Apple will not be launching iPhone SE 2021 till the first half of next year: Ming-Chi Kuo

Renowned Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo says Apple will not be launching the 2021 version of the iPhone SE in the first half of the year. In his recent notes that dealt with the increased competition for providing cameras for the iPhone 13, Kuo mentioned that iPhone SE (2020) is most likely not getting an upgrade in the first six months of next year. A report by MyFixGuide has cited Kuo’s research report to state that four optics developing firms will be busy in stiff competition in 2021. Taiwan Genius Electronic Optical (GSEO) stands the chance of losing orders of supplying cameras for Apple’s next flagship to Taiwan Largan Precision, Semco (Samsung Electromechanics) and a new player in the market called Sunny Optical. (Also read: iPhone SE review: A smaller iPhone 11 in an iPhone 8's body ) This war of supply is likely to affect the preparation and production of an eventual iPhone SE (2021) [not the official name], as per Kuo who is associated with TF International Securities, a financial services group in the Asia-Pacific region. The report believes that the main reason why GSEO’s revenue in October was lower than the market consensus is also because of the intense competition. [caption id=“attachment_8892741” align=“alignnone” width=“1280”]  Apple iPhone SE is one of the most compact smartphones available in the market right now. Image: tech2/Nandini Yadav[/caption] While the market expects the launch of a new Apple SE in the first half of 2021 to boost the shipments of GSEO, Kuo is of the knowledge that this is not going to happen. The report does not say anything about the launch of an SE phone in the second half. As the Cupertino-based firm focuses on launching flagship devices in the second halves, it is unlikely that Apple will release iPhone SE 2021 along with the iPhone 13 lineup. After launching the iPhone SE (2020) in April this year, Apple put the item on sale in India from the month of May. Powered by the Bionic A13 chipset, the iPhone SE came in three storage variants and its pricing started from Rs 42,500. The 4.7-inch phone is available for purchase at Flipkart and Apple online stores.