14 DAY TRIAL // Apple was originally expected to take the wraps off the second-generation iPhone SE in the first half of this year, but according to well-known KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, that’s not going to happen.
Kuo says Apple might not be planning to launch another 4-inch iPhone this year at all, and he says in a note to investors that if there’s a chance to see a second-generation iPhone SE going live, it won’t certainly happen until the second half of 2018.
The analyst has also dismissed the majority of rumors regarding an iPhone SE 2, claiming that Apple is not interested in bringing the technology it built for the iPhone X on a 4-inch device.
Minor hardware upgrade
If the iPhone SE 2 does launch this year, though this is very unlikely in Kuo’s opinion, it can only feature small design improvements versus the original model. This means a glass back, as Apple uses on the iPhone 8 and iPhone X, won’t make its way to a new 4-inch iPhone, hence wireless charging won’t be supported either.
Kuo says Apple considers wireless charging as a premium feature for the time being, and this is why the company sees no reason to make it available on this more affordable model.
Instead, Kuo admits that some sort of hardware upgrade could be made on the iPhone SE, though these will also be rather subtle. The plan could be getting the iPhone SE ready for iOS 12, so a boost in terms of the processor might happen.
In other words, there is only a very tiny chance to see an iPhone SE 2 launching this year, and even if it happens, don’t expect anything truly major in this regard.
Apple appears to be more interested in focusing on premium models that bring home the bacon, so investing in another 4-inch device that only holds people from upgrading to these pricey devices isn’t the best way to go right now.