iPhone SE Plus Postponed Until Second Half of 2021

Apple may postpone a larger version of the new low-cost iPhone SE until the second half of 2021, according to Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.

In a previous note, Kuo said that Apple was working on an "‌iPhone‌ SE Plus" set to be released in the first half of 2021, but now he believes Apple will "likely postpone" this new model until later in 2021.

iPhoneSE2020sansClutter

The current ‌iPhone‌ SE

We predicted that Apple would launch the new iPhone model in 1H21 in a previous report ("iPhone supply chain to be 2020 top pick in the tech sector; key predictions for new iPhone product mixes in 2020 and 2021" [December 5, 2019]). However, we think that Apple will likely postpone the new model from 1H21 to 2H21.

The ‌iPhone‌ SE Plus is expected to have a 5.5 or 6.1-inch display with a full-screen design, similar to the ‌iPhone‌ 11 and 11 Pro. It will not use Face ID, though, and will instead feature Touch ID integrated into the power button on the right side of the device.

With no ‌Face ID‌, the ‌iPhone‌ SE Plus will feature a smaller notch as the front of the device will only need to house a standard front-facing camera, microphone, and speaker.

Apple just this month released the ‌iPhone‌ SE, a $399 ‌iPhone‌ that is similar in design to the ‌iPhone‌ 8 but with an upgraded A13 processor. It marries ‌Touch ID‌ and an older ‌iPhone‌ design with newer ‌iPhone‌ performance and is an appealing upgrade option for those coming from older iPhones like the ‌iPhone‌ 6 or ‌iPhone‌ 7.

Kuo has not provided details on the pricing of the ‌iPhone‌ SE Plus, but if it's in the SE family, it will presumably have a price tag lower than that of Apple's flagship devices despite the full-screen design and relocated ‌Touch ID‌ button.

Related Forum: iPhone

Popular Stories

iOS 26 Battery Glass Feature

iOS 26.1 Beta Liquid Glass Battery Drain Test: Tinted vs Clear Mode

Friday October 24, 2025 2:30 pm PDT by
In the fourth iOS 26.1 beta, Apple added a "Tinted" option that reduces the translucency of Liquid Glass for those who prefer a more opaque look. I saw some comments wondering whether the setting might preserve battery life, so I thought I'd do some testing. Test Settings I did four separate tests using the iPhone 17 Pro Max, and I kept the parameters as similar as possible. Here are the...
iOS 26 Maps Glass

Apple Reportedly Moving Ahead With Ads in Maps App

Sunday October 26, 2025 6:22 am PDT by
Apple Maps could feature integrated ads as soon as next year, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reports. In his latest "Power On" newsletter, Gurman said that Apple's plan to bring more ads to iOS is moving "gaining traction," with the Maps app being next in line. The project will apparently give restaurants and other businesses the option to pay to have their details featured more prominently in...
iOS 26

iOS 26.1 Coming Soon: New Features for Your iPhone and Release Date

Monday October 27, 2025 7:55 am PDT by
The upcoming iOS 26.1 update includes a handful of new features and changes for iPhones, including a toggle for changing the appearance of the Liquid Glass design, "slide to stop" for alarms in the Clock app, and more. Below, we outline key details about iOS 26.1. Release Date Given that Apple has yet to seed an iOS 26.1 Release Candidate, which is typically the final beta version, the...
iOS 26

iOS 26.1 Coming Soon With These 8 New Features for Your iPhone

Wednesday October 22, 2025 6:15 am PDT by
The upcoming iOS 26.1 update includes a handful of new features and changes for iPhones, including a toggle for changing the appearance of the Liquid Glass design, "slide to stop" for alarms in the Clock app, and more. iOS 26.1 is currently in beta testing. The update will likely be released in the first half of November, and it is compatible with the iPhone 11 series and newer, but some...
iPhone 17 Colors

iPhone 18 Rumored to Feature 50% More RAM

Saturday October 25, 2025 2:57 am PDT by
Apple's upcoming iPhone 18 could feature 50% more memory than its predecessor, according to Korea's The Bell. With its latest iPhone lineup, the iPhone Air, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 Pro Max feature 12GB of memory. This is a significant increase of 4GB more their predecessors, largely driven by the demands of on-device artificial intelligence processing. The iPhone 17 is the only new...
maxresdefault

