Apple will launch the iPhone SE2 with an A13 chip, the same found in the iPhone 11, during the first quarter of 2020, according to TF International Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. The analyst has an excellent track record of predicting Apple products ahead of their release.
The "iPhone SE2, which will be the best upgrade choice for existing 100mn iPhone 6 series users, will be a key growth driver for Apple in 2020," Kuo said. Aside from the processor upgrade, he said it will offer a similar design to the iPhone 8, which means you should expect a 4.7-inch screen.
The original $399 iPhone SE had an even smaller 4-inch screen, which appealed to people who preferred tinier phones and the design of the iPhone 5. Apple used a similar strategy for it, too, stuffing in better components than the iPhone 5, but keeping the same hardware design.
"We believe that iPhone SE2 will meet more users' demand and increase iPhone's market share because of the more affordable price," Kuo said. Apple currently sells the iPhone 8 for $449, so the iPhone SE could potentially offer more power for $50 less, if Apple keeps the same pricing.
Apple will need to cut costs somewhere, however, so expect it to have less powerful cameras than the iPhone 11. Also, the iPhone SE2 will probably still have a home button, since the iPhone 8 design doesn't support Face ID.
"All Apple content and service could run smoothly on iPhone SE2, and it will benefit the growth of Apple's content and service businesses thanks to the adoption of the A13 processor and 3GB LPDDR4X," Kuo said, referring to the device's memory specs. "Though most of iPhone SE2's hardware spec will be similar to iPhone 8's, we think the excellent computing power offered by A13 and 3GB LPDDR4X, and the more affordable price will be great selling points. Therefore, we estimate iPhone SE2 shipments in 2020 will reach 30–40mn units."
