Update: A new report suggests that the iPhone SE 3 will again be released in early 2022.

With the notch-less iPhone 14 Pro said to be only a year away, the next iPhone is likely to be a refreshed version of the entry-level iPhone SE 3.

Japanese Apple blog Macotakara claims that the iPhone SE 3 will share some of the internals of the recent iPhone 13 series while maintaining the somewhat dated look of the current iPhone SE. And while you would imagine there will be less RAM and storage to maintain the mid-range pricing, it opens the door to 5G in the SE model for the first time.

At first glance, however, the iPhone SE 3 will apparently look almost identical to the cheapest current iPhone, namely the 2017 iPhone 8. That is, the 4.7-inch IPS Retina screen will be flanked by thicker top and bottom borders, and the familiar Touch ID home button will be retained for authentication.

Notably, the report does not mention the once-rumored larger iPhone SE Plus. That makes sense since the last we heard was that this would be delayed to 2023.

Macotakara claims that the iPhone SE 3 will go into production this December and will be announced in spring 2022. Apple is the last thing it wants a cheap iPhone to steal the thunder from the 13 series, and the six-month gap should give those eager for the latest flagship hardware enough time to buy.

The iPhone SE is certainly due for an upgrade, with the last version appearing at the start of the April 2020 pandemic. However, while annual updates are expected for many Apple products, the iPhone SE is a much harder product to predict because of the four-year gap between the first and second generations.

Still, this latest report is consistent with the predictions of the usually accurate analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, who would like to believe that the wait for a new iPhone SE is almost over.