In January, we reported that Apple would be launching a new 4-inch iPhone in March with a design “nearly identical” to that of the iPhone 5s from 2013. Since then, several rumors and teases from various case makers have teased that the new 4-inch iPhone may have a design that looks a bit closer to the iPhone 6 in both shape and look. Checks with additional sources indicate that the iPhone SE, to be launched at Apple’s March 21st event next week, will look “almost exactly the same” as the iPhone 5s…
This means the phone will include a boxier, not curved, design complete with rounded volume buttons, a power button on the top, a headphone jack, speaker, and microphone on the bottom, and a back with a metal center and a glass bottom and top. We previously reported that the only easily apparent difference would be the product’s edges. There have been mixed reports regarding the look of the new edges, and sources say that while the front edges could be “very slightly” curved, the potential change is not noticeable. Regardless, the iPhone SE’s edges will be less shiny and likely lose the shiny mirror finish that helped make the iPhone 5s prone to scratches.
The other hardware differences are internal: an A9 processor, an M9 chip for always-on “Hey Siri” support, an NFC chip for Apple Pay, and upgrades to the cellular and WiFi hardware. We have now also learned that the device’s rear camera system will match the system found on the iPhone 6s: the iPhone SE is said to include a 12 megapixel camera and 4K video recording support like the upcoming smaller iPad Pro. We previously reported the ability to take Live Photos is also in the mix.
As for capacities, colors, and pricing, our previous reports indicate that the iPhone SE will come in 16 GB and 64 GB configurations, a boost over the 16 GB and 32 GB iPhone 5s offerings. The new phone will come in the same colors as the 6s, including Rose Gold, and will replace the 5s in the lineup by taking its $450 starting price. The iPhone SE will also fit into existing iPhone 5s cases, making it a simple upgrade for those holding on to the 4-inch screen size. Overall, this device is a heavily upgraded iPhone 5s with many of the iPhone 6s’s internal hardware capabilities, not an “iPhone 6s mini,” which is why Apple internally called the device the “iPhone 5SE.”
Be sure to read our roundup of everything to expect at Apple’s March 21st event.
Image via Wikipedia Commons
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Well, if it looks identical and has the same dimensions – you can instantly reuse all of your old cases and the like – my wife will be happy for sure to be able to use her old cassette-tape case from her iPhone5 again…
Not to mention two car and one motorbike holders in my case
This explains why the case makers had contradictory expectations.
Apple gave them no drawings because there is nothing new for them to make!
They were all just guessing. If Apple gave them drawings they would have all been ‘on the same page’.
The top and bottom on the silver, gold and rose gold models is ceramic not glass.
4k with 16gb iPhone.
apple, drop this crap already.
Set default to recording 1080p, and the number of users that switch to 4K: not many?
Is 16GB being stingy at this point? Yes. Is the ability to selectively switch to 4K video recording a solid reasoning behind that? No.
if it’s really starts at only 450 bucks for almost all of the internals of a 6s it’s kind of hard to argue with that. That’s $200 less for just having a smaller screen (which I think is a benefit) and not having 3d-touch. I feel like they’ll have to do some other price cuts or reconfiguring the line as well just to balance out how appealing this device will be. Droping the 6 line entirely and reducing the 16gb 6s to 550 would be incredible.
Maybe they should just give it away Greg
This is how Apple pricing seems to work… Take what people THINK it is going to sell for before it’s released and add $100. At $450 with very similar internals this seems like a pretty good deal, comparatively speaking. Now that I’m paying cash for my phones it’s harder to justify paying $950 for a 128GB Plus vs. $550 for a 64GB SE.
If the lowest capacity was 32GB, people would then complain about the lack of a cheaper lower storage option. No one is forcing you to buy the 16GB model.
Agreed it is SO ungenerous, I cant imagine for the life of me my $5 of silicon (approx for the cost of 16meg), cant be added. Even if people don’t care or are unaware when they buy, they will get a poor user experience when they run out of space in the first few weeks, and the technophobes wont know how to solve it. My dad is a prime example.
I would love to hear the justification from Apple, probably something about cloud services etc……………..
Why do you think that 100% every single iPhone user takes 4k video on daily basis? I personally take only photos and even just ocassionally. Which means 16Gb is plenty for me.
Thank god! I was panicking a little with reports that it would look like the 6. It’s a done deal for me. Picking one up when it’s out.
if they had this with the iphone 6 screen size i would be happy — i know the point of this is to have a 4″ screen size, but for me i much preferred the boxy design than the current thin design…
I do think they should release it in only solver and space grey — no need to add gold and ‘pink’.
and apple really need to stop with the 16gb… come on… it’s 2016… if you are going to give only 16gb then you need to add expandable storage via microSD – obviously apple wont do this, so they should just start with 32gb as a minimum.
