What just happened? Apple's third-generation iPhone SE will feature the same industrial design as its predecessor according to a new report out from Japanese Apple blog Macotakara. That means the next phone will retain the same 4.7-inch LCD display and Touch ID-equipped Home button as the current model. It's under the proverbial hood where the most notable changes will take place.
Sources familiar with the matter told the blog that Apple's third-gen iPhone SE will come equipped with the same A15 Bionic chip featured in the new iPhone 13 family. The handset will also support 5G connectivity thanks to Qualcomm's Snapdragon X60, we're told.
Should everything go according to plan, Apple could start production of the third-gen iPhone SE this December ahead of a spring 2022 launch.
This jives with rumors over the summer claiming the next iPhone SE would get a faster processor and 5G capability. At that time, it was believed that the phone would get the A14 Bionic from the iPhone 12, but the newer A15 Bionic would be a better choice in terms of performance and efficiency.
Apple launched the first-gen iPhone SE way back in the spring of 2016 as a lower-cost and smaller alternative to its standard iPhone line. It'd be another four years before Apple would revisit the iPhone SE brand with its second-gen device, which was essentially an iPhone 11 crammed in the body of an iPhone 8.