When Apple released its iPhone 6 lineup back in 2016, it sparked the biggest iPhone refresh cycle to date. And with good reason, many users had been patiently waiting for Apple to release an iPhone with a bigger form factor for quite some time. The success of the iPhone 6 notwithstanding, a small yet vocal minority of iPhone owners were not interested in the device. Indeed, some iPhone owners found Apple’s bigger iPhone models to be unwieldy and expressed a preference for a smaller device.
Apple, though, ignored this group of users for quite some time. Even 18 months after the iPhone 6 was released, the iPhone 5s — which by then was two and a half years old — remained the only 4-inch iPhone option users could pick up. Eventually, Apple in March of 2016 released the iPhone SE, a 4-inch iPhone that looked like an iPhone 5s but packed the internals of the 2015 iPhone 6s. Interestingly enough, the iPhone SE proved to be more successful than even Apple envisioned.
“We’re thrilled with the response that we’ve seen on [the iPhone SE],” Tim Cook said during an earnings conference call in 2016. “It’s clear there’s a demand there that’s much beyond what we thought, which is why we have the constraint that we have.”
In recent weeks, we’ve seen a number of rumors surrounding a next-gen iPhone SE. From what we can gather so far, the iPhone SE 2 will essentially look the same as its predecessor but will feature the same internals as the iPhone 7. Additionally, there are rumblings that the iPhone SE 2 will incorporate wireless charging functionality.
With the iPhone SE line positioned as a more affordable alternative to other models in Apple’s iPhone lineup, it certainly stands to reason that the iPhone SE 2 will not feature an edge-to-edge display a’la the iPhone X. Still, with the Apple rumor mill being what it is, there are still sketchy reports claiming otherwise. And while an iPhone SE 2 featuring an edgeless display would certainly be an exciting development for iPhone SE fans, it’s probably a pipe dream.
That said, case maker Olixar recently released alleged iPhone SE 2 renders which feature an edgeless display. The renders are certainly intriguing, but when Apple does release the SE 2 — perhaps this month according to some reports — don’t expect to see a brand new form factor.