I think a part of the reason why we are seeing weaker demand for the 6s is the design of the 6 series. It does not inspire people to run out and “must have it”. After the pent up demand for the larger screen, more discerning people were simply put off by not just the cheap looking device, but how humongous for its screen size it is compared to other modern larger phones. I myself kept looking at the gorgeous Note 5, but Android and it’s malware is not something i need.
“Android and its malware”..
Best stick with iOS and its malware then!
@imattv4 Yeah the entire 10 people affected by it in China.
iPhone 6S is the best selling iPhone to date. So I have no idea what you are talking about… :D
So you kept looking at the gorgeous note 5 but couldn’t trust yourself to not download something from dodgy website which has malware ridden software.
Complete garbage – the Android app store is just as safe as the Apple app store and you know it.
All I know is I left Android and it’s the best thing I ever did where smartphones are concerned and am never going back.
BATTERY!!!! Does anyone care about a better battery???
More efficient chips makes bigger or better batteries a low priority.
Wireless distance charging makes a bigger battery fall greatly in the priority list. Hopefully it will be the 7s feature, but I kind of doubt it.
That’s my main worry is the battery! 5s is well known for being terrible for battery power and it doesn’t matter how efficient the screen and chip are – 1560mah is not going to cut it. GSMarena has the 5SE listed as having 1642mah battery, which also seems small to me. 2000mah or more would be nice.
That would be a let down.
Well, without the 32g option, it makes going for the 64g option much easier. I can see many more people who would have settled for the 16, take the bait and spend a 100 dollars more for the 64
I think you’ve hit the nail on the head there, and I think there is a argument to be had if there is any point Apple releasing an iPhone with 16gb, as anyone with any sense would go for the 64gb straight away.
The other point is customer satisfaction. Surely it has to hit customer sat, if customers are paying that much for a phone and running out of space very quickly, that would turn me away very quickly from Apple!!!
If this is for real about the 12mp camera plus everything else listed above…i’m def climbing on board.
Been using the 5s for 2 years now and it’s still going great, but an upgrade is in order i think…
Only thing i hope they add is maybe a bit more battery life. It’s def bigger then the 6 or 6s models in depth.
Shoot! No 128GB? I really want a smaller iPhone!
Good to see that since TC took over, Apple are on the innovation/what people want bandwagon. Let’s see now: 1. MacBook Air with Retina Display: Check. 2. Wireless charging on the iPhone/iPad: Check. (Avail on Nexus 5 & 7 in 2013!) 3. Affordable speedy upgradable Mac Mini: Check. 4. 4K Apple TV to view 4K videos shot on latest cameras/phones: Check. 5. iPad/OS X based productivity/presentation tablet with built in kickstand: Check. 6. Watch that actually does something useful that cannot be done on a phone: Check. 7. Compact iPhone with comfortable to grip case that won’t scratch easily within days of acquisition: Check. NOT!
No one wants ‘wireless charging’, it’s pointless – can’t even use the device while charging – it’s just a different connector. It’s toothbrush technology.
When ACTUAL wireless charging is possible I’m sure Apple will be all over it. 1metre minimum, preferably the whole room.
I couldn’t agree with you more! Wireless charging sounds good. But its true innovation is still to be seen in that area! Having to place your phone on a mat and charging is worse then having it charged by wired! Charging it by wired is better as you can still use the phone.!
Enter a room and automatically your iPhone starts charging! No mat no wires! No hassle.!
™
Conductive charging on my toothbrush takes 12 hours. My razor, which plugs in, takes 30 minutes to charge.
You don’t know what you are talking about. YOU CAN USE YOUR PHONE WHILE WIRELESS CHARGING. I’m doing it right now.
Of course you are, otherwise we would only see half a post¡
Why are you here with such an anti Apple bias?
You can’t talk, you yourself are apple bias.
-1
Rather too bad it only has a four inch screen, as it will be a much prettier and more comfortable to hold phone than the 6.
Surely the while point of this model is that it does have a 4″ screen? Otherwise it doesn’t significantly differentiate itself from other models with larger screens.
Iphone SE is really shaping out to be a solid phone. I do agree Apple should drop the 16gb. It really does put customers off. The only reason i think Apple has still got the 16gb has to be purely financial gains! Forcing customers to buy the 64gb! But what Apple is forgetting you could buy a decent Android phone for the same price that has a SD card!
not only sd card, but even 32gb onboard storage xD
I think the most important thing is the professor update, right? How long will a phone they release in 2016 get updates and run fast? The 5S is the bottom of the lineup so would presumably get iOS 10 but not iOS 11. If this has th A9 it adds two years more updates.
I’m assuming you mean processor update and not professor? :)
The 6 is only 20% faster than the 5s. Both are 64bit. The 5s will be supported as long as the 6 is. Both have the same amount of ram. The 4s runs iOS 9 after all.
