Apple iPhone SE could get a refresh next year and is rumoured to debut first in India during the first quarter of 2018. According to Focus Taiwan, Apple's contract manufacturer Wistron is expanding its production base in order to start building the next generation model. The iPhone SE will be getting a refresh nearly two years after its launch in March 2016.
The report also notes that Apple will make the next generation iPhone SE available in India first before pushing it to other markets. During the third quarter earnings call, Apple CEO Tim Cook said that India is today where China was just a few years ago for the company. He also added that Apple is investing and has committed more energy and money to its growth here.
While Apple operates in the premium smartphone category and takes over 90 percent of the profit in the smartphone market, it hopes to dominate the Indian smartphone market with its cheaper offering in the form of iPhone SE and iPhone 5s. As part of that effort, Wistron has also begun assembling iPhone SE locally at its plant in Bengaluru and is now planning to add second production line. Wistron is also said to be discussing with Karnataka government its plan to acquire an extra piece of land to expand its existing production facility.
In terms of specifications, the iPhone SE is said to sport a 4-inch or 4.2-inch display and will switch to A10 chipset found on iPhone 7 range. The handset will be offered in 32GB and 128GB storage option and run iOS 11 out of the box. The refreshed iPhone SE is also expected to see a bump in its battery capacity from 1624mAh to 1700mAh battery. The report contradicts an analyst claim that iPhone SE won't get a refresh and a report suggesting iPhone SE will debut in August followed by iPhone 8 in October. Apple is trying to expand its presence in India's growing smartphone market and the new report makes it clear that the company sees iPhone SE as its best bet yet.