to have the convenience of being able to easily charge your phone while listening to media. Also, a budget phone would most likely be purchased by someone who wouldn't want to spend lots of extra money on wireless headphones.
I'm exited to see what Apple has in store for us with the new iPhone SE! Right now nearly everything is a mystery, and we likely won't know many solid facts until the phone is released.
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