As rumors of Apple’s plan to release a next-gen version of its beloved iPhone SE continue to pick up steam, a new report from The Elec relays that Apple has tapped LG to supply the LCD displays for its rumored device. The report notes that LG had been trying to shy away from budget models but that its financial situation — along with some internal restructuring — doesn’t really allow it to be as choosy as it would like.
That aside, the report above adds further fuel to the notion that Apple is planning to launch an iPhone SE 2 early in 2020. Similar to the original, the iPhone SE 2 will boast an LCD display and will include some of Apple’s next-gen hardware, including the company’s blazing fast A13 Bionic. It’s also been rumored that the device will include Touch ID, 3GB of RAM and will be available in 64GB and 128GB capacities. It’s also worth mentioning that 3D Touch will not be a part of the feature-set, which isn’t terribly surprising given Apple’s recent decision to abandon the technology altogether.
Price-wise, reputed analyst Ming-Chi Kuo believes that Apple will price the iPhone SE 2 at about $399, thus making it an affordable upgrade option for folks looking for a new phone with advanced hardware at a more affordable price point. Not everyone, after all, is keen on spending upwards of $1000 on a new smartphone.
All told, the iPhone SE 2 sounds like a great device, but for the fact that it will reportedly boast a 4.7-inch display. While there are undoubtedly a lot of benefits to a large display, the popularity of the original iPhone SE is rooted in the fact that it offered up powerful hardware in a compact form factor. If anything, this was the entire appeal of the device.
With the iPhone SE 2, however, Kuo has relayed on numerous occasions that it will have a form factor similar in style to the iPhone 8. This is a bit disheartening as the iPhone SE was initially positioned as a device for people not keen on using a phone as large as an iPhone 8. The Apple rumor mill has been known to get things wrong in the past, so hopefully this proves to be such an instance.
As far a release date is concerned, it stands to reason that we’ll see the device hit store shelves sometime in March. Not only does this align with some rumors we’ve seen, but it would also make sense given that the original iPhone SE was released in March of 2016.
