IPhone 5SE, an improved version of iPhone 5S, may launch in March

On Sunday, a photo claiming to show the iPhone 5se surfaced over at Apple blog One More Thing, allegedly showing the 4-inch iPhone (on the right) next to an iPhone 5.

The chamfered, shiny edges have been replaced with curved glass like on the iPhone 6 and 6S lines. Also, the new device is expected to be an upgraded version of the best-selling iPhone 5s, and not a preview of the iPhone 7.

The smaller iPhone model will retain the look of the 2013 flagship with some of the features of the iPhone 6 and 6S. The ‘se’ suffix has been defined in two ways by Apple employees; “special edition” variation of the vintage 4-inch iPhone screen size and as an “enhanced” version of the iPhone 5s. It’ll also allow for larger panoramas and autofocus for video recording, a barometer for tracking elevation in the Health app (bring on the mountain jogs!) and better connections for Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and VoLTE that come standard in the 6s. The supposedly imminent handset will be powered by A8 SoC and M8 motion coprocessor as seen on the iPhone 6.

PC Mag says once the iPhone 7 is released and the iPhone 5 is discontinued, this will leave Apple with three models: the 5SE, 6S and the iPhone 7. The handset will purportedly support Live Photos, a feature now exclusively available on the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus. The upcoming bands are reportedly made out of new materials and have been developed in partnership with various companies, similar to Apple’s collaboration with Hermes. Apple is said to be readying the launch of the iPhone 5se in March or April this year. Sifting through the reports to figure out what’s real and what’s a bunch of bologna isn’t easy, a fact that’s underscored by the current next-gen iPhone chatter. The displayed phone appears to have a similar camera placement and Apple’s Touch ID fingerprint scanner on the Home button. The report also claimed that this will phone will come 2GB RAM and 16GB internal storage option.

That said, the report adds that Apple isn’t fully convinced about launching the iPad Air 3 at its mid-March event.