Before Apple got around to officially announcing the new iPhone SE, there was a rumor floating around that the company was working on an “iPhone 9 Plus” that could be released alongside the smaller variant.
We did not get a larger version of the new iPhone SE this year, but apparently there is a reason for that. At least, according to legendary analyst Ming-Chi Kuo (via MacRumors). According to him, Apple has postponed the launch of the “iPhone SE Plus”, and will no longer be launching it sometime in the first half of 2021, but rather at some point in the second half of next year. If you’ll recall, Kuo did say that Apple was planning on launching this particular handset in early 2021 way back in December of last year, so this is only a slight change to the original plan.
We predicted that Apple would launch the new ‌iPhone‌ model in 1H21 in a previous report (“‌iPhone‌ supply chain to be 2020 top pick in the tech sector; key predictions for new ‌iPhone‌ product mixes in 2020 and 2021” [December 5, 2019]). However, we think that Apple will likely postpone the new model from 1H21 to 2H21.
The rumored iPhone SE Plus will feature a design that’s actually more in line with the iPhone 11, meaning it will have a full-screen layout. That display will measure in somewhere between 5.5 and 6.1 inches, and it will feature a Touch ID fingerprint sensor embedded in the power button on the side of the handset. Lacking Face IDÂ means the notch at the top of the screen will be a bit smaller than what we’re used to in current generation flagship iPhone models.
Related, but rumor has it that Apple is going to start shrinking the notch this year, with the iPhone 12 lineup introducing the change.
The new iPhone SE features a 4.7-inch design with bezels on the top and bottom, with a physical Touch ID fingerprint sensor embedded in the Home button. It features an A13 Bionic processor — something that was originally rumored for the iPhone SE Plus, too.
So, if you were looking forward to the larger iPhone SE variant, you’ll apparently have to wait until sometime in the second half of next year. Are you going to wait that long? Let us know in the comments!