The iPhone SE is a rarity among cell phones. Not only is it an inexpensive device, but it has all the advantages of owning an iPhone.

The only question is when the iPhone SE 3 will arrive; DigiTimes Asia reports that the next iPhone SE may arrive in early 2022.

DigiTimes sources also claim that the next iPhone will run on the same A14 Bionic chipset as the one in the iPhone 12 series. Other than that, however, not much else has been revealed about what might be included in the iPhone SE 3.

The report cites anonymous supply chain sources who claim that orders to the iPhone SE 3 will create new business for "chip-probing specialists." Chip probing is part of the quality testing phase in production, and DigiTimes reports that this could be done by Xintec.

Xintect is a subsidiary of Apple chipmaker TSMC, which supplied many components for the original iPhone SE and second-generation iPhone SE 2020.

DigiTimes has many sources within Apple's supply chain, but the stakes that can be put into this report are limited. After all, this has not been fully verified by Apple and will likely remain so until the company is ready to release the rumored iPhone SE 3. However, it is consistent with a report by prominent Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo earlier this year.

There were rumors that the new iPhone SE might launch this year. However, those have died down, suggesting that 2022 is the earliest the new iPhone will be available. That would seem logical, given that fall is rapidly approaching and is when Apple is expected to unveil the iPhone 13 series.

But what can we expect from the iPhone SE 3? iPhone SE 2020 is similar to the iPhone 11, which is hidden inside the iPhone 8 design.

Thus, if the iPhone SE 3 is to appear next year, we might expect some of the hardware used in the iPhone 12, including 5G connectivity, in the appearance of the older model. Fan-generated renderings take some cues from the iPhone XR.

The XR is clearly larger than the iPhone SE 2020, resulting in a 6.1-inch display, which would depend on whether Apple wanted to keep the iPhone SE's small form factor.

Whatever happens, expect the iPhone SE 3 to feature Touch ID. A fingerprint sensor under the display is unlikely, especially since such a sensor has yet to debut on a flagship iPhone. After all, such a feature is already available on the new iPad Air.

Given that little information is available about the iPhone SE 3, we don't know what Apple will actually do with it. Just don't expect brand new flagship-class specs.