The best thing about Apple's new iPhone SE might not be the phone itself
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}A logo of Apple is seen in this Sept. 23, 2014 illustration photo in Sarajevo. (REUTERS/Dado Ruvic)
The new 4-inch iPhone Apple is reportedly going to unveil in the coming weeks is expected to be called the iPhone SE. The phone, first known as the iPhone 6c in unofficial reports and then as the iPhone 5SE in subsequent rumors, is supposed to offer customers all of the best feature of the iPhone 6 and 6s series in a more compact package. But as it turns out, the new phone will not be the affordable flagship some people would love to see from Apple.
But even with that having been said, shoppers looking for a brand new iPhone at a rock bottom price might still be in for some good news.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}A research note from KGI Securities Ming-Chi Kuo, an analyst who's been very accurate with Apple in the past, revealed over the weekend that the 4-inch device will cost between $400 and $500, a price tier that's currently occupied by the 2013 iPhone 5s.
According to Kuo, the iPhone SE will pack an A9 chip complete with NFC support, up to 64GB of storage, 12-megapixel rear camera, 802.11ac Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.2, and 1,642 mAh battery. Sadly, Kuo says there won't be any 3D Touch on this one, a feature that will remain a signature characteristic for the iPhone 6s line for the time being.
More interestingly, Kuo wrote that the iPhone 5s will not disappear from Apple's inventory. Rather than discontinuing a model that's been quite popular in the past, Apple will keep selling it alongside the iPhone SE, iPhone 6 and iPhone 6s. The kicker is that Apple is reportedly planning to cut the iPhone 5s price in half.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}At $225, a brand new iPhone 5s that has a fingerprint sensor and a 64-bit chip might be exactly the budget iPhone that Apple watchers have been calling for over and over again for the past five years.
Apple is expected to sell 12-million iPhone SE units this year according to Kuo, who had initially said that the figure would fall in the 18-20 million range. But Kuo said the forecast revision is based on Apple's decision to keep selling the iPhone 5s, which would see its sales "surge" following the massive price cut.