Apple iPhone SE 2: Renders of Apple's upcoming US$399 "budget" smartphone confirm iPhone 8 design

Rumours about the iPhone SE 2 have been circulating for years now, with one dating back as far as early 2018. News about the iPhone SE successor has been picking up lately though, culminating in a series of exquisite looking OnLeaks renders. If you are unaware of OnLeaks' pedigree, his renders are almost always on the money and effectively confirm the existence of a device. As has been previously rumoured, the upcoming iPhone is essentially an iPhone 8 with some updated hardware. According to iGeeksBlog, which partnered with OnLeaks for the recent iPad Pro renders too, the iPhone SE 2 will measure 138.5 x 67.4 x 7.8 mm. These dimensions would make the SE 2 0.5 mm thicker than the iPhone 8 and within 0.1 mm of its height and width. Meanwhile, iGeeksBlog claims that the rear-facing camera housing on the SE 2 will protrude by a further 0.8 mm from its glass back.

Another area of commonality between the two devices is their 4.7-inch display. The SE 2 will apparently have an LCD panel too, but we would be surprised if Apple opted for one with a 1,334 x 750 resolution and a 326 PPI like it did with the iPhone 8. There is one external change, though. iGeeksBlog claims that the SE 2 will have a frosted glass back, which may hint at the device having wireless charging capabilities.

Unsurprisingly, there is no headphone jack, but Touch ID returns. Do not expect Face ID, then. The SE 2 will have a single rear-facing camera too, but we expect Apple to borrow a sensor from the iPhone XS or iPhone 11 series here rather than stick with the sensor that it used in the iPhone 8. Finally, the A13 Bionic is rumoured to underpin the SE 2, which would give the device a handy performance boost over the iPhone 8 and the original iPhone SE.

The SE 2 may launch as soon as March and at US$399. Consider the SE 2 a working name for the time being, as there is a possibility that Apple will opt for the iPhone 9 instead. The name iPhone 9 potentially poses problems though, but we shall likely find out more in the coming weeks.