Done. Alright ! Excited. Just what i wanted, a 4 inch iPhone. Want this in my hand already :)
I am pretty sure they won’t put 32GB on the low-end (if we can call it so) iPhone. I guess the 7 will sport 32GB option, as it will be the new model, the flagship.This year is going to be pretty big for Apple – Macbook Pros will get huge upgrade (Skylake, etc), iPhone is getting its small brother again, new flagship iPhone of course, iWatch 2 (as we all know, 2’s are always much better than 1’s)… Looking forward to all releases they have!
This is shaping to be a great phone.
If it uses the latest battery tech then it could be really, really fast and able to last.
God I hope this is true, the best size, the best shape AND the camera of the 6S, TAKE MY MONEY!!!!!
If this article is proven correct (especially about the camera), then my 6s is counting days. Hopefully there will be a 64GB variant out, as 32GB will be too low
Apple has a long history of providing the first of anything with inadequate memory–from the original 128K Mac to the 256 MB original iPad, to the 1 GB first of the larger iPhone 6/6+. It’s usually better to wait for the second iteration of a new Apple product, typically the “S” version in recent iPhone history. Let’s hope the iPhone SE doesn’t ship with only 1 GB, but I won’t be surprised if it does.
Will it have 5-megapixel Facetime Camera too? i think that’s more important ;)
Great. So after some SOAB stole my iPhone 5S right off the bar table, I can get another comparable device that I don’t need to buy special clothing for in order to fit in my pocket, and which doesn’t bend when I look at it.
(Seriously, who needs phones bigger than 4 Inches? GET A TABLET!)
Thanks Apple! Great decision to make this sequel.
Two more days and will find out SE’s look,internals and price. For those still holding on and like smaller screen iphone 4S/5/5S(4 out 5 in family) certainly will want this perfect upgrade. Hope it carries same internals as 6S. Wouldn’t mind OIS camera of iphone 6S plus.
I think the 5/5S was the best looking phone to date. And most comfortable to hold.
Wow, apple is making so many variation on old products…. The SE is not a compelling or exciting product.
And look at what they are doing with the iPad line up.
It reminds me of the early 90’s and the Perfoma lines… Nobody knew what model was what and no one cared.
I wouldn’t want apple to launch a different spec device just based solely on its size, and would feel as if I’m making a compromise between wanting a 4inch sized phone and wanting the iPhone plus spec. Also the way the author of this article put across the last paragraph to say why this iPhone will carry the ‘SE’ name instead of the iPhone mini name is just stupid. It doesn’t make sense for Apple to launch a different spec phone based solely on its size. The SE name doesn’t mean anything to me, could mean absolutely anything under the sun and doesn’t say what the product is and how is it different from the rest. I think if apple were to release this iPhone with the mini name, then most people would expect the phone to be smaller, but not with compromised spec!!!
Lol what a cheap trick on Apple’s behalf. 16 GB and (of course) no external storage? That would be ok for a 10-year-old or a grandma, but I don’t think any ordinary person would want to buy this. Everyone is going to opt in for the more expensive 64 GB option (if there were a 32 GB option, I’m sure there would be people who would choose that instead), which is exactly what Apple wants. And the way you fanboys try to justify such decisions is just laughable. Please have some common sense and look what the competition has to offer for that price.
Despite the rumors, I expect Apple to differentiate the $449-$549 SE from the flagships with the iPhone 6/6+ 8 MP camera that records 1080p 30 or 60 fps and 720p 120 or 240 fps (maybe only 720p/120 on the SE), especially if the storage is limited to 64 GB and/or the memory limited to 1 GB. 1080p/60 and 720p/120 need half the bandwidth and storage of 4K/30 or 720p/240 and give over 2 hours of recording in 32 GB, or half of a 64 GB phone’s storage. The 8 MP might also eliminate a protruding lens. And I expect the front camera to be 1.2 MP.
Sorry but I call that a fail on the part of Apple. I was looking forward to upgrade my 5S but if is identical boxy design I am not going to waste the money on the upgrade. Really sick of the microscopic changes that Apple makes and expects everyone to rejoice about. I am a loyal Apple customer but getting tired of their lackluster upgrades. I must be in the minority of people who like the 4″ screen because it fits great in my pocket and do not want to carry around a tablet sized cell phone.
Yay, because I LOVE my 5s, and find the 6’s and on to be very, very slippery without a case, and I don’t like the overall design. Sharp lines have made a comeback, and I think the 5S looks sleek and elegant. Good thinking on Apple’s part. If it ain’t broke…
and the battery ????
No 128gb? No 3D touch? Another margin squeezer, welp. A shame
Re-using an average-looking 3 year old design would be just ridiculous and humiliating for a leading manufacturer. And it’s simply not clever because all people who did not buy a 5S so far will most probably not buy a SE as well. And people who already own a 5S will not spend money for an identical looking model. I’m sure they would lose a huge amount of potential iPhone buyers. Can’t imagine Apple will make such a mistake. But you never know, in the post-Jobs era some strange things happened (think of the camera knob in the 6 series).
I have a 64GB iPhone 5s. So unless Apple offers a larger capacity SE, no boost there.