Apple has no plans to refresh the iPhone SE

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iPhone SE
Two new iPhone SE models for 2020?
Photo: Sam Mills/Cult of Mac

If you’re yet to adjust to a larger iPhone, it seems you’re going to get left behind. A new report claims Apple has no plans to refresh the iPhone SE, its smallest and most affordable handset, which hasn’t been properly updated since last March.

If you’re an iPhone SE owner, you have one of the best 4-inch smartphones money can buy right now. It’s likely still powerful enough to do everything you need it to do, and when iOS 11 makes its public debut this fall, you’ll have no problem upgrading to it.

But when your handset starts to feel slow, and you begin to yearn for newer features offered by more recent devices, you may have no choice but to upgrade to a larger screen. Respected Chinese analyst Pan Jiutang does not expect Apple to refresh its smallest handset.

There simply isn’t enough demand for smaller devices, Jiutang says. More and more of us want larger displays that are better for browsing the web, watching movies, and playing games. The vast majority are now accustomed to 5-inch screens and bigger.

Apple’s plans could change later, but there’s no denying the iPhone SE always felt like a temporary product. It carries exactly the same design as the iPhone 5, which launched in 2012, and offers the same specifications as a 2-year-old iPhone 6s.

Apple didn’t have to put a great deal of effort into it; it was a simple move to appease those who weren’t yet ready for its larger devices. Sure, it still sells, but it’s likely a large portion of that demand is due to its price tag, rather than its screen size.

We will continue to see more affordable iPhones in Apple’s lineup — it needs them to succeed in emerging markets like India — but it could be that the iPhone SE’s design is phased out in favor of the more recent form factor of the iPhone 6 or even the iPhone 7 later on.

For now, however, it doesn’t look like the current iPhone SE is going anywhere. Apple just launched a new manufacturing facility in India dedicated to the smaller handset.

Via: The Bitbag

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