iPhone SE new photos and seemingly eradicated features

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Pictures of the iPhone SE’s 4-inch screen just leaked

The ever reliable Nowhereelse.fr is the bearer of the bad news. The site – which obtained the first photos of the iPhone 6, iPhone 6S, Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S7 – has shown off production line photos of the iPhone SE which confirm it will:

  1. Use the old design of the iPhone 5S, rather than shrink the iPhone 6S
  2. Not include 3D Touch, Apple’s much hyped pressure sensitive screen technology

Also Rumours have claimed that the iPhone SE will have the same design as iPhone 5s with curved edges, and will run the A9 chip with M9 motion co-processor. The iPhone SE is unlikely to come without a headphone jack, so this one will not give us a glimpse into what iPhone 7 will look like. Reports also claim that the new iPhone SE could come with support for live photos and 3D Touch feature, seen in iPhone 6s series.

iPhone SE new photos and seemingly eradicated features
iPhone SE new photos and seemingly eradicated features

The same pictures were posted by notorious gadget leaker Steve Hemmerstoffer on his Twitter account, @stagueve.

A new report from KGI Securities, a consulting firm that often reports on Apple, that was obtained from 9to5Mac suggests the iPhone SE will have a 12-megapixel camera instead of the rumored 8-megapixel camera from the iPhone 5s.

The report also claims the iPhone SE will be priced between $400 and $500.

The iPhone SE is supposedly the name of Apple’s upcoming 4-inch smartphone. The smallest version of the latest iPhone model, the iPhone 6s, has a 4.7-inch screen. The last iPhone with a 4-inch screen was the iPhone 5S.

The new images seems to confirm that 3D Touch components are absent from the 4-inch device. This is consistent with rumors to date that suggest the 4-inch iPhone will incorporate Live Photo support, but not 3D Touch, which is considered a flagship feature for the iPhone 6s line. Other than the lack of 3D Touch, the leaked images don’t appear to show too much about the iPhone SE. 3D Touch was one of the features highlighted the most when Apple announced the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus last year. The company also touted Live Photos, a feature that the smaller iPhone SE is expected to offer.

The pictures don’t show any measurements, but both i4u and Hemmerstoffer suggest the pictured screen is four inches across, lending credibility to the rumors that Apple is releasing a 4-inch iPhone.

There are likely technological reasons as well. Fitting 3D Touch into the smaller 4-inch form factor of the iPhone SE was likely a step too far (at least for now) given the iPhone 6S and iPhone 6S Plus had reduced battery capacities just to accommodate it. Meanwhile a 3D Touch capable iPhone SE would eat into profit margins and destroy a key reason to upsell customers to the 6S and 6S Plus.

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