It took Apple four years to trot out a successor to the first-generation iPhone SE, but the next iteration could arrive sooner than that.
A tweet from Display Supply Chain Consultants' Ross Young that sheds light on Apple's smartphone plans beyond the iPhone 12 claims that Cupertino is planning to launch the third-generation iPhone SE in spring 2022.
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According to a chart Young shared that sources information from investment firm Mizuho Securities, the next iPhone SE will reportedly employ a 6.1-inch LCD screen and dual cameras. However, it'll lack Face ID, opting instead for a fingerprint sensor.
What's more, this entry-level device will support sub-6GHz 5G only, skipping out on faster millimeter-wave 5G technology that looks to be exclusive to Pro-series iPhones for the foreseeable future.
If lots of those specs sound familiar, perhaps they should. The 2022 iPhone SE sounds an awful lot like the soon-to-be-discontinued iPhone 11, which also has a 6.1-inch LCD screen and a pair of 12-megapixel wide and ultrawide lenses on the back.
Like DSCC, Mizuho Securities also says no new iPhone SE model in 2021, have to wait till 2022. They do say all iPhone 13 models will have integrated touch, BOE will join LGD on both 6.1" models, mini and 13 will adopt 12 Pro Max camera sensors, & sensor size will increase on Pro. pic.twitter.com/G9f6cz8dm0October 2, 2020
According to Young's tweet, the next iPhone SE will in fact repurpose the cameras in the iPhone 11, adding legitimacy to the theory that Apple will bring the iPhone 11 back as an SE model after a year away, just like it did with first- and second-generation iPhone SE that were based on the iPhone 5S and iPhone 8, respectively.
The rest of Young's tweet reveals a swath of information surrounding the iPhone 13 series, which we've explored in greater detail in another article. The iPhone 13 series will reportedly once again consist of four devices, just like the iPhone 12 line, with the pricier Pro variants once-and-for-all getting 120 Hz ProMotion displays. This was a feature Apple had long been rumored to introduce with the iPhone 12 Pro, though the latest line on that subject is that the company has decided to shelve faster refresh-rate panels this go around.
All in all, the next iPhone SE sounds like a logical step forward, and perhaps the final death knell for the classic, home-button, big-bezel iPhones of old. A 6.1-inch iPhone SE does seem a bit too large for a series of devices that has typically played its compact form factor as a significant part of its charm, but at this rate, who knows how gigantic the average smartphone will be come 2022.
