Will I be surprised to see a new iPhone SE this year? You bet. Could it be one of the best iPhones ever? Hell, yes.
It’s heavily rumored that Apple’s readying another March event to launch a slew of new gadgets – a new iPhone SE, iPad Air, and possibly new Macs – that’s no surprise, but it could herald one of the most impressive iPhones ever made. Despite Apple’s spring launch not being an annual thing, the wonderfully-named ‘Spring-loaded’ event last year didn’t feel out of the blue – but there did seem to be a lot of online surprise that a new iPhone SE didn’t land. The lack of iPhone SE 3 really wasn’t surprising. The first iPhone SE (launched in 2016) took four years to get a successor, as it continued to sell pretty well as a low-cost alternative to the ever-spiralling prices of the new iPhone range, as well as some people enjoying a more palm-friendly device. One might have assumed the iPhone 12 mini and 13 mini would have stolen that limelight, but stats suggest that they’ve not been the hit Apple had hoped for (more on that later). The ‘new’ iPhone SE, launched in 2020, felt like Apple waiting until the very last moment to bring out a new budget iPhone, and following the same SE tradition: using an older design (this time the iPhone 8), offering access to old hardware some people still enjoy (Touch ID over Face ID), and stuffing in a high-power, current chipset to improve things like battery life. Given the iPhone SE 2020 is still one of our most popular iPhone reviews, I’m surprised that Apple is heavily rumored to be thinking about refreshing it in just a month’s time rather than waiting another year or two… but all the rumors are really ramping up to that, with the much-respected journalist Mark Gurman predicting the device will land alongside the new iPad Air 5. While there is part of me that can’t see it happening – Apple doesn’t need to refresh this model when it’s currently buoyed by some of the best iPhone sales in years ( despite it still costing $399 / £389 / AU$679 two years from launch) – there is one good reason for Apple to make the leap now: battery life.
