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Report: New Wireless Charging iPhone SE Expected by June

Apple is expected to refresh the iPhone SE as a glass-backed smartphone with wireless charging and an entry-level price point.

January 26, 2018
iPhone SE

Apple's iPhones aren't exactly cheap, in fact, the iPhone X ($999.00 at Verizon) set the price bar even higher when it was priced at $1,000. But Apple knows there's a market out there for more budget-friendly smartphones, which is why we got the iPhone SE back in 2016. Now a refresh of that entry-level handset is expected to appear by June.

Luke Lin, senior analyst at Digitimes Research, believes that Apple is planning an iPhone SE refresh with a launch planned for May or June at the latest. Very little is known about the new model, but it is expected to have a glass back and wireless charging as standard. As this is a budget phone, we shouldn't expect any of Apple's latest features, such as 3D sensors or Face ID.

Right now, the existing iPhone SE ( at Amazon) is available unlocked for around $349 with 32GB of storage or $449 with 128GB. In return you get a smartphone with a 4-inch Retina display (1136-by-640), A9 64-bit processor with M9 motion co-processor, 2GB RAM, 12MP rear-facing and 1.2MP front-facing cameras, and the now rarely seen 3.5mm headphone jack.

What will be interesting to see is whether Apple tries to hit the same price point or instead decides the new SE should be a replacement for the still available iPhone 6s or iPhone 7 ($288.00 at Visible) , which would mean a higher price. It also seems likely the new iPhone SE would include a larger display as 4-inches just doesn't cut it anymore.

Digitimes also believes Apple is working on three other new iPhones in preparation for the expected refresh later this year. They will include 5.7/5.8-inch and 6.0/6.1-inch LCDs as well as a 6.4/6.5-inch OLED panel. Could the smallest of those LCD panels also end up being used in the new iPhone SE?

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About Matthew Humphries

Senior Editor

I started working at PCMag in November 2016, covering all areas of technology and video game news. Before that I spent nearly 15 years working at Geek.com as a writer and editor. I also spent the first six years after leaving university as a professional game designer working with Disney, Games Workshop, 20th Century Fox, and Vivendi.

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