If you’ve been patiently waiting for Apple to release an iPhone SE 2, there’s good news and bad news. The bad news is that the iPhone SE 2, strictly speaking, doesn’t appear to be in Apple’s product pipeline for 2020. Despite a vocal contingent of users who prefer an affordable iPhone in a compact form factor, there’s no indication that Apple has plans to release a true successor to the iPhone SE until 2021, if at all.
The good news, though, is that Apple is planning to release a new and budget-friendly iPhone this coming March. And while the device won’t be as small as the iPhone SE, it will be drastically smaller than the entry-level iPhone 11 which boasts a gargantuan 6.1-inch display. According to a report from Bloomberg, the device in question will look similar to the iPhone 8 and is set to enter production in February ahead of an official release in March.
While the name of the forthcoming device remains unclear, there’s a decent chance the device in question will be dubbed the iPhone 9. What we do know, however, is what the iPhone 9 will bring to the table in terms of specs and pricing.
Based on a number of credible reports that have surfaced over the past few months, Apple’s iPhone 9 will feature a 4.7-inch display with Touch ID and Apple’s A13 Bionic processor underneath the hood. Further, the device will likely boast an advanced single-lens camera along with storage options of 64GB and 128GB. Essentially, imagine an iPhone 8 with vastly upgraded internals and you have the iPhone 9.
The device’s chief selling point will be its aggressive pricing. While exact pricing details remain murky, there have been reports claiming that the iPhone 9 may be priced as low as $399. That’s remarkably cheap relative to the iPhone 11 — which starts at $699 — and even the old iPhone 8 which you can still pick up for $449 via Apple’s website.
One feature the iPhone 9 will not have is 5G support, which makes sense given that it’s being positioned for price-conscious consumers. As far as color options are concerned, the iPhone 9 will reportedly be available in Space Gray, Silver, and Red.
As a final point, it’s no secret that iPhone sales tend to sag a bit in the months following the busy holiday shopping season. That said, it will be interesting to see if Apple’s low-budget iPhone 9 will be able to give a boost to stagnant iPhone sales ahead of the highly anticipated iPhone 12 release this coming fall.
