Apple Doubles iPhone SE Storage Capacity

Apple has given the iPhone SE a storage boost, and the new models will go on sale soon, the company announced on Tuesday.

Cupertino announced the higher-capacity iPhone SE models after a scheduled maintenance of the company’s online store last night — starting at 3 a.m. ET, and ending at 8:30 a.m. this morning. While the store was offline, it displayed a banner stating “We’ve got something special in store for you. And we can’t wait for you to see it. Please check back soon.” Apple’s online store usually goes down for maintenance before new products are unveiled.

In place of the 16GB ($399) and 64GB ($449) models that were previously available, Apple will start offering various the iPhone SE in 32GB and 128GB options for $399 and $499, respectively. The former replaces the 16GB at the same price point, and the latter replaces the 64GB model, which was originally $499 as well, but received a $50 price cut in the wake of the iPhone 7’s release.

The new iPhone SE models will retain the same specifications and internals as the previous two, meaning that it’s not technically a refresh — more of an incremental storage bump. Both new storage options will be available in the standard four colors: Space Gray, Silver, Gold and Rose Gold.

While a handful of rumors stated that the iPhone SE wouldn’t see an update this spring despite its surprise popularity, today’s announcement was foreshadowed earlier this month when Target called its stores to return remaining iPhone SE stocks. That’s typically a sign that an update or refresh is imminent. In February, it was also reported that Apple would announce the iPhone SE storage options alongside a (PRODUCT)RED iPhone 7 — which they did. Notably, Apple didn’t wait for their spring event — and no mention of new iPad Pro models was made today.

Apple announced that the new iPhone SE models will be available both online and in-store starting Friday, March 24.