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Apple iPhone SE 2020 price, release date, and specs

Updated: Jul 06, 2021, 9:11 AM

UPDATE: Apple has now announced the iPhone SE 2020 (aka iPhone 9). You can get all the detail in our official iPhone SE 2020 news story.

Apple over the past couple of years has greatly diversified its iPhone lineup. So much so, in fact, that we now have a big expensive iPhone and a more compact expensive iPhone—in the face of the 11 Pro and 11 Pro Max—a smaller “mid-tier” iPhone 11, a big “budget” iPhone 8 Plus, and a compact “budget” iPhone 8. But where is the iPhone 9, then?

The iPhone naming scheme weirdness continues in 2020 with the impending iPhone 9 release date… which will actually be called the 2020 iPhone SE and could be the end of numbered entries in Apple's more budget-oriented iPhone lineup.

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iPhone 9 = iPhone SE (2020)

There has been a lot of debate surrounding the name of this phone. It has been referred to as the iPhone 9 and iPhone SE2, but a new listing for a Belkin screen protector on the Apple Store has revealed that the company may simply brand it as the 'iPhone SE' and reference it as the 2020 model. This information was further corroborated by 9to5Mac's, which also revealed a couple of other details about the new device.

The original iPhone SE launched in 2016 and surprised it with its small size, affordable price, and capable hardware. It was essentially an iPhone 5s with some of the innards of an iPhone 6s. The new iPhone SE 2020 will follow this formula by having a design similar to that of the iPhone 8 and 7, but featuring Apple's powerful A13 processor – the same one that powers the iPhone 11, 11 Pro, and 11 Pro Max.

iPhone SE 2020 design and colors

Some people have been dreaming of a device the size of the original 4.0" iPhone SE, but with the bezel-less design and all other bells and whistles of current flagship iPhones. Well, this isn’t it. It's not going to be huge, either, by today's standards, but the new iPhone SE will have the same 4.7" screen as the iPhone 8.

The design of the iPhone SE (2020) has also been confirmed by the latest factory CAD-based renders published by iGeeksBlog in collaboration with serial leaker Steve Hemmerstoffer, aka Steve H.McFly, aka @OnLeaks. One of the bigger deviations from the iPhone 8 will be the SE's back, which won't be glossy like on the iPhone 8, but frosted glass like on the iPhone 11.

As far as size goes, the dimensions of the iPhone SE 2020 will measure at 138.5mm in height and 67.4mm in width, which is obviously not as compact as the original 4.0" iPhone SE, but it's definitely small by "modern" standards. It will also be a tad thicker than the iPhone 8 (7.3mm vs 7.8mm), which is probably due to a slightly increased battery capacity.

Although Apple's new affordable phone will have ample room for a TrueDepth camera in its top bezel, the iPhone SE (2020) won't have Face ID. It will, however, have a physical home button with Touch ID inside.

The iPhone SE 2020 will be available in three colors at launch: PRDUCT (Red), White, and Black. Five cases will also be available alongside the new iPhone, including silicon and leather ones in various colors.

iPhone SE 2020 Specs

The iPhone SE 2020 will be powered by the Apple A13 Bionic chip, the same one that's inside the iPhone 11 and 11 Pro. The A13 is a great performer and will allow the new budget iPhone to do advanced augmented reality and Apple Arcade.

Aside from the new and powerful processor, the iPhone SE 2020 will also likely get its RAM boosted from 1GB to 3GB. This may not sound like much, but considering that the iPhone 11 Pro and 11 Pro Max are doing just fine with 4GB of RAM, this shouldn’t be a concern.

A reliable inside source has revealed to 9to5Mac that the iPhone SE 2 will be available in three storage options: 64GB, 128GB, and 256GB.

The iPhone SE 2020 will only have one camera, but its imaging sensor and lens are set to be a meaningful upgrade over the iPhone 8, so we'd expect it to perform quite well.

Apple iPhone SE 2020 price and release date

The launch of the new iPhone SE / 9 could happen very soon. This information comes from an inside source who told 9to5Mac that Apple could start taking orders for the new iPhone "as soon as tomorrow." The latest word around the street is that the iPhone 9 release date could happen on April 15.

As for price, the iPhone SE 2020 is said to start at $399 for the entry-level 64GB version, which is $50 less than the iPhone 8. Curiously, the 128GB configuration could match the 128GB iPhone 8 at a recommended price of $499.