It’s not even a month since Apple unveiled the iPhone 11 Series of smartphones, and the rumour mill is already at work, spreading words about the next phone that the Cupertino-based tech company is expected to launch. According to noted analyst Ming-Chi Kuo (via 9to5mac), Apple is all set to launch the iPhone SE2 in the first quarter of 2020. The new phone is claimed to be more affordable than the rest of the Apple iPhone lineup. It is said that it looks like an iPhone 8 and features powerful internals, like an A13 processor and 3GB RAM. Kuo predicts that Apple will sell 30 – 40 million units across 2020.
The first quarter time frame agrees with a report from Japanese publication Nikkei, which said that Apple is expected to launch a cheaper iPhone with iPhone 8-like design. But what does this mean? While there’s no clarity about the nitty-gritty of the phone, it's possible that it could feature a 4.7-inch LCD display and Touch ID home button. Kuo notes that the target audience of the iPhone SE2 would be the owners of iPhone 6 and iPhone 6s, which may have got the last iOS update.
An iPhone 8 with A13 chipset and 3GB RAM would make a fast phone, but the same may not have the multi-camera capabilities that the latest iPhones have. Kuo notes that there may be an 'urgent replacement demand' for users who want to the latest iOS 13 features. Further, if the iPhone 6 owners get a powerful phone to experience new services like Apple Arcade, it would mean more subscriptions – a business model that the company has been undeniably practising for a couple of years now.
The news of an iPhone SE successor has been making rounds since last year. It was claimed that Apple was looking to launch an affordable handset (iPhone SE2) along with last year’s flagship device. However, the affordable phone turned out to be the iPhone XR, and the reports about the iPhone SE successor faded.
For those who don’t know, Apple launched an affordable iPhone, called the iPhone SE, in 2016. The phone had an iPhone 5s chassis and iPhone 6s internals. While there’s already an affordable iPhone in the market, it is yet to be seen where the rumoured iPhone SE2 will fit in. It could be possible that Apple may discontinue iPhone 8 if it launches iPhone SE2.
