Breaking months of silence, details of the iPhone SE 3 have leaked.

The information comes from Weibo user 搞机阿森, and we have also seen fresh renders of the iPhone SE (2020) follow-up from Twitter user MajinBu. While official details of the iPhone 13 are yet to be announced, Apple s plans for a new, lower-priced model will be interesting to those who do not want or cannot afford a more expensive flagship iPhone.

The Weibo post reiterates the idea that the new iPhone SE will be released in the first half of 2022. In this case, the gap between iPhone SE models would be two years, longer than the 12-month update cycle for regular phones, but shorter than the four-year gap between the original iPhone SE in 2016 and the current model.

Apparently, the iPhone SE 3 will be based on the iPhone XR. That's a big deal because it means that the iPhone SE design has finally caught up to the flagship iPhone. The current iPhone SE is one of the only phones on the market that still uses huge bezels and a physical home button, and looks old-fashioned as a result.

The price will apparently be 3,499 yuan (about $542). This is considerably higher than the current iPhone SE base price of $400, but such direct currency conversions are seldom accurate, so it is possible that the iPhone SE 3 will be priced lower in the US. Similarly, given that the iPhone XR currently sells for $500, perhaps an iPhone SE price based on that would be a reasonable range.

Since it is supposed to be based on the iPhone XR, the iPhone SE 3 could use an LCD display instead of an OLED display, which, given that the majority of models, even in the mid-range class to which the iPhone SE belongs, use OLED displays, could This could be a problem. iPhone SE 3 could have a dimmer, less colorful display than its rivals, and battery life could be negatively affected.

The chipset that will be used is expected to be the same A14 Bionic as the iPhone 12 series. The next iPhone 13 is expected to have a new, more powerful A15 chip, which should still mean that the new SE will outperform most Android phones. Also, the iPhone SE 3 will likely feature 5G connectivity.

It will still be several months before this alleged iPhone SE 3 goes on sale, but at least in the meantime we can enjoy the excitement of the iPhone 13 announcement. If we want to look further into the future, there have been a number of recent leaks of the iPhone 14, Apple's supposed flagship phone for 2022. Details of the rumored under-display Face ID system, a flatter camera bump, and the possible return of Touch ID make for interesting reading.