The upcoming iPhone SE 3 design could be very familiar as a new rumor alleges that the third-generation iPhone SE will have the same industrial design as the current iPhone SE 2.
STORY HIGHLIGHTS:
- New evidence has emerged of iPhone SE 3 launching in spring 2022
- Sources say the phone’s industrial design will be unchanged
- A major overhaul for iPhone SE isn’t in the cards, for now
Rumor: No design change for iPhone SE 3
Japan-language Mac Otakara has a pretty good track record reporting on Apple’s secrets, and now the blog is claiming that the third-generation iPhone SE may look exactly the same as the current second-generation model. Moreover, Mac Otakara has learned from Chinese sources that the third-generation iPhone SE is entering production in December 2021.
iPhone SE 3 should start shipping to customers in spring 2022.
The report corroborates earlier predictions from Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo who said that the only major differences between the new and current iPhone SE will be a spec bump via Apple’s A15 Bionic chip and the inclusion of 5G cellular data support.
What did the old iPhone SE 3 rumors say?
Older rumors did mention the possibility of a design change.
For instance, one of the rumors said iPhone SE 3 would include a Touch ID sensor integrated into a power button. The problem is, those claims came from sources with a pretty poor track record. All in all, we tend to believe what Kuo, Mac Otakara and supply chain sources are saying, that the new and old iPhone SE may look the same from the outside.
Our take: 5G, A15 and no design change
The second-generation iPhone SE, which launched in April 2020, doesn’t resemble the original iPhone SE, which made its debut in March 2016, at all. The second-generation model brought an iPhone 8-like design with rounded corners, a 4.7-inch LCD screen and a Touch ID home button.
Now, we heard before that the upcoming iPhone SE 3 is destined to replace the current iPhone 13 mini model. The word on the street is that lackluster sales of the iPhone 12 mini and iPhone 13 mini models led to the decision to remove the mini from the lineup.
We’re not sure about iPhone SE 3 serving as a replacement for the iPhone mini.
iPhone 13 mini has a 5.4-inch OLED display with Face ID.
If the next iPhone SE ends up retaining its 4.7-inch screen (which is LCD, not OLED) and Touch ID in the home button, then it won’t be much of a replacement for the iPhone 13 mini size. It’s not even in the same price bracket: iPhone SE 2 starts at just $399 while the mini starts at $699.