Apple Is Developing an iPhone SE 2 Leaked Image Suggests

A leaked image that was published on Wednesday morning to Chinese social networking site, Weibo, suggests that Apple might be working on an iPhone SE successor that will feature many of the design aesthetics rumored for its top-tier iPhone 8 flagship.

Without delving into additional detail about the handset, the Weibo user posted the below image to his account showing what appears to be the rear chassis of a markedly redesigned iPhone SE, which Apple was actually rumored to release back in March of this year. However it’s still possible that Apple could be gearing up to refresh the handset for a release sometime this year. According to a Chinese-English translation of the Weibo user’s post, the device could even be unveiled at WWDC 2017 next month.

The leaked device boasts a sleek, glass-backed chassis coupled with a vertically oriented camera set-up. Though the presence of two cutouts for the camera may allude to the device shipping with a dual-lens system like the iPhone 7 Plus, we can say with near certainty that the holes represent cutouts for a camera and flash, respectively. There’s no information on what the device could officially be named, if indeed it comes to market. But of course, Apple could name the device ‘iPhone SE Series 2’ — a similar nomenclature adopted by the Apple Watch family.

While not the flagship of Apple’s mobile device lineup, the iPhone SE captivated the hearts and pocketbooks of many users when it was unveiled back in March of last year, mainly because it featured the company’s iconic “compact” form-factor, encompassing the footprint of an iPhone 5, while incorporating a whole new slate of iPhone 6s-quality internals including a much faster A9 SoC, a 12 MP camera, and much more — although it notably lacked 3D Touch functionality.

Even though the iPhone SE has done quite well in terms of sales performance, the handset’s design is remarkably similar — if not outwardly identical — to that of Apple’s iPhone 5 and 5s; and therefore, in order to capture a larger segment of the market, Cupertino could certainly be at work on building a successor that’s both styled differently and constructed of more premium, next-generation materials such as glass and stainless steel, for example.

No other details about the alleged iPhone SE successor are known at this time. However, if indeed it’s in the pipeline, featuring a dramatic redesign a la what’s expected of the iPhone 8, Apple could have yet another blockbuster on its hands — not necessarily because the iPhone SE, in itself, is anything new, but because the design appears to be something much different than what iPhone users have grown accustomed to over the years.

[The information provided in this article has NOT been confirmed by Apple and may be speculation. Provided details may not be factual. Take all rumors, tech or otherwise, with a grain of salt.]