Apple could launch a second version of the so-called iPhone SE 2 before the end of the year, according to DigiTimes. The latest prediction from the hit-and-miss industry publication is said to come from sources in Taiwan's supply chain.
The latest news coming from the supply chain is that Apple is likely to add yet another LCD-based model to its iPhone lineup for 2020. This new member will be an upgraded version of the widely speculated iPhone SE2 featuring a 5.5- or 6.1-inch LCD display and available at the end of 2020 or in earlier 2021, said the sources.
Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo expects Apple to release five new iPhone models in 2020 – a so-called iPhone SE 2 with a 4.7-inch LCD display in the first half of 2020, followed by a higher-end all-OLED lineup consisting of 5.4-inch, two 6.1-inch, and 6.7-inch models in the second half of the year.
However, some supply chain makers at iPhone's assembly partners claim to have received roadmaps showing production of "six items" of iPhones, claims DigiTimes. According to the report, Taiwan-based driver-IC backend firm Chipbond Technology is said to have landed COF packaging orders from Apple for both LCD devices.
The initial model of the so-called iPhone SE 2 is expected to resemble the iPhone 8, including a 4.7-inch display with bezels and a Touch ID home button, but with a faster A13 chip and 3GB of RAM. The device will continue to have a single-lens rear camera, according to Kuo, like the original iPhone SE and the iPhone 8. Similar to DigiTimes, Kuo believes that a larger "iPhone SE 2 Plus" is also in the works, but he predicts it won't arrive until 2021.
