A reliable source today echos claims that Apple is developing an iPhone SE upgrade for early next year.
The new low-cost handset will feature Touch ID, just as expected — but it won’t be the new in-display Touch ID technology that Apple could bring to other handsets in 2020.
That means there’s no hope of an edge-to-edge display.
Just when it looked like the iPhone SE was a thing of the past, new rumors surfaced to reveal Apple is working on a big refresh for next spring. But it won’t be the iPhone SE upgrade we were hoping for.
Apple is expected to drop the handset’s compact form factor and instead use the iPhone 8’s design — with the same 4.7-inch screen.
New iPhone SE will be bigger
Those claims were today corroborated by ever-reliable Bloomberg reporter Mark Gurman, who cites sources familiar with Apple’s plans.
“Apple is also working on its first low-cost iPhone since the iPhone SE,” Gurman writes. “The device would look similar to the iPhone 8 and include a 4.7-inch screen.”
The new iPhone SE will retain Touch ID rather than switching to Face ID. But it won’t use Apple’s new in-display fingerprint scanning technology that could debut as early as next year.
iPhone SE 2 will be a refreshed iPhone 8
Instead, the new iPhone SE is expected to feature a physical Home button like traditional Apple handsets. That means it’ll have the same bulky bezels as the current iPhone 8.
As we mentioned on Wednesday, it sounds like the next-generation iPhone SE will be little more than a refreshed iPhone 8 with a new name. And that’s a big disappointment.
iPhone SE fans had been hoping for a more exciting upgrade that would see a larger edge-to-edge screen and Face ID packed into the same 4-inch form factor of the previous model.
For those who prefer compact smartphones, it seems your options will soon be even more limited.
