Apple’s “iPhone SE 2” will go into mass production in January 2020, gearing up for a late March launch, says well-connected Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.
Kuo’s predictions jibe with his previous assertions that the iPhone SE replacement would hit shelves in Q2 2020. Kup expects the device to start at $399.
March has been the month Apple’s affordable iPhone options have been introduced in the past, as the original iPhone SE was announced on March 21, 2016, pre-orders for the device bagan on March 24, and the device hit shelves on March 31 of that year. Nearly one year later, on March 24, 2017, an iPhone SE with larger storage capacities was announced.
Apple has also held special launch events during the month of March for the last 2 years.
Kuo expects the “iPhone SE 2” to resemble the iPhone 8, and sees it as a “key growth driver” for Apple in 2020, especially among iPhone 6 and iPhone 6s owners. He believes owners of those devices have little desire for such features as Face ID, and double and triple-lens cameras like those found on Apple’s more expensive handsets.
The new low-priced iPhone is said to offer the following:
- A13 CPU
- 3GB LPDDR4X RAM
- 4.7-inch display
- No 3D Touch
- 64GB and 128GB options
- Color options in: Space Gray, Silver and Red
- Home button
- LCP (Liquid Crystal Polymer) antenna design
Kuo estimates monthly shipments of the new iPhone to be between 2 and 4 million units.
Korean website The Elec recently reported that LG is said to be in talks with Apple to supply the LCD displays for the iPhone SE successor. The publication’s sources tell them that the panels are currently undergoing last-minute quality checks.
Of course, all of this should be considered rumors until the official announcement, even when the source is Kuo. The name “iPhone SE 2” isn’t set in stone, and the device could be called something else, if it is released at all. We’ll keep you posted.
