iPhone SE 3rd Gen Rumors, Leaks, and some hints at a new one

[ebprince the computer nerd]

Summary

This is all of the rumors, leaks, and hints that Apple is giving towards a new iPhone SE. 

 

Quotes

Quote

Apple's iPhone SE is its most affordable smartphone to date. Priced at $399, it came out in 2020 with a quality camera, good battery and fine processing performance. Now, two years later, the iPhone SE is due for an upgrade. Though we probably have a while before Apple unwraps the iPhone 14, rumor has it that the iPhone SE 3 could be less of a wait.

With recent reports suggesting the third-gen iPhone SE has been imported internationally for testing, that could mean Apple has plans to release the budget-friendly iPhone soon.

Following Apple's September event, the company  removed the 256GB iPhone SE from its online store. MacRumors reported that the highest-storage option for the iPhone SE was discontinued, signaling that Apple was ramping down production of older iPhone models as new ones became available.

 

My thoughts

I really hope theres a new iPhone SE on the horizon. I actually have the iPhone SE 2020, (2nd Gen) so this is good news for me. Apple is giving away a lot of little hints at a new iPhone Se, like removing the 256GB option on their website, and that international testing has reportedly begun. So, if this does happen, cheap Androids may still be good value, or Apple may destroy them. (Most likely Apple will be good at a certain PRICE point.)

 

Sources

cnet

[Levent]

Hoping for A15 and bigger battery this time around (and also keeping same design and touch id) I was really on the verge of getting a second gen SE but seeing how bad the battery life is was the deal breaker for me.

 

Apple does not need to provide "value" simply, if this $300 device matches a $300 Android phone in terms of battery life, it will sell more than previous generations. Android phones and android in general has been very stagnant when it comes to features, a lot of people including myself are sick and tired of lack of updates or bug fixes on their non flagship devices.

[BlueChinchillaEatingDorito]

1 minute ago, Levent said:

Hoping for A15 and bigger battery this time around (and also keeping same design and touch id) I was really on the verge of getting a second gen SE but seeing how bad the battery life is was a deal breaker for me.

Seeing how the A15 did a pretty good job in the battery life department for the 13 Mini compared to the 12 Mini, I can imagine them not bothering with a bigger battery to save costs. I think A15 is a given at this point if it's going to be released later in the Spring like the last SE. That one borrowed the A13 from the 11 series released months prior. 

[WhitetailAni]

I really really hope they'll keep Touch ID. I don't like Face ID or the way the screen is curved to fit the display - I'd rather have defined end points and a clickable "button" (it's just a touch sensor now sadly) for going to the home screen rather than a bunch of gestures.

I do find it interesting that they're already updating the SE.

The SE 1 is powered by the A9, same as the 6S/6S+, and fit the form factor of the 5S.

The SE 2 is powered by the A13, same as the 11 series, and fit the form factor of the 7 and 8.

The SE 2 will be powered by the A15, perhaps, and same form factor? How odd. That's a very short time. Perhaps the A13 didn't have some features they wanted to add?

 

EDIT:

Quote

Now, two years later, the iPhone SE is due for an upgrade.

The iPhone SE line is Apple's way of being like "hey want to do this like it was before? enjoy" line. They release a new one whenever they want to. We had 4 years between the SE 1 and SE 2. Why just 2 years now?

[ebprince the computer nerd]

2 minutes ago, FakeKGB said:

The iPhone SE line is Apple's way of being like "hey want to do this like it was before? enjoy" line. They release a new one whenever they want to. We had 4 years between the SE 1 and SE 2. Why just 2 years now?

Once they release the SE 2, they saw how much demand there was for it, so they decided, “hey, there is high demand but this has bad battery and last gen processor, let’s upgrade now to have more customers and people for up to date for more battery life so they get more into the ecosystem then we make new one so they get more attached.”
You see now? It’s one big loop for Apple and that’s why people are stuck in the ecosystem.

[RejZoR]

Problem is, iPhone 8's body just doesn't have much room for bigger battery. I've always been speculating they'll use iPhone XR body for SE model. It's most cut down version, but still very good. I mean, despite everyone whining over display, I can't say a single bad thing about it. And same goes for its single camera. Especially when you pair it with NeuralCam app and it becomes really powerful camera that's capable of doing bright images even in near pitch black darkness. Battery is also very decent, lasting me a day and a half on single charge after 3 years! And it's running old A12. Imagine what those 3000 mAh can do with A15 chipset! And A12 is still stupendously fast as well as everything around it. I never had any Android phone that was still so responsive like it's brand new and it's 3 years old now and I haven't done a single factory reset in between.

