According to information leaked by Nikkei Asian Review, Apple plans to release an updated iPhone SE sometime next year.
This will be hot on the heels of the iPhone 11, which is expected to be announced within the next few days.
The decision to release the iPhone SE so soon after the iPhone 11 might well indicate that the company doesn’t have much faith in the latter’s ability to turn around sluggish sales.
Apple’s share of the global smartphone market is shrinking, and the launch of a cheaper iPhone next year could be an attempt to court buyers in emerging countries and regain lost market share from competitors such as Huawei.
The iPhone SE 2 will be the company’s first low-price smartphone since it launched the original iPhone SE for around $399 in 2016.
Although Apple has reportedly not decided on a name and price for the device, it is widely believed to be the second-generation iPhone SE.
This can have several benefits for the average phone buyer.
The SE 2 is likely to replace two current models – the iPhone 7 and the iPhone 8 – but it will probably cost less.
This will allow Apple to more effectively compete with mid-range smartphones sold by competitors such as Nokia, Honor and OnePlus.
At 4.7 inches, the screen size of the SE 2 would be bigger than the original SE, but it would still be the smallest among the new generation of iPhones.
Some dedicated fans, Apple seems to believe, would rather buy a small-screen Apple device like that than a bigger smartphone, most likely with better specs, from a company such as Huawei.
In an interview with Nikkei Asian Review, GF Securities’ tech analyst Jeff Pu said: “The cheaper iPhone SE could serve as a sales momentum kicker the first half next year, if the new premium iPhones do not perform well in the coming months.”