Apple’s iPhone SE plus will take on budget Chinese smartphones

Apple has plans to launch a mid-range mobile phone at an affordable price point by 2021 to better compete with the likes of Xiaomi, Oppo, Vivo etc in both India and China.

The iPhone SE 2020 was launched earlier this year, the next iteration is expected in the second half of 2021.  (Jhinuk Sen/HT Tech)

Apple has its set of expensive smartphones, like the newly launched iPhone 12 Pro Max which retails for over $1,000 in the US. However, it has affordable iPhones too like the iPhone XR from earlier and the iPhone SE 2020 that was launched earlier this year.

According to a report in Gizchina, Apple has plans to launch a mid-range mobile phone at an affordable price point by 2021 to better compete with the likes of Xiaomi, Oppo, Vivo etc in both India and China.

Reportedly, Chinese optical device and camera module manufacturer Sunny Optical Technology expects orders from Huawei to drop due to the US sanctions and is looking to compete for orders from Apple. According to sources, Sunny Optical is hoping to become a supplier for camera modules for the iPhone in 2021, but those plans are “likely to come true in 2022”.

By actually planning launching cheaper phones, Apple is looking to expand its supplier list and reduce manufacturing costs. The main suppliers of cameras for iPhone smartphones are Taiwanese Largan and Yujingguang, “which have a slight technological advantage over Sunny Optical Technology”.

The new “affordable” smartphone might be the 5.5-inch iPhone SE Plus which will reportedly come with a side fingerprint scanner and Apple will reportedly also include Touch ID buttons to reduce costs.

Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo believes that the new iPhone SE Plus will come with a 5.5-inch or 6.1-inch screen and continue to use an LCD Display. Speculations indicate that it will use the same case as the iPhone XR or iPhone 8.

Reports further state that it's going to be a 4G device only and not come with 5G support and it is going to come with the A14 Bionic under the hood and is expected to be launched in the second half of 2021.