 

Plus, being on single camera and LCD display, it would still be differentiated from the rest of higher end models that use OLED displays and at least 2 cameras so there would be no mistake that it's an older boy.

 

I'm just unsure whether Apple would leave FaceID sensors in there. But I think they'd kinda have to because removal of it would remove biometrics then and that would be a bad idea from usability standpoint. PIN's are just so clumsy now...

[ebprince the computer nerd]

8 hours ago, RejZoR said:

Problem is, iPhone 8's body just doesn't have much room for bigger battery. I've always been speculating they'll use iPhone XR body for SE model.

I don’t think they’ll use the iPhone XR’s design because 1, they used it for one only year. 2, if they use the A12, it’s aging hardware, only one TSMC’s 7nm, instead of 5nm 2 years later. Apple would absolutely never “go back generations” to make a cheaper product. Almost NO ONE has done that. I personally think it’s either A, a new design. Or B, use the iPhone 13 Mini’s design, but slightly larger and thicker bezels.

[adarw]

they should start calling them iphone se followed by a number like normal iphones, its quite stupid that they're calling them iphone se and then generation (number)

[RejZoR]

36 minutes ago, ebprince the computer nerd said:

I don’t think they’ll use the iPhone XR’s design because 1, they used it for one only year. 2, if they use the A12, it’s aging hardware, only one TSMC’s 7nm, instead of 5nm 2 years later. Apple would absolutely never “go back generations” to make a cheaper product. Almost NO ONE has done that. I personally think it’s either A, a new design. Or B, use the iPhone 13 Mini’s design, but slightly larger and thicker bezels.

Who even said they should use A12 ? I just said it's still a very fast chipset despite being 3 generations old. Reason I mentioned XR is because it's not as dated as thick chin and bezels iPhone 8 design, yet still differentiated from rest of the upper lineup so everyone sees you're still a peasent using SE model and not latest upper one.

 

If they use iPhone 12 Mini design they need to use OLED or they'll be forced to redesign the chassis which is a bad thing if you want to keep costs down and reuse tooling from older generations. iPhone XR can be left basically intact, just slap A15 on it and ship it with iOS 15 and call it a day. It's not a bad phone with A12, with A15 it would be an absolute beast.

[Brooksie359]

10 hours ago, Levent said:

Hoping for A15 and bigger battery this time around (and also keeping same design and touch id) I was really on the verge of getting a second gen SE but seeing how bad the battery life is was the deal breaker for me.

 

Apple does not need to provide "value" simply, if this $300 device matches a $300 Android phone in terms of battery life, it will sell more than previous generations. Android phones and android in general has been very stagnant when it comes to features, a lot of people including myself are sick and tired of lack of updates or bug fixes on their non flagship devices.

Honestly the second gen se was really a solid phone for the price especially if you wanted in on the apple ecosystem. I mean with phone contract deals the se is basically free often times making it a really tempting offer for some. I know my sister switched to the se from her old iPhone that needed to be replaced badly as it was very old at that point. She has nothing but good things to say about it as it does basically everything she wants it to. Honestly I think often times high end phones are kinda overrated as most people don't need alot of what comes at the extra cost and could likely get away with a cheaper phone. 

[OldFord76]

To me, the SE phones are the best. Still using my first gen with no problems, not daily tho. The idea of newer hardware in an older package is awesome to me. 

[WhitetailAni]

2 hours ago, adarw said:

its quite stupid that they're calling them iphone se and then generation (number)

Practically everyone calls them the SE 1 and SE 2 anyway. I wouldn't be surprised if they switch, saying SE 1 and SE 2 makes much more sense than SE and SE (2020).

14 minutes ago, RGBoy said:

To me, the SE phones are the best. Still using my first gen with no problems, not daily tho. The idea of newer hardware in an older package is awesome to me. 

"Coming soon: the iPhone SE 2G - the A17 processor in the package of the original iPhone!"

[Helpful Tech Witch]

2 hours ago, adarw said:

they should start calling them iphone se followed by a number like normal iphones, its quite stupid that they're calling them iphone se and then generation (number)

so a iphone se gen x without the gen?

If you think the iphone se is hard to follow let me introduce you to ipad names...

 

 

 

 

if they could shave a bit of price off by going with say a a14, reusing iphone 11 body with a toutchid sensor and a iphone 8 like bezel, hit a 299$ price point, itd be killer.

[RejZoR]

Apple doesn't seem to reuse old chipsets except with tablets. On phones, if it's released in year when A15 was released, they'll put that in everything, even in iPhone SE3 with body of iPhone 8 from years ago.

[Kisai]

12 hours ago, FakeKGB said:

I really really hope they'll keep Touch ID. I don't like Face ID

FaceID is likely here to stay, because it's a part of ARKit's functionality. 

