New iPhone SE: how will it look good?

      New iPhone SE: how will it look good?

How closely will the Phone SE resemble the iPhone 5s? CREDIT: APPLE

 Rhiannon Williams 

4 MARCH 2016

The iPhone SE is due to be revealed later this month, a rumored 4-inch handset Apple has the update to the iPhone 5s, released in the year 2013.

Though initial reports suggested Apple had planned to name of the new model the iPhone 5se, to sort it with the 5s and 5c, now it appears the company has decided to name it the iPhone SE, it meaning Special Edition.

It is size expected to keep the same 4-inch display as the 5s but include a number of the new edition to bring the small phone up to date, coupled with the smooth curved glass sides of the 6 and 6s' screen.

Other rumors suggested the iPhone SE will sport a Touching ID fingerprint sensor, an NFC chip for Apple Pay transactions and a more powerful 12MP camera and the processor fast than the 5s. It is likely to come in 16GB and 64GB storage versions, essentially picking the best features of the past few releases into the small package.

The leaked image of the iPhone 5se

An image of the phone appeared to leak in January showing the same rounded edges as the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6s models. It also houses the shutdown button on the right-hand side, rather than the top. It will reportedly have a 12MP back camera and front camera 5MP, the similar specifications as the iPhone 6s.

iPhone SE: how much it will cost?

MacRumours commissioned artist Tomas Moyano to mock up any images of how the handset's back could look based on rumors suggesting the best plastic antenna strips may no longer stretch across the entire width of its back.

Concept is of the slim model as seen from the front and back

Moyano also envisions the iPhone SE as retaining the circular control sound buttons last seen on the iPhone 5s, and sticking to the same golden, silver, space gray and rose golden scheme as the 6s model.

The circling camera flash also takes its design causes from the 5s, which has since shifted to a circular design in the 6, 6s and 6s plus generations.

The plastic antenna is no longer stretches the entire width of the iPhone, and the control sound buttons are circular 

Moyano's designs closely echo a video purporting to be of the iPhone SE, uploaded to YouTube in February by M.I.C Gadget. While the handset sports the same plastic antenna strip bumpers, its control sound buttons on the left-hand side appear to be the same slim rounded rectangle design as the 6 and 6s.

Leaked schematics obtained by OnLeaks describe the on/off button on the top right of its body, much like the 5s. The iPhone 6 bring the button to the side partly because the big screen sizes making the top difficult to reach, so there is less reason to do so on the 5se, Apple may want to move the button for consistency with the rest of the line. A previous leaked photo and picture have suggested a side lock button.

KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi told MacRumours the iPhone SE will cost between $450 - $550 in the US, equating to between £300 and £400 in the UK.

While that price bracket is necessarily expensive, it would be significantly lower than the current starting price of £540 for an iPhone 6s or £620 for an iPhone 6s Plus. The iPhone 6 starts at £460 at the time of writing, while the iPhone 6 Plus begins at £540. 

Interestingly, Kuo also predicts  Apple will slash the price of the iPhone 5s by 50 per cent, following the instead of the SE - currently starting at £380, down to around $230,  roughly equating to £161 minus tax.