It’s been one year since Apple announced the iPhone SE – is a new model coming?

On April 15 last year, Apple announced the second-generation iPhone SE, after months of speculation. It has a 4.7-inch display, Touch ID, A13 Bionic chip and a single 12MP camera.

The device is still on sale for $399, but one year later, is Apple planning a new model?

2022 iPhone SE rumours

Apple could release an updated iPhone SE in 2022, according to a recent report from Kuo, who is usually accurate with information he shares. The information was also reiterated by another analyst.

The third-generation iPhone SE will reportedly use the same 4.7-inch home button design with Touch ID, but will receive minor upgrades to performance with a newer chip.

It could also support sub-6GHz 5G for the first time. Apple bought 5G capabilities to the iPhone for the first time with the iPhone 12, iPhone 12 mini, iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro Max last year. It looks to be rolling out support across the whole iPhone lineup.

This new model is expected in the first-half of 2022, despite some reports of a new model launching in 2021.

2023 and later

It’s currently unclear if Apple will update the iPhone SE for a second year running if the rumours about a 2022 refresh are correct. However, both display analyst Ross Young and Ming-Chi Kuo claim that a redesigned iPhone SE will launch in 2023.

This model is expected to have a 6.1-inch display, with thinner bezels and no home button. It will use a hole-punch cutout to house the selfie camera rather than a notch, which is currently used on the iPhone 12 for Face ID.

Apple will also move to a hole-punch cutout in its 2022 iPhone lineup, other reports claim. This will see a notable reduction in the size of the TrueDepth sensor used for unlocking the device with Face ID. The iPhone SE could see this upgrade as soon as 2023.

Are you waiting for a new iPhone SE? Please let us know in the comments or on Twitter!

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Ben Ward

Senior Editor, discussing everything Apple and supporting other writers and members of Apple TLD's team of volunteers.

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