Apple has just announced its Peek Performance event for March 2022 - it drops on March 8 - and so that means we likely aren't far away from the launch of an all-new iPhone SE (2022).
Numerous rumors have suggested that Apple has plans to launch a new iPhone SE this year; given that the iPhone SE (2016) and iPhone SE (2020) both launched in April it feels almost certain that the 2022 model will follow suit.
If that's to be the case Apple is running out of time to make an announcement, making the Apple March event the most likely place that we'll see the new model unveiled.
The event is just hours away, but if you're desperate to find out what changes to expect from the iPhone SE 2022 then you've come to the right place as we're here to tell you about three key upgrades over the iPhone SE 2020 that we're likely to see.
- Follow along live: Apple March Event live blog
5G capabilities
Long gone are the days of 5G being reserved solely for a brand’s most premium smart phones. The OnePlus CE 5G and the Realme 8 5G are just two examples of the tech being put to good use in budget-friendly offerings - so we expect Apple will finally upgrade its cheaper iPhone SE line to 5G in 2022.
Numerous leaks have hinted that 5G is indeed coming to the iPhone SE this year alongside an upgrade to the same A15 Bionic chipset as the iPhone 13 range. While we can’t count our chickens until they’ve hatched, the fact multiple sources have hinted at the same detail makes 5G feel like a shoo-in for inclusion in this year’s iPhone SE.
If it is added, users within the range of a 5G network can take advantage of much faster network speeds while using mobile data compared with its 4G and 3G predecessors.
A bigger iPhone SE Plus
Our Global Editor in Chief recently detailed his hopes that we’ll see an iPhone 14 Max later this year - a larger version of the phone without any other bells and whistles over the base model.
While we’re no closer to knowing if his prayers will be answered, he might be happy to hear that the iPhone SE could fulfill his dreams. Albeit using the Plus naming convention from the iPhone 8 era rather than the modern Max.
That’s because we’ve seen rumors hinting at two different sizes for the iPhone SE (2022). Some reports suggest that this year's model will use the same 4.7-inch LCD as its 2020 counterpart, while others indicate that the iPhone SE could launch as the iPhone SE Plus with a 5.7-6.1-inch LCD screen.
Our best guess is that these competing leaks suggest we’re getting two new iPhone SEs this year - a smaller version and a larger one. We’ll have to wait and see what Apple announces at its Peek Performance event, but we wouldn’t be surprised to see more than one entry ins budget line get shown off onstage.
Face ID and AR features
Last but not least we’ve seen reports that indicate Face ID could finally be coming to the iPhone SE in 2022.
This replacement for Apple’s fingerprint sensor provides both security and augmented reality features - with the latter being the main reason we believe that we could finally see Face ID on the iPhone SE (2022).
That’s because Apple’s March event is incorrectly stylized as Peek Performance instead of Peak Performance (which is an actual phrase). The use of Peek (which relates to seeing) - coupled with the event’s logo (which can be viewed as an AR object using an iPad or iPhone) has us convinced that AR-related tech will be a theme of this event.
Given that Face ID is an intrinsic part of Apple’s AR endeavors it would be odd for it to launch a new iPhone SE without the feature at an AR-focused event.
But, we’ll just have to wait and see if our hunches are correct. Be sure to check back here on March 8 for our coverage of Apple's Peek Performance event so you can hear about all of the latest Apple announcements as they happen.
