iPhone SE 2: iOS 13.4.5 beta code confirms new TouchID iPhone incoming ahead of possible April 14 or April 15 announcement

While the iPhone SE 2 has been rumoured to launch by the end of the week, Jon Prosser has other ideas. The device, which may be sold as the iPhone 9 or simply the iPhone, was supposed to be launched towards the end of last month. However, the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic demonstrably put paid to that release window.

According to Prosser, the sighting of the UAG case for the iPhone SE 2 may be something of a red herring. As he points out, rumour had it that the iPhone SE 2 would start shipping by early April. While that is unlikely to come to pass now, case makers may have already been in the process of sending their inventory to retailers before Apple pulled the plug on a March announcement. Accordingly, the UAG leak could actually reflect the original release window for the iPhone SE 2.

Prosser states that his sources have informed him that Apple has decided upon a mid-April release for the iPhone SE 2 and is targetting the following week for when it will begin shipping orders. While April 15 and April 22 have been offered as likely dates, Prosser also claims that Apple is toying with scuppering the OnePlus 8 series launch.

As it stands, announcing the iPhone SE 2 on April 15 would give OnePlus 24 hours of OnePlus 8 series coverage. However, Prosser claims that Apple is considering launching the iPhone SE 2 on the same day that OnePlus launches its new devices, essentially stealing the headlines from OnePlus. Doing so would necessarily be a great loss for Apple either, as it still has its flagship iPhones planned for later this year. In a sense, it would be sacrificing initial hype around its new entry-level iPhone to torpedo a competitor unveiling its latest flagship. Canny or petty, we doubt Apple cares either way.

Separately, 9to5Mac reports that iOS 13.4.5 beta code corroborates the existence of the iPhone SE 2. A snippet explicitly refers to an iPhone that supports Touch ID and Express Transit, a combination of which no iPhone currently offers. There is still the possibility of Apple releasing an iPhone SE 2 Plus too, as we previously reported.