Apple’s best value iPhone expected to get an update soon

While it’s the iPhone 13 that gets the most in terms of attention and column inches, it’s hardly a budget handset. Starting at $799 for the iPhone 13 ($699 if you’re happy with the tiny display on the iPhone 13 mini), it’s hardly a phone for everyone (even though it feels like everyone is hurl a thousand dollars at Apple for a smartphone these days).

Apple has quite a lineup of iPhones. At the top we have the iPhone 13 and the Pro/Pro Max variants. Then there’s the iPhone 12, iPhone 11, and the iPhone SE. At $399 for the 64GB version, the iPhone SE is the cheapest iPhone that Apple sells.

But it’s now coming up to its second birthday come April.

Time for an update, and according to Bloomberg‘s Mark Gurman, this is coming Spring 2022.

And this makes sense, despite the fact that it took Apple four years to release an update to the first-generation iPhone SE, things are changing fast in the smartphone ecosystem.

Even coming up to the 24-month mark, I don’t recommend spending $399 on the current iPhone SE.

It’s just too old.

Now, I think it’s quite a safe bet that Apple will update the aging A13 chip, and probably pack the new iPhone SE with 5G.

These are pretty much givens.

But what about the other things that date the iPhone SE.

The first thing that really dates it is the inclusion of Touch ID. All the other iPhones are kitted out with Face ID, and it seems a bit weird that Apple would continue to offer it on the updated SE.

I think that this may very well be the end of the road for Touch ID.

Will the design change? I’d expect it to change, if for no other reason than to differentiate it from the older handset. My guess is that it’ll look something like the iPhone 13 because that’ll look fresh (even thought that itself is pretty much a recycled design) and that the iPhone 14 will get a refresh so no one confuses the new iPhone SE with the new iPhone.

With Apple, it’s all about differentiation, even down to the design.

Better camera? Probably. Some display tweaks? Likely, and maybe a screen size bump, but I expect it to still be an LCD display to keep price down.

And while we’re talking about price, what about that price?

Is it still going to be $399?

Hmm, it’s tempting to wonder if this will change.

And if so, which way? Apple could justify a price rise based on a number of things — improved spec, component shortages, it’s just awesome — and there’s something to be said about not making it too cheap because that can reflect negatively on the brand.

$399 seems high for a budget phone, but not for a budget iPhone, so my guess would be that Apple will keep it where it is. Partly because there’s enough of a differential between it and the more expensive iPhones, and partly because it acts as a lure — people come in interested in the iPhone SE but perhaps leave having spent more on a different one.

Set the price too low, and it becomes too good to miss. Set it too high, and it doesn’t act like a lure.

Fiddling too much with the price could be counterproductive.