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The new iPhone SE2 Apple is beautiful. The slim and elegant successor of the deceased SE is less than 5 inches long and 2½ inches wide. It is 40% smaller and lighter than a flagship iPhone such as the XR and the XS Max. But thanks to the new edge-to-edge design, this small pocket phone still has a screen size of about 5 inches.
The problem? Alas, the iPhone SE2 does not exist. And the apple
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The rumor, which is generally quite reliable, does not predict that Tim Cook will unveil one alongside other new iPhone models at the Apple launch event on Sept. 10.
Instead, the SE2 – or perhaps the "XE" – was imagined by Apple fans who want a return to smaller and more stylish phones in the era of increasingly larger "phablets" . For example, the beautiful photo above is a screenshot of YouTube
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EverythingApplePro channel. The video on "The Forbidden iPhone SE2" drew nearly 2.5 million views, 36,000 "likes" and 3,400 comments.
It's a lot of interaction for a video on a phone that does not exist.
Do not miss: The real cost of an iPhone during your lifetime: $ 300,000
There are many Apple fans who would like to see back to a form factor like that of the SE2. The original SE, which itself was inspired by the older iPhone 4 and 5, was one of the most lavish phones ever designed, in the eyes of its fans. They attributed to it an elegance and a convenience very different from the big new phones.
Apple abandoned the model last year and they are starting to become a collector's item. You can always buy them on eBay
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for about $ 250, even though they are now almost four years old – and use a chip launched in 2015.
The SE had a 4-inch screen. The current XS is 5.8 inches, the XR 6.1 inches and the XS Max 6.5 inches. The new models are excellent as portable video players, gaming devices and even computers. But they do not slip into the pocket of your jeans or your shirt with the same ease.
(Apple could not be contacted immediately for comment, the company does not generally comment on rumors or upcoming models.)
Some calculations show that a new OS using the same edge-to-edge technology as the latest iPhones could fit a screen about 5 inches in diameter to the same size as the old OS.
Frank Gillett, technology expert at Forrester Research, explains that there is a group of smartphone users who still want a small phone. "I have friends and family members who tell me," I love these little phones. Can I have another one? "He says. According to polls, 15% of the population prefers a smartphone with a screen size of 5 inches or less.
But he says he has not heard any rumors about a smaller iPhone in the pipeline, and he is not too hopeful. The reason? Economy.
If 15% of the population says they want a small phone, only about 10% would buy one, he suggests. "Apple's really built on the scale," he says. "They do not like 10%." As people now replace their phones every three years, the actual size of the potential market is probably not important enough for Apple, he adds.
And if Apple wanted to make one using the new side-by-side displays, he'd need to design it out of nothing, Gillett said. "They should assume all the costs of engineering and design and set up a separate manufacturing supply line. It is therefore unlikely that they will go there. "
The old SE, by contrast, was essentially composed of newer components built into the old chassis of the iPhone 5, he said.
And why should Apple still make a SE2? The company hardly wants its high-end customers to use a smaller phone, probably cheaper. And the bigger your phone, the more you pay for a greater number of media subscriptions.
The most intriguing question is whether we will see small smartphones on the competing Android platform. As there are so many manufacturers, some could be content with about 10% of the market. Until now, the specialized technology site GSMarena.com only indicates 10 Android phones with a screen of 5 inches or less that run the latest version of Android 9.0. Among these, the Sony XZ2 Compact
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is closest to the size of the old SE.
But it costs about $ 600. And of course, it's not an iPhone. Apple fans who are littering for a smaller phone may be faced with the unthinkable: switching to another manufacturer.
Apple's shares are up 31% this year, compared to 13% for the Dow Jones Industrial Average
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and a 16% gain for the S & P 500
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.
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