Rumours about the next model of Apple’s fan-favourite compact smartphone are already in full effect, though it could be well over a year before we see one.
Analyst Ross Young posted to Twitter on April 1 — grain of salt, etc. — that the next iPhone SE will arrive in 2022 with the same 4.7-inch form factor as the current SE. This refreshed model, Young wrote, could come equipped with the sub-6GHz variation of 5G rather than support for all bands, including ultra-fast millimetre-wave spectrum. Young also mentioned hearing of a 6.1-inch model with a “punch hole rather than a notch” that could be released in 2023.
Some of this jibes with a previous report from reliable Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo last month. Citing a Kuo supply chain report, 9to5Mac reported that Kuo, too, expects 5G connectivity to arrive in a 2022 model of the iPhone SE. Kuo also said to expect a 2022 model to have a 4.7-inch design, but with an upgraded processor.
Most interesting among these rumours is that Apple could be planning to scrap the SE’s form factor for a larger display. It’s unclear whether the SE will sport the same size body with slimmer bezels, or whether Apple will size up the SE (the latter would be bad news for the tiny-handed among us).
Being that we are seemingly more than a year out from getting a newer iPhone SE — per reports that have a new release projected for 2022 — there’s still plenty of time for SE rumours to generate hype around a newer, more powerful device. But it’s looking interesting.