iPhone SE 3 could steal iPhone XR’s design but miss out on Face ID

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iPhone XR performance is stellar, far better than many Android devices that cost more.
It would be a big upgrade for Apple's low-cost smartphone.
Photo: Apple

Apple’s third-generation iPhone SE may ship with a new design after all, with a new report claiming the low-cost device will look a lot like iPhone XR.

It is expected to get a much larger 6.1-inch display with significantly slimmer bezels. But unlike iPhone XR, it could ship with Touch ID integrated into its power button, rather than Face ID. It may also be Apple’s last LCD iPhone.

iPhone SE 3 could look a lot like iPhone XR

In addition to a slightly newer design, iPhone SE 3 will pack Apple’s newest A15 Bionic processor, 64GB of minimum storage, and 5G connectivity, according to MyDrivers. It’s expected to get Touch ID, but Face ID “is not ruled out.”

MyDrivers admits that its information contrasts with other recent iPhone SE rumors that have predicted the device will continue to use the same form factor that originally debuted with iPhone 8. But it insists it is accurate.

Other sources have flip-flopped on iPhone SE 3. Ming-Chi Kuo, an analyst with TF International Securities, and display analyst Ross Young — both of whom have been reliable before — have changed their minds about the next refresh.

Kuo and Young, like MyDrivers, originally predicted iPhone SE 3 would look like iPhone XR. They later withdrew those claims and said the device would carry the same design as its predecessors, with bigger changes for iPhone SE 4.

iPhone SE 3 to arrive next year

We’ll find out more about the third-generation iPhone SE when it makes its official debut. According to MyDrivers, the device is scheduled to arrive next spring, with prices starting at $399 — just like the current model.

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