9to5Mac: ‘Apple Likely to Drop the “5”, Call New 4-Inch Model the “iPhone SE”’

Mark Gurman:

In January, we reported that Apple is preparing a new 4-inch iPhone that is essentially 2013’s iPhone 5s with upgraded internals. At the time, we heard that Apple would call the device the “iPhone 5se” based on it being both an enhanced and “special edition” version of the iPhone 5s. Now, we are hearing that Apple appears to be going all in on the special edition factor: sources say that Apple has decided to drop the “5” from the device’s name and simply call it the “iPhone SE.” This will mark the first iPhone upgrade without a number in its name and would logically remove it from a yearly update cycle.

A few points:

  • Apple was never going to call this phone the “5 SE”. I don’t know where Gurman got that, but that was never going to happen. Why would Apple give a new phone a name that makes it sound old?

  • Isn’t it more accurate to think of this as an iPhone 6S in a 4-inch body than as an iPhone 5S with “upgraded internals”? Other than the display, aren’t the “internals” the defining characteristics of any iPhone?

  • Dropping the number entirely fits with my theory that this phone is intended to remain on the market for 18-24 months.

★ Friday, 26 February 2016