Apple TV 4K Could Still Launch Before 2025 Ends: All the Rumored Features

Monday October 27, 2025 12:51 pm PDT by
Apple is designing an updated version of the Apple TV 4K, and rumors suggest that it could come out sometime in the next couple of months. We're not expecting a major overhaul with design changes, but even a simple chip upgrade will bring major improvements to Apple's set-top box. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. We've rounded up all the latest Apple TV rumors. ...
M6 MacBook Pro Feature 1

M6 MacBook Pro: Release Date, Pricing, and What to Expect

Monday October 27, 2025 9:15 am PDT by
Apple this month refreshed the 14-inch MacBook Pro base model with its new M5 chip, and higher-end 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models with M5 Pro and M5 Max chips are expected to follow in early 2026. However, these machines will represent the final update to the current design, with Apple reportedly developing a completely new version of the MacBook Pro packed with next-generation hardware...
swift for android

Developers Can Now Make Android Apps With Apple's Swift

Sunday October 26, 2025 4:23 am PDT by
The first preview release of the Swift SDK for Android was published this week, allowing developers to build Android apps in Swift with official tooling and making it easier to share code across iOS and Android. The SDK enables Android apps to be built in Swift using officially supported tooling rather than community workarounds. In June, it was announced that Apple's Swift programming...
Emergency SOS via Satellite iPhone YT

iPhone 18 Pro Rumored to Support Full 5G Satellite Internet

Friday October 24, 2025 7:18 am PDT by
At least some new iPhone models launching next year may support full 5G satellite internet, according to a report this week from The Information. "Apple plans to add support in upcoming iPhones as early as next year for 5G networks that aren't tethered to Earth's surface, which includes satellites," the report said. "That would give the iPhone full internet access over satellite," it added. ...

Top Rated Comments

pauloregan Avatar
72 months ago
Something that wasn’t happening is now not happening until next year, when it won’t happen either.
Score: 34 Votes (Like | Disagree)
MacDevil7334 Avatar
72 months ago
I dunno...this rumor seems off to me. The appeal of the SE to Apple is that they can recycle existing parts to offer a “new” phone at a low price with only minimal R&D required. The 2020 SE is basically the iPhone 8 chassis with an update processor and camera module and 3D Touch removed. There is very little new in there and certainly no parts that Apple wasn’t already manufacturing for other devices.

This is describing an entirely new phone design. If this phone ever materializes, I doubt it will be as affordable as either iteration of the SE so far.
Score: 26 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Scottsoapbox Avatar
72 months ago
6 different iPhones and not one of them can be small*? Seriously?

*Smaller than the 6-8. Think 5" screen with smaller bezels.
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
macusertruly4ever Avatar
72 months ago
Can we have an iPhone SE mini for a future release? Like the old iPhone SE with the 4 inch screen?
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
mattopotamus Avatar
72 months ago

Exactly. IMO, the whole point of the SE was to give customers a smaller form factor with the latest tech. It's not the price, it's the size that matters. But maybe Apple thinks bigger sells better (especially when cheap).
"IMO". That is the whole problem. It wasn't the point. It was to use a lot of leftover 5S "shells" and introduce a budget iPhone. It just happened to be a smaller form factor.

Is the smaller phone what a lot of us want? Yes. Was that the point of the OG SE? No.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
GuruZac Avatar
72 months ago
At that point, why not take the XR or even iPhone 11 and put new cameras and processor in it? That way people have a “larger” plus sized phone with updated design.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)