Much maligned at the time of release for looking a little boring, the iPhone 8 could be making a triumphant return as the iPhone SE 2, according to esteemed Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. What’s more, the return of the cheapest iPhone line could also be with us as early as the first quarter of 2020.
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If this sounds a little familiar, it’s because it’s the exact same news that was reported by Asian newspaper Nikkei a month ago. Kuo’s predictions add more fuel to that particular fire, and add that the iPhone SE 2 would most likely be equipped with Apple’s latest A13 processor, 3GB of RAM, and will most likely start at 32GB of storage. Aside from those changes, the design of the phone would be identical to the iPhone 8, and would include a 4.7-inch display, complete with a Touch ID home button. It’s unclear whether 3D Touch would return.
With this in mind, it seems pretty obvious Apple intends the iPhone SE 2 to take over the iPhone 8’s place in the market. At the time of writing, Apple sells the iPhone 8 with 64GB of storage for $449 — and while the iPhone SE 2 would involve a drop to 32GB of storage, the improved processor and promise of longer software support would make the iPhone SE 2 a pretty strong option. This would be especially true if Apple were able to match the original iPhone SE’s $349 price.
But who would the iPhone SE 2 appeal to? Kuo expects iPhone 6 owners may be tempted with the cheaper package on offer. The iPhone 6 recently became the most recent casualty of software upgrade cycles, with the 2014 iPhone being locked out of upgrades for the most recent iOS 13 operating system update. Such consumers may not care about the latest hardware like Face ID and bezel-less designs, and as such, a cheaper iPhone with an older design may prove successful with them. Kuo certainly thinks so, and predicts Apple could sell between 30 to 40 million units of the iPhone SE 2 across 2a 020.
The iPhone SE 2 is without a doubt the longest rumored iPhone in history, and it seems it could finally be on the way. With both Nikkei and Kuo uniting behind an iPhone 8-like design and a release window, you should absolutely expect an Apple event to spring up in the spring.