The much-rumored 4-inch “iPhone 5se” will undergo a name change before it’s ever officially announced, says a report from 9to5Mac’s Mark Gurman. Gurman says Apple is going to fully embrace the “se” (special edition) portion of the name.
Now, we are hearing that Apple appears to be going all in on the special edition factor: sources say that Apple has decided to drop the “5” from the device’s name and simply call it the “iPhone SE.” This will mark the first iPhone upgrade without a number in its name and would logically remove it from a yearly update cycle.
The new “iPhone SE” will replace the iPhone 5s, and will take its price points in the iPhone lineup. Available in 16GB and 64GB capacities, the new device will look almost identical to the current 5s model, excepting slightly curved edges around the sides. An A9 processor, with an M9 motion co-processor for fitness tracking, always-on “Hey Siri” capabilities, Live Photos capability, 8-megapixel camera, and Apple Pay capabilities will round out the feature set for the new “iPhone SE.”
Apple is expected to hold a march 15th media event, where it will likely introduce the new iPhone, a new iPad Air 3/ 9.7-inch iPad Pro, and new bands for the Apple Watch. The new products could hit shelves as early as March 18th.
As usual, until we actually hear an official date for a media event, and see the new products shown at the event, this is all just at the rumor stage, and should be considered as such. However, Mr Gurman is a reliable member of the media, with usually reliable sources of his own.
