Sketchy report says iPhone SE 2 coming in September w/ Face ID, design still undecided

As we rounded up yesterday, there have been quite a few reports about the iPhone SE – but there’s still a lot that is unclear about the future of the device. Making things even more unclear today is a report from supply chain news site Macotakara, which makes new claims about the iPhone SE 2…

First and foremost, today’s report claims the iPhone SE 2 will not launch until September of this year. The supply chain sources cited here claim that mass production of the iPhone SE 2 has not yet started, with Apple targeting a release alongside its iPhone X refresh later this year.

This is intriguing as a flurry of regulatory filings last month indicated that Apple had new iPhones up its sleeve. Generally, those regulatory filings come a month ahead of release – suggesting that the iPhone SE 2 would be slated for a May, or perhaps early June, release.

As for design, the report says that Apple has “not yet made a final decision” and is still testing multiple prototypes. The report says Apple has tested a model with “the same format as the current iPhone SE ” as well as one with a 6-inch display.

The report goes on to note, however, that “all of the prototypes” have two things in common: a notch design and support for Face ID.

It’s hard to tell for sure what this report is saying, but here’s what we can infer. One of the prototypes detailed seems to be an iPhone SE 2 with the same physical form factor as the current model, but with a notch design on the front. Due to the edge-to-edge display, this would make for a slightly larger display, with the overall footprint staying the same.

The other model seems to be an iPhone SE 2 with a slightly larger overall footprint – giving it a 6-inch display with an edge-to-edge design.

It also sounds like Macotakara’s sources could be getting the iPhone SE 2 confused with the upcoming 6.1-inch LCD iPhone model. Other reports have claimed that Apple has a new iPhone form factor slated for this year with a 6.1-inch LCD display, and it sounds awfully similar to the ‘iPhone SE 2’ described here.

Ultimately, today’s report should be taken with a grain of salt as its claims aren’t necessarily the clearest and the sources are questionable. Read more about the iPhone SE 2 in our full roundup.

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