A $399 iPhone is Coming, According to Reliable Analyst

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Ming-Chi Kuo is one of the most accurate Apple analysts in the game. When he makes a prediction, people tend to listen. That’s why his latest announcement has garnered a large amount of attention. Kuo claims the next iPhone Apple will release will come in Spring of 2020, and it’ll be a continuation of the incredibly popular iPhone SE. Like the iPhone SE, it’ll carry today’s specs in an older iPhone. Best of all, it’ll cost just $399.

The iPhone SE 2

Apple may just call it the iPhone SE, or perhaps something completely different, like the iPhone 11 SE 2. For the sake of tying less, I’m going to just call it the iPhone SE 2 for now. The SE 2 (well that still looks weird) will feature the same processor as the iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro, and iPhone 11 Pro Max (oh, that looks weird too). It’ll come with only 3GB of memory, 1GB less than the other new iPhones, which have identical specs, 4GB of memory. The reduced memory could mean that the new device will not have the computational photography capabilities that the iPhone 11 phones have, mainly deep fusion and night mode. In fact, the new iPhone may only carry the wide angle (not the ultra wide angle) lens from the new iPhones.

It’ll look like an iPhone 8, which means Touch ID and the home button aren’t dead yet. It’ll feature the smaller 4.7″ LCD display that the older iPhones are known for. This is still a quality display, but doesn’t match up to the tiny bezels on the new iPhone 11 devices.

Why?

The biggest selling point of the iPhone SE 2 will be its price. $399 is a steal for a new iPhone. It would even undercut the iPhone 8, which currently goes for $449. The fact that’ll it’ll have Apple’s fast mobile processors and a realistic amount of storage will make the device popular with holdouts. Many people are still using the iPhone 6, iPhone SE, and other older models for a variety of reasons. Apple’s phones became very expensive, and only the young and the tech savvy want to upgrade every few years. Now, many people, especially those who don’t care about phones, are holding on to phones that are over four years old. A $399 iPhone could change that for them.

It’s also smaller. Although it’s not the size that many small iPhone fans wish Apple would stick with, 4″, most holdouts have already upgraded to at least Apple’s 4.7″ iPhone in the form of an iPhone 6. The 4″ screen of the iPhone 5 and iPhone SE is but a fond memory.

Bye, iPhone 6

But for those who have held out for four years to upgrade their iPhones, the cheaper model Apple’s releasing this spring may be the right device to hold out for. It’ll have a familiar form factor (though even the iPhone 11 barely changed since the iPhone 6 outside of the screen and cameras), a home button, a smaller screen, but still the same processor and storage options of Apple’s more expensive iPhones. It may even have one of their cameras, which will still make it a very good camera. The iPhone XR, after all, has only one rear camera, and it’s excellent. This would improve upon that.

Hello, India and Beyond!

Finally, there are countries that have lower incomes than Americans. They can’t afford a $1,000 phone (hell, in this economy, with our stagnant wages, Americans can’t either). Even the cheaper models are too expensive. But a $399 phone would allow Apple to reach these people. In a year, those prices will drop further. A year from now, it’ll be a $299 iPhone, and then even less. Apple may even accept a smaller profit margin to move into these countries. The iPhone SE 2 wouldn’t just be for low-income Americans and tech holdouts. It would allow Apple to expand into countries that were previously considered Android-only, due to the low prices available on cheap Android phones. For Apple, a cheap iPhone is a huge win.

What do you think? Would a $399 iPhone be enough for you to upgrade?

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Sources:

• Killian Bell, Cult of Mac
• Benjamin Mayo, 9to5Mac