 

All I want to see from a SE 3 is feature parity with the XS or better. Use the cheaper screen, cheaper rear camera unit. Leave everything else.

 

[maartendc]

I am still rocking a 1sT gen iPhone SE, still does me quite well.

 

Would be interested in a new SE... But it needs to have a bigger screen to body ratio, they need to ditch the iPhone 8 aestethic. I think they will though.

[pythonmegapixel]

15 hours ago, ebprince the computer nerd said:

I really hope theres a new iPhone SE on the horizon. I actually have the iPhone SE 2020, (2nd Gen) so this is good news for me.

I'm not sure I understand this. Is your 2020 SE already unsuitable for use (in which case it's lasted less than 2 years, which is quite poor so I'm not sure why you'd buy another one from the same range)?

 

15 hours ago, ebprince the computer nerd said:

So, if this does happen, cheap Androids may still be good value, or Apple may destroy them.

The (current) iPhone SE isn't really cheap by Android standards anyway, with a starting price of $400. Unless the price is vastly reduced it won't be able to compete with budget ranges like the Moto G or some of the Redmi (which still give you a perfectly reasonable phone experience nowadays) or with the huge numbers of good condition approximately 2-3 year old flagship Android models that are sold quite inexpensively by people who buy them on contract and then get a "free upgrade" (meaning they continue to pay the same extortionate monthly price and get a newer model) after a few years

 

22 minutes ago, maartendc said:

it needs to have a bigger screen to body ratio,

 I think a lot of people like the small screen on the SE.  And (I know this is kinda cliche to say now) bezels at the edge of the screen are really a necessity. I know the trend is to make them thinner and thinner, so anything that doesn't look 'edge to edge' looks outdated, but there are lots of functional sacrifices being made with this.

 

22 minutes ago, maartendc said:

they need to ditch the iPhone 8 aestethic

You mean the iPhone 6 aesthetic; arguably even the iPhone 4 aesthetic.. they'd been making phones that look like that for much longer than the 8!

[maartendc]

2 minutes ago, pythonmegapixel said:

You mean the iPhone 6 aesthetic; arguably even the iPhone 4 aesthetic.. they'd been making phones that look like that for much longer than the 8!

Well yes, the iPhone 6 through 8 design exactly. That is what the iPhone SE 2nd gen was based off of.

 

Iphone 4-5 was a totally different form factor, that is the iPhone SE 1st gen form factor.

 

They need to modernize it, they cannot compete with such large bezels while every other 150$+ phone is all screen these days. If it wasn't for that, I probably would have bought a 2nd gen iPhone SE.

[WhitetailAni]

2 hours ago, Kisai said:

FaceID is likely here to stay, because it's a part of ARKit's functionality. 

 

All I want to see from a SE 3 is feature parity with the XS or better. Use the cheaper screen, cheaper rear camera unit. Leave everything else.

 

Oh, I know Face ID is never going away. I just hope they keep the SE line with Touch ID.

56 minutes ago, maartendc said:

Iphone 4-5 was a totally different form factor, that is the iPhone SE 1st gen form factor.

No, the iPhone 4 and 4S were the same size, but different from the and the 5, 5S, and SE 1, which were the same size.

The 5C was hanging out doing its own thing.

[RejZoR]

1 hour ago, pythonmegapixel said:

I'm not sure I understand this. Is your 2020 SE already unsuitable for use (in which case it's lasted less than 2 years, which is quite poor so I'm not sure why you'd buy another one from the same range)?

 

The (current) iPhone SE isn't really cheap by Android standards anyway, with a starting price of $400. Unless the price is vastly reduced it won't be able to compete with budget ranges like the Moto G or some of the Redmi (which still give you a perfectly reasonable phone experience nowadays) or with the huge numbers of good condition approximately 2-3 year old flagship Android models that are sold quite inexpensively by people who buy them on contract and then get a "free upgrade" (meaning they continue to pay the same extortionate monthly price and get a newer model) after a few years

 

 I think a lot of people like the small screen on the SE.  And (I know this is kinda cliche to say now) bezels at the edge of the screen are really a necessity. I know the trend is to make them thinner and thinner, so anything that doesn't look 'edge to edge' looks outdated, but there are lots of functional sacrifices being made with this.

 

You mean the iPhone 6 aesthetic; arguably even the iPhone 4 aesthetic.. they'd been making phones that look like that for much longer than the 8!

What cheap Android phone gets flagship chipset and guaranteed 5 years of major OS updates and at least extra 2 years of security updates only? You'd be lucky if you get 2 years of updates in total. Just look at Oppo's updating policy. Their bottom line only gets 1 major update and 1 year of software updates. And they run crappy entry level chipsets. Samsung may tick that box somewhat with A5x series, but they don't get flagship chipsets. Not even remotely. But everyone just whines about visual design of the device and call it "crap" and "outdated" the moment you mention it with no regards to these benefits that are not seen on any device anymore. Even Android flagship killers are thing of the past. You don't really get any flagship specs for 400€. They just don't exist anymore. Even OnePlus that used to be that isn't anymore. Xiaomi's main Mi line? Gone. Everything costs 800€ now and above. And when I'm in that price range they better keep my damn device updated for long. Which is where they hardly put some effort into it. At 400€, they don't even give a shit and I'm saying it nicely.

[pythonmegapixel]

1 hour ago, maartendc said:

They need to modernize it, they cannot compete with such large bezels while every other 150$+ phone is all screen these days.

There are certainly legitimate reasons to have bezels though.

 

Just now, RejZoR said:

What cheap Android phone gets flagship chipset and guaranteed 5 years of major OS updates and at least extra 2 years of security updates only? You'd be lucky if you get 2 years of updates in total. Just look at Oppo's updating policy. Their bottom line only gets 1 major update and 1 year of software updates. And they run crappy entry level chipsets. Samsung may tick that box somewhat with A5x series, but they don't get flagship chipsets. Not even remotely. But everyone just whines about visual design of the device and call it "crap" and "outdated" the moment you mention it with no regards to these benefits that are not seen on any device anymore. Even Android flagship killers are thing of the past. You don't really get any flagship specs for 400€. They just don't exist anymore. Even OnePlus that used to be that isn't anymore. Xiaomi's main Mi line? Gone. Everything costs 800€ now and above. And when I'm in that price range they better keep my damn device updated for long. Which is where they hardly put some effort into it. At 400€, they don't even give a shit and I'm saying it nicely.

Take a breath, calm down and read my post again. I made the following main points:

• If your phone only lasts 2 years before it's so bad you need to replace it then it isn't very good.
• A new iPhone SE is more expensive than the cheapest Android devices or a second hand flagship.
• A lot of people like the old aesthetic of the iPhone SE, including the small screen.
• The design of the iPhone SE is very similar to that of the iPhone 6 and some elements date back to even before then.

In what way is this ranty wall of text you have for some reason quoted me in a relevant response any of that?

[ebprince the computer nerd]

1 hour ago, pythonmegapixel said:

I'm not sure I understand this. Is your 2020 SE already unsuitable for use (in which case it's lasted less than 2 years, which is quite poor so I'm not sure why you'd buy another one from the same range)?

My iPhone SE 2020 had ok battery life from the start, but the battery has only gotten worse. It can barely last me 2-4 hours now. I am an Apple “enthusiast.” I love Apple too much, so I can’t switch because 1, I have Apple’s Beats. 2, I have already adapted to this phone. 3, all my friends have iPhones, so they can’t switch to Whatsapp or something of the equivalent without there being confusion or just straight up, “no.” I am stuck in the ecosystem lol.

[Helpful Tech Witch]

15 minutes ago, ebprince the computer nerd said:

My iPhone SE 2020 had ok battery life from the start, but the battery has only gotten worse. It can barely last me 2-4 hours now. I am an Apple “enthusiast.” I love Apple too much, so I can’t switch because 1, I have Apple’s Beats. 2, I have already adapted to this phone. 3, all my friends have iPhones, so they can’t switch to Whatsapp or something of the equivalent without there being confusion or just straight up, “no.” I am stuck in the ecosystem lol.

you do know that you can text someone who doesnt have an iphone with an iphone right?

[WhitetailAni]

22 minutes ago, ebprince the computer nerd said:

My iPhone SE 2020 had ok battery life from the start, but the battery has only gotten worse. It can barely last me 2-4 hours now. I am an Apple “enthusiast.” I love Apple too much, so I can’t switch because 1, I have Apple’s Beats. 2, I have already adapted to this phone. 3, all my friends have iPhones, so they can’t switch to Whatsapp or something of the equivalent without there being confusion or just straight up, “no.” I am stuck in the ecosystem lol.

Apple offers battery replacement to out-of-warranty SE 2's for $50.

https://support.apple.com/iphone/repair/service/battery-power

Additionally, do you mind going to Settings -> Battery -> Battery Health and screenshotting what it says?

[ebprince the computer nerd]

33 minutes ago, Helpful Tech Wiard said:

you do know that you can text someone who doesnt have an iphone with an iphone right?

Oh wait, I totally forgot. Dang it, now I seem like the stupid one here.