The rumored iPhone SE 2 could reportedly be called iPhone 9 instead

iPhone 8 (Image credit: iMore)

What you need to know

Apple's rumored iPhone SE 2 might not be called that after all.
A new report has the phone badged as iPhone 9 instead.
Whatever it's called, it's expected to arrive next year.

The heavily rumored iPhone SE 2 might not be called that after all. According to a new report by Mac Otakara (via MacRumors.) citing an "informed source," it'll actually be called iPhone 9.

So far reports and rumors have the phone looking similar to iPhone 8 including the use of Touch ID and a 4.7-inch display. Inside it's likely to have the same A13 processor that powers iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro, and iPhone 11 Pro Max, however. If this model really is a replacement for iPhone 8 rather than being the spiritual successor to the original iPhone SE, the iPhone 9 moniker would make tons of sense.

Whatever it ends up being called, it's said to start at $399 and have 64GB of storage as its base model. Color options will be Space Gray, Silver, and Red according to analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.

Kuo also believes that the phone will go into production next month with a March 2020 announcement to follow. Given the fact iPhone SE was announced in March of 2016, that might fit with Apple's normal cadence.

Even if it was four years ago.

Oliver Haslam has written about Apple and the wider technology business for more than a decade with bylines on How-To Geek, PC Mag, iDownloadBlog, and many more. He has also been published in print for Macworld, including cover stories. At iMore, Oliver is involved in daily news coverage and, not being short of opinions, has been known to 'explain' those thoughts in more detail, too. Having grown up using PCs and spending far too much money on graphics card and flashy RAM, Oliver switched to the Mac with a G5 iMac and hasn't looked back. Since then he's seen the growth of the smartphone world, backed by iPhone, and new product categories come and go. Current expertise includes iOS, macOS, streaming services, and pretty much anything that has a battery or plugs into a wall. Oliver also covers mobile gaming for iMore, with Apple Arcade a particular focus. He's been gaming since the Atari 2600 days and still struggles to comprehend the fact he can play console quality titles on his pocket computer.