An iPhone SE for 2019 will never happen — but it might have a spiritual successor
WWDC 2019 is so close that one can practically imagine what iOS 13 will bring – but while we might see some new hardware this year (the Mac Pro 2019 could make an appearance) we’re not going to see an iPhone SE2.
In fact, we’re never going to see the much-vaunted sequel to Apple’s surprise hit of 2016, the phone that brought back the right amount of nostalgia and fused it with cutting-edge technology. It was known as the iPhone Special Edition and it looks like Apple is leaving that as an exclusive moniker for the phone.
The iPhone SE2 will never happen for one simple reason: we’re past the point of smaller smartphones, and the SE is synonymous with being compact… which is sad, as no matter how hard a brand tries to push ever-increasing screen sizes, there’s always going to be a market for that.
That smaller, four-inch screen represented something that so many smartphone users still desire: a phone that fits comfortably in the palm of your hand. Something that you can interact with easily with a single set of digits, one that doesn’t see you using your nose to hit the right hand side of the screen when you’re holding something in your other palm.
A phone that could be used with one hand appealed to a specific set of smartphone users: those that didn’t really want one. Those that realized that to be unconnected on the go meant to be behind society’s curve, and realized the iPhone was generally regarded as one of the easiest handsets to use. The SE was one of the cheapest to go for, so became a no-brainer for many.
That’s a powerful mix, and why the phone continued to be successful years later – still selling rapidly even as it was discontinued in 2018, before being quietly re-released earlier in 2019. Tim Cook’s surprise at its success after launch shows that Apple didn’t realize the impact it could have.
The modern smartphone is becoming less about the hardware and more about what users can do